Archeological Adventuress: With a mystery this complex,
Bernice really gets to flex her intellect. In a sequence that blew my mind she
figures the structure and purpose of the building by figuring that it is shaped
like a strand of DNA. She’s been around enough self confessed great men to know
that when they build an edifice that they like to leave a mark that is unique
to their character. Dr Bauer might be a little ungracious when she suggests
that Bernice cannot stay still and has to actively seek out danger to find a
solution but she does have a point. It might be morally correct for the
hero/heroine to forgive the antagonist of their misdeeds but Bernice doesn’t
work that way. This is all down to the hubris and miscalculation of two
dangerously intelligent scientists and she is perfectly prepared to throw the
fact that their suffering was brought down by their mistakes.
Mysterious Girl: Ruth finds Ray unbearable and doesn’t have
the strength to put on her usual mask of jollity and Zen calm when he is around
(‘you really want me to highlight the single most gittish thing you’ve said
today?’).
Standout Performance: I can remember I time when I was
clamouring for India Fisher to be stripped from employment by Big Finish she
had appeared in so many audios and monopolised the eighth Doctor. Oddly that
was followed up by a time when I was begging for her to be kept on when they
had paired her off with the sixth Doctor. It’s a genuine pleasure to hear her
voice after so long (I have been stuck watching Masterchef just to get
my fix of Fisher) and she embodies Doctor Bauer with a real sense of haughty
impatience in a way that only an actress with this breeding can (the way she
says ‘Ray…’ at the end of a sentence sounds like an insult). Its bizarre the
amount of actors that have appeared in the Road Trip box set that have also
appeared in NuWho; Ayesha Antoine (DeeDee, Midnight), Arthur Darvill (Rory
Williams), Anjili Mohindra (Rani Chandra, The Sarah Jane Adventures),
Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble) and David Ames (Planet of the Dead). The realist
in me sees this as an attempt by Gary Russell to drum up as much interest as
possible in the range that might otherwise not be there and the opportunist in
me thinks it is astonishing that a spin off range could attract such an arsenal
of acting talent. Its win/win from where I’m sitting. Arthur Darvill’s late
appearance as the good Doctor Jones is a revelation, a world away from his
normal pleasantries as Rory Williams and once again reminding us where the real
acting talent lies in the Pond marriage.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘He was a robot. How do you even get
into a fight with a robot?’
‘My life is one great walking uncertainty principle!’
‘Have you ever noticed how its never the down escalator out
of order?’
‘I’m going forward…not back’ which just happens to be
Benny’s and the series’ mission statement.
‘You don’t really think I’ve got space diarrhoea, do you?’
‘That depends what space diarrhoea is’ ‘Its diarrhoea. In. Space.’ ‘Diarrhoea
in space is just regular diarrhoea, Ray. Unless you’re in zero gravity
and then its another matter altogether.’
‘As a living lesson of the folly of hubris you have to admit
I’m second to none.’
Great Ideas: It would seem that taxi drivers are a terrible
bore the universe over. Just this last week I was stuck in a car with someone
very like Ray who proceeded to tell me that they don’t employ foreigners because
they are work shy scum…needless to say he didn’t get a tip. Ray is such a
vitriolic character that it is impossible not to have an opinion about him…or
cheer when he finally bites the dust. Who doesn’t know somebody like this who
is completely lacking in social graces and doesn’t realise that nobody gives a
damn about their sordid opinions? Roaches can survive any environmental
disasters the universe over and these are particularly vicious ones with a
terrible secret at their core. Kaff Zarnak went from beach resort to ski resort
in a month, Jared Jones invested a lot of money in the planet and wasn’t about
to throw that investment away because of a change in the climate. I always find
gleefully happy locations that have become obsolete and sour (Paradise Towers
is another great example) are particularly evocative. Xanadu City is a paradise
that has turned rotten; cheesy music is pumped through the sound system with
no-one to listen to it, open air hot tubs have frozen over and creepy crawlies
are running amok over the decaying opulence. Add to that the news of a virus
running rampant and leaving only a few straggling survivors and you have a
vivid no go zone for Bernice and Ruth to crash land in. A human/Killoran
relationship is not unheard of and it’s a firm reminder of that the goal at the
end of this Road Trip is to find Peter. There’s is something delightfully Avengers
about a private train that runs around the building for the exclusive use of
the chief scientist. Bauer calls Yukon ‘darling’ in their very first scene
together but we don’t realise that it is a trigger word to control him until
the end of the story, showing just how well this little subterfuge is set up
and utilised throughout. There is something about the way Fisher says the word that
is really incongruous but considering she is calling him it before any of the
regulars set foot on the planet it just felt like she was one of those people
that loves emphasising her love for her partner. Bauer’s concern when it
appears her lover is dead is palpable…when she is merely concerned for having
lost her bodyguard. Doors are kind of invisible…you can put one anywhere but
there isn’t a door handle you wont see it. There’s something rather
disturbing about a Killoran reciting TS Elliot in times of great stress, its
hardly the fluffiest of poetry to calm somebody down. When people are desperate
they do the most horrendous things and Bauer forcing Yukon to run through the
most hazardous of situations carrying her to her only method off world is a memorable
example. Its not that she is a bad person, per se, she’s just been trapped in a
dangerous situation for so long that she will go to any lengths to get away.
