The Shadow of the Scourge written by Paul Cornell and directed by Gary Russell

What’s it about? The Pinehill Crest Hotel in Kent is host to three very different events: a cross-stitch convention, an experiment in time travel and... the summoning of the scourge. The Doctor, Bernice and Ace find themselves dealing with a dead body that's come back to life, a mystical symbol that possesses its host, and a threat from another universe that's ready for every trick the Doctor's got up his sleeve.
This time, has the Doctor gone too far?

The Real McCoy: The second outstanding showcase for McCoy’s devilish seventh Doctor in a row! I have had my issues with the New Adventures characterisation of the regulars in the past but had they had handled the Time Lord this adeptly throughout I would have been extremely happy. The second he steps out of lift and announces ‘first floor, horror, tragedy and mysterious deaths’ I was captivated. In typical New Adventures style we get to experience the master manipulator and the emotional wreck and surprisingly rather than being out of his depth McCoy is bloody good. It makes me wonder about adapting some of those novels…

As well as all of his other talents he has a penchant for cross stitching – another fascinating facet of his seventh persona he discovered after he regenerated. He uses Benny’s name to book in as a hotel in Kent is one of the few places where the pseudonym John Smith might raise a few eyebrows. He was dreaming when he discovered the Scourge and he made the deal with them, offering unconditional surrender of planet Earth in the name of the Time Lords. He has saved the Earth now and then so now thinks finders keepers. His shadow stretches back and forth through time and he has different faces, some of them hidden. He relies on the fact that he is much cleverer than his foes. When the Doctor’s plan goes wrong the threat holds more weight simply because it is the NA Doctor that has been outwitted and McCoy’s agonising scream cuts right through you. Whilst exploring his mind Bernice comes across the Doctor’s other selves who manifest themselves in times of emergency – they turn their noses up at his choices. He enjoys saving everyone at the last minute. His meaningless little life is made up of lots of meaningless little moments. He fears that his friends don’t love him and that they fear him visiting because he always brings monsters in his wake. He almost gives up during the course of this story – he feels the darkness calling him and wonders if it is finally time to regenerate into his eighth self. He recognises his ego, needing his friends to love him and let him know he has done the right thing. An attention seeking child? The Doctor is forever testing his companions and forcing them away from him. He loves rolling hills and falling asleep half in the sun and half in the shade. What gives him the right to walk into situations and juggle with the fates of planets? Who gives him permission to stand up? His friends do. Some strong characterisation there.

Archaeological Adventurer: I found it hard to accept Bernice in the companion role for the first few minutes but she had such good chemistry with both the Doctor and Ace it didn’t last very long. She’s too strong a character to feel subordinate to the Doctor and she is quickly off having her own adventures. Her humour is prevalent – especially when she asks to be put in touch with her two turtles, Squidgy and Speckly. She is a sceptic but not professionally and she doesn’t believe anything happens after death. Bernice does a terrible impression of the seventh Doctor; a Scots accent is definitely not her forte! The Doctor is her best friend. She puts on a front that is never her true self and could never ask for help for all the pain she hides. Bernice loves a houseful of sleeping guests and whole days spent just talking and dozing. The scenes between Sylvester McCoy and Lisa Bowerman are unexpectedly powerful and it pains me to think this relationship was not exploited again – the Doctor and Benny have long been one of my favourite solo combos and it would have been very right on to have had a series of stories for them. There still could be…



Ace of Hearts: I hated the aggressive angst ridden Ace from the New Adventures and was extremely pleased when she was finally cut out of the series (which co-incided with the series suddenly leaping up in quality – odd that!) but I have to admit Aldred plays this Ace with far more aplomb than her usual, younger model. She is afforded a lot of humour here that she was denied in the books and comes of as a far more rounded character as a result, not just a masturbating gun. Nobody lets her play about with their science experiments. She pretends to be cross with the Doctor when the Scourge arrive to claim the Earth from him which is actually quite a clever bluff considering how often she was at logger heads with him in the books! Ace is scared like everyone else but covers it with anger. In a moment of true bravery and stupidity Ace has her eardrums punctured so she cannot hear the Scourge and they cannot control her. She admits that she is not happy busting heads together all the time and that she does want a real life. She faces her monsters all the time and it makes her a stronger person for it.

Great Ideas: The opening scenes are brilliantly scary and funny – the awful ‘Om’ communion which leads to a genuine manifestation of aliens. I loved it when the lift opened by the Doctor and friends to reveal the body of Old Will. The revelation that he is the Scourge leader is a great surprise. The Scourge know eight dimensions and if they are able to fully materialise they would be able to reach around walls, walk through time and reverse every decision – humanity would have no choice but to worship them as Gods. They are a disease, an index of human fear and desire and we have all felt their tendrils from time to time. The dimensional bio implant is the weapon the Scourge use to torture humans in their own universe – they stretch them across different possibilities and age their bodies over several centuries. Brian and Annie murdering Mary is horrible, feeding on her delusions and feasting on her pain and fear and everlasting death.

Standout Performance: Sylvester McCoy – what a performance! He gets to be playful, menacing and emotional and nails them all equally well. It’s a shame that many of his later performance should underwhelm because there was the potential for his Doctor to rival Colin Baker’s for the audio crown but it was rarely this commanding again.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘This isn’t supposed to happen in Kent!’
‘What it comes down to is this, things have got well spooky so get your coat, we’re out of here!’
‘It’s one of the eternal mysteries of the universe. Why does tea made in a hotel bedroom taste worse than tea made under any other circumstances?’
‘As William Shakespeare once said to me…come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.’
‘I think happiness with those we love means everything! I think these creatures are preying on the flaw of humans being stupid and not trusting their own strength. And it would all be okay if we could just get out hands on some tea and scones because those things are great!’

Audio Landscape: The Scourge voices are initially absolutely terrifying – especially Lennox Greaves snarling Demi Leader. I loved the atmosphere brewed up in the communion sequences – the constant chanting of ‘Om’ before they suddenly all hit a low key ‘Ommmmmmm’ – brr creepy! The oncoming Scourge is represented by an approaching growling storm of voices. The legs and head tearing from Annie’s back is shockingly visceral. The Doctor’s mind is actualised in as weird and hypnotic a fashion as I would have hoped for, lots of whispering voices singing, water lapping and dialogue running off into the distance. Benny falls into the Doctor’s mind with comical style (‘Sorry about the mess.’). You can hear the Scourge soldiers tendrils burrowing into the Doctor’s brain. Ace in the lift shaft sounds totally authentic, the Scourge pursuing sounds as though it is far below her.

Musical Cues: The music is quite discreet in this story whilst still being extremely creepy and effective. The first scene is made all the more terrifying because of Lock’s excellent score, especially the bell tolling as the Scourge finally manifests. There are several fun moments punctuated by a bouncy melody – Benny ripping the piss out of Rygel 4 and the Doctor talking his colleagues through his plan. After all the fireworks in the Doctor’s brain he talks Brian back from his Scourge personality and a touching high piano note plays over these moments.

Isn’t that Odd: After a couple of reasonable attempts that is one appalling cover. Some of the worst photo shopping this side of the photos Clive shows Ms Tyler in Rose.
After a while the Scourge growling out threats to run and hide gets thoroughly tedious.
Once Ace cannot hear we are treated to several unfunny gags where somebody says something and she repeats it straight afterwards. It isn’t funny the first time. A shame considering all the wit on display elsewhere.
Occasionally the story verges on the edge of corny but then Paul Cornell does have that urge to push the schmaltz in practically every story he has written. Where his love for the New Adventures and the seventh Doctor comes to the fore is in dialogue like, ‘He played chess against these monsters and they beat him!’ which would be a bad line under any circumstances but becomes cruingeworthy because the writer is trying to draw attention to the fact that this is an NA. Which should be obvious. The final indignity comes at the climax where all the characters are screaming ‘Get out of our heads!’ I just wanted to jump into the story and machine gun them all. I can never remember the New Adventures being this fluffy. It just screams of the writer telling the audience this is an important moment – despite how small – like that awful moment in Father’s Day when the Doctor talks to the bride and groom and finds out how they met. You tell the story and I will decide what is important.

Standout Moment: The scenes in the Doctor’s head are an audio triumph and the performances of McCoy and Bowerman capture a friendship between the Doctor and a companion that has rarely been bettered.