Audio Landscape: Bleeping consoles, fizzing electrics, the
ship coming in to crash, the Sand Roaches make a terrifying chittering noise,
the screaming winds of Kaff Zarnax, squeaky toy, blaster fire, the train.
Standout Scene: Much like Bad Habits, Paradise Frost
depended on a decent wrap to score high marks (although it would have done pretty
well on anyway on the strength of its other elements) and the twist that it was
the Xanabix nutrition bars that turned the holiday makers and workers into the
Roaches ties up every lingering mystery with real satisfaction. The idea of
people transforming into chittering creatures is terrifying and the thought
that they covered it up with an even worse lie (that they had been killed by a
virus) left me with no doubt about the punishment that should befall these
characters. The core ingredient of Xanabix was genetic material from the
hardiest species on the planet…the genetic material of the Sand Roaches. Bleaugh.
Foreboding: Bernice is told that the people on Legion make
what he and Carol have done on Keff Zarnax look like a childs birthday party,
only serving to whet our appetites even further. I wasn’t expecting the
extended coda, the re-introduction of Brax, Peter, Jack and the establishment
of Legion at the climax and it came as a delightful surprise on my first
listen. It really feels as though there has been a point to this box set and we
have reached a satisfactory conclusion (although I don’t know how you can call
this a road trip when we barely spend any time on the road and only have two
pit stops). The future is looking bright indeed.
3 comments:
Hello,
I discovered your page searching for BF reviews and I just love it! Because I'm half way in my BF stuff, listening to them, and I just go to your blog when I'm finished with a story and usually I totally or almost totally agree with your review!
I'm non English speaker, I'm from Spain and it takes a bit of effort to whole understand some audios. Fortunately most of the actors are well understanable for non English-used ears like mine!!(Specially Sarah Sutton, she is delightful to listen because she is so comprehensible) But I enjoy the audios just I enjoy the whole Whoniverse.
I love your reviews, as I said, because I almost totally agree with them! Now I'm finishing the 8th doctor divergent arc and some stuff is really awful! and 8 doc is one of my favs,thanks to audios, among with 6!(yes, BF did a GREAT job with Six!). It's a pity all the nasty Zagreus stuff.
Sorry if I've gone off-topic in this comment, but I didn't find a "contact me" button to post my thoughts to you directly so I used this :) I also like your TV and books reviews, they are delightful!
Lately I'm becoming a bit idiotic and self-spoiling myself by reading your reviews BEFORE listening the audio or reading the book in question but I can't help...
keep with the good work!
regards from Barcelona (Spain)
Thankyou so much for such a lovely comment. It's always great to hear that people are enjoying the stories and the reviews. It looks like we are of one mind! If got to say I had a wonderful holiday in Barcelona...the market at Las Ramblas was amazing. I hope you continue to enjoy the blog.
Perhaps you can help me with something, because it's baffling me: what the hall happened to Yukon 9? I'm one scene Benny and Ruth persuade him to come with them, and he's in a bad way but not in any apparent immediate danger, but then I'm the very next scene he's gone and they don't even mention him. Where did he go? I really liked him as a character and thought he added something to the dynamic of our main duo. Certainly I think he is more engaging than any of the new regulars to be introduced post-Year-Zero, and I wish he'd stuck around.
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