Result: I am not really a huge fan of the New Adventures despite enjoying a great many of them because I don’t really like all of the grey areas they pushed the series into and yet I found Shadow of the Scourge to be a superb representation of them on audio. All of the NA staples are there; the Doctor is a powerful God-like being who doubts his decisions, we take a little trip into his mind, his companions are sarcastic and hard nuts, the monsters transcend reality and there is a healthy dose of angst and emotion. Gary Russell handles all of this with a masterly grasp, coaxing some terrific performances from his guest cast and capitalising on the drama and humour of the script. Cornell writes with wit and beauty and gives us lots to think about and takes a strong look at the central character of the Doctor and his part in the series. McCoy doesn’t disappoint and it becomes one of the highlights of his Doctor’s adventures. The Scourge make for an interesting if overly nasty monster and their realisation is excellent. Despite a few moments of overdone syrup, this is a finely judged side step into the world of the New Adventures: 8/10

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/13-Doctor-Who-The-Shadow-of-the-Scourge

The Fires of Vulcan written by Steve Lyons and directed by Gary Russell

What’s it about? Two thousand years ago, a volcanic eruption wiped the Roman city of Pompeii from the face of the Earth. It also buried the Doctor's TARDIS... Arriving in Pompeii one day before the disaster, the Doctor and Mel find themselves separated from their ship and entangled in local politics. As time runs out, they fight to escape from the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. But how can they succeed when history itself is working against them?

The Real McCoy: Wow. Wow. Wow. Astonishing that this story should feature the season 24 team of the seventh Doctor and Mel and it is all the more impressive for it. With four episodes Steve Lyons has shown us a very different dynamic we could have seen between them and opened up a world of potential stories. Mel states that she has never seen the Doctor this contemplative before so this must be the start of him shaking off his clown ball persona and emerging into much darker territory. Sylvester McCoy is at his finest throughout, this the story you should make me listen to when I start ranting on that he is a poor actor, he seems to have bought into the script completely and he underplays the whole thing which really sells his melancholic Doctor. The Doctor is aware of the consequences of this story before they have even gotten involved and broodily wants to leave and cheat fate. He is a stranger to Pompeii; I wonder what he would think if he knew he was walking around in three incarnations hence about to cause the eruption of Mount Vesuvius! He is an excellent gambler and can tell when Murranus is cheating, offering Mel up as a wager when he has no currency to play with. After the first eruption he is appalled to find the TARDIS buried under rubble and declares, ‘This can’t be how it ends!’ He is elusive of Mel’s questions but eventually admits he is scared of knowing his on future and wonders if he retired to Earth and leaves the TARDIS trapped under the ash. The TARDIS hates farewells as much as he does. He thinks Mel is far more precious than money. Looking at the story objectively his knowledge of time travel works against him here, he gives up because he thinks he knows the future, he knows how time works. His name is graffiti on the walls of Pompeii as the man who bested Murranus and is tricked (drugged by Valeria) into the amphitheatre to fight him. This sort of action would be brilliant for an energetic performer like McCoy. Think of the little Time Lord standing up to the psychotic gladiator, declaring he will have to kill him cold blood as death rains around Pompeii. Has he ever seemed more apocalyptic and powerful?

Generous Ginge: Whatever plaudits go out for McCoy should be quadrupled for Bonnie Langford. Kudos to her for approaching Big Finish herself to appear in their audio dramas and what a difference it made to her reputation within fandom circles. Suddenly Mel is being written and performed as an adult, maintaining her positive attitude to life but sensible enough to turn down her enthusiasm when the situation is serious enough. She is culturally unaware of Roman traditions (although she understands a little Latin) and gets several shocks when confronted with slavery, sacrifices and prostitution. She has no money on her (why does he never think to give his companions cash?) and mistaken as a messenger from Isis and is also declared to be a shameless woman who doesn’t even have the decency to cover her head! The Doctor’s chambermaid? She likes nothing more than a bit of shopping to help her relax. She was beginning to think the Doctor didn’t need her anymore and is horrified when asked if she is the Doctor’s whore! Mel knows who UNIT are. Mel’s pragmatism really works in her favour here and sees her refuse to give up even after the Doctor has – what if UNIT were wrong, what if the TARDIS comes to Pompeii again (she is actually right on both counts!) – she will fight time until she knows all of the options have been exhausted. I love how she stands up to Eumachia when everybody else cowers away (‘You should no you don’t scare me like you do that girl.’) and she enjoys a relaxed friendship with Aglae that becomes very protective after the volcano erupts. She is a vegetarian (from Vegetaria!) and is as honest as they come which helps her out after she is accused of thieving and locked up. She tells the truth of Pompeii’s destruction to her suitor, Popidius Celsinus and convinces him to release Aglae from prison and escape the city. Given the cartoonish nature of season 24 it is so shocking to hear Bonnie Langford being given dramatic material of this nature and I’m sure I am not the only person (stand up Steve Lyons) who thought she would fall to pieces. Instead Bonnie rises to the occasion and gives one of the best companion performances we have ever seen, totally convincing and squeezing ever nuance and drop of drama from the script. Shame on me. More of Mel please.

Great Ideas: Capitalising on the drama of Pompeii’s destruction. So good Doctor Who did it twice. Whilst I will always adore Fires of Pompeii as a superb example of how blockbusting and dramatic the new series can be The Fires of Vulcan is clearly the better exploration of history and the ramifications of the eruption. Lyons has more time to set the scene, explore the culture and build up his characters before wiping them out. This is an extremely well researched piece with lots of little detail that you will take away from the story (the Gods, traditions, religion and social culture of Pompeii are all investigated here). It is a nice slant on the traditional historical adventure (very Steve Lyons) in that the Doctor and Mel believe they will be trapped in history no matter what they try to achieve. Knowing they won’t escape brings very different reactions in them – he gives up and she refuses. The Doctor is given a glimpse of the future and his potential death and he is haunted at the very idea that his travels will be coming to an end. Mel argues that it cannot be part of history if it hasn’t happened yet but the Doctor argues that time cannot abide a paradox.

Standout Performance: As much as I want to (finally!) shower praise on Sylvester McCoy (and wonder why he cannot always be this good) the award goes to Bonnie Langford for her dramatic and unforgettable turn as the much underrated Melanie Bush. The thing about Mel that I have always enjoyed is her jolliness in her adventures, after the pessimism of Tegan, the deviousness of Turlough and the whining of Peri it is so nice to have a companion who seems to enjoy travelling with the Doctor even if she expresses that enjoyment in operative terms! The Fires of Vulcan explores a much darker side of Mel, trapped in prison with the foreknowledge that the city will be destroyed within a couple of hours. Bonnie Langford underplays every scene and sells the drama of the situation with ease. Go and listen to her quiet shock at the end of episode three where the seagulls have left the sky, it’s haunting.

Sparkling Dialogue: Lyons gives his performers lots of juicy material to work with…
‘This is your history and no good can come of our meddling with it.’
‘It doesn’t seem fair.’ ‘Time never is, Mel.’
‘I’ve seen the future Mel. I know what will happen, what must happen. In the year 1980 the TARDIS will be discovered dug up out of the ash that will rain upon this city tomorrow. We can’t escape it Mel, no matter what we do. Time already knows. We’ve already lost. We won’t that TARDIS again, nobody will see it, not for almost 2000 years!’
‘The mighty Murranus was outfoxed by…a mightier dwarf!’
‘The truth! You don’t want to know the truth I promise you! You can’t lock me up…you can’t! Don’t you realise you’ll kill me! This time tomorrow we’re all going to be dead! Do you hear me? We’ve got to get out of Pompeii before it’s too late! Doctor!’
‘You think you’ll reclaim your honour this way but your honour will be worth nothing when you’re reduced to ashes!’ ‘Then die Doctor with a coward’s plea on your lips!’
‘How can I accept that Pompeii has seen its final dawn?’
‘The virtual river of boiling hot rock pouring down the mountain at the speed of 100 miles per hour. It will engulf the city killing everybody it touches. We can’t out run it, Valeria, we can’t hide from it. Thousands will die in Pompeii alone.’
‘It is a moment of history preserved like no other.’

 

Audio Landscape: Lets be honest when Big Finish get it right they get it really right and The Fires of Vulcan has a strong script and incredible performances doing half its work already but couple these elements with some astonishingly visual direction from Gary Russell and a powerhouse musical score from Alistair Lock and you have a Doctor Who story that holds up with the greats. A really strong atmosphere is brewed with some great sounds; seagulls, crickets, puddles, carts rolling, animals screaming in market scenes and crowded bar scenes. The grumbles from the mountain are given real gravitas, people panicking, buildings shaking and animals terrified. I loved the scenes in the baths with children splashing about. The goat to the slaughter sequence is uncomfortable as it screams for release and is eventually silenced. There is an almighty thunder clap at the beginning of episode 3 like a portent of doom which leads to impressive rain scenes, it runs down the buildings and strikes the earth with force. The amphitheatre is brought to life with real gusto, the seagulls swooping in and out of the action.

Musical Cues: The best score yet, Alistair Lock’s command of instruments gives the impression this historical adventure had an entire orchestra backing the action. A sense of mystery follows the Doctor and Mel as they leave the TARDIS which leads into a bombastic piece which opens the story out into the street of plenty. There is a glorious ‘Ice Warriors’ style female vocal that plays over the ‘messenger of the Gods’ sequences. The Doctor and Murranus’ conflict is dramatised by a fierce drumbeat and the pace of music steps up a notch as Valeria steps into their conflict and almost gets killed. In episode four a fantastic piece accompanies McCoy’s wonderful speech that brings home the awesome power of nature and time.

Standout Moment: The cliffhangers to episode 2 and 3 are both spectacular. The end of episode 2 is one of my favourite Doctor Who moments ever, Mel accused of being a thief and terrified of the being locked up during the upcoming disaster. The music is wonderful and Bonnie really sells the material. Episode 3 climaxes in alternating serene and violent moments. The water stops flowing and gulls leave the air…the eruption is coming and at the same time the Doctor is being charged at by Murranus…great drama.

Result: A Scotsman and a redhead visit Pompeii and argue over the morality of their foreknowledge of the future, sound familiar? This is something very special indeed. So many areas of this story could have been fudged (McCoy could have phoned in his performance, Bonnie Langford could have over enthused, the script could have been too maudlin, the atmosphere too grim) but every aspect of this production is spot on from the cast to the director and the musical score. I have always loved Historicals and Steve Lyons produces a powerhouse of drama here, a cast of memorable characters and a emotion drive that runs through the story and makes pressing stop to go to sleep (grrr) very hard indeed! It’s clever, involving and dramatic and it never cheats the audience of the spectacle of Pompeii whilst telling quite an intimate story within it. Possibly the best performance Sylvester McCoy has ever given as the Doctor, it is a triumph for the seventh Doctor and a real highlight amongst the fluff of season 24: 10/10

Artwork by Simon Hodges @ http://hisi79.deviantart.com/

The Apocalypse Element written by Stephen Cole and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about? When the planet Archetryx is threatened by a Dalek assault squad, the Doctor and Evelyn become embroiled in an ever-deepening mystery. What has become of President Romana, missing for twenty years? What lurks in the vast gravity wells of Archetryx? What is the secret of the ancient element the Daleks are synthesising - and how does Gallifrey feature in the plans?
The Doctor finds that if his oldest enemies cannot conquer the universe they will watch it go up in flames...

Softer Six: Heading the fantastic characterisation on display in this audio, the Doctor continues his run of luck from Marian and Spectre. Colin Baker has put some real thought in how to exploit this script and in the first episode he is very quiet and grave and his performance becomes steadily more dramatic as the threat escalates before blowing his top in spectacular style in episode four, one of the best moments yet from Big Finish and quoted in its entirety below. There are so many aspects to the sixth Doctor these days it is impossible to reconcile him with the bully who everybody hates from season 22. He has a spectacularly low opinion of Vansell, thinks he is self serving and avaricious and is proven right by the end of episode two. His is a terrible reputation amongst the Time Lords and is known by many colourful names. There is a quiet sigh when he wonders if he will ever be rid of the Daleks. He is extremely protective of Evelyn in a very sweet way (he even kisses her in the heat of the moment!) that we have never seen before but is more than happy to use her if the situation requires it because she is so useful. He is shocked by Romana’s lack of compassion and has to remind her several times there is an emotional stake in all this destruction. He does not think the TARDIS is quaint. There is a gorgeous scene where he gives his friends the chance to walk away because what he is proposing is insanely dangerous and he very gently thanks them all for being willing to risk their lives. His sheer horror at the destruction at the climax is palpable, as is his joy at the formation of another galaxy. This is a very trying experience for the sixth Doctor and he acquits himself very well. Great job.

Learned Lecturer: You would think with so much going on Evelyn would be overlooked but even when there are bodies flying and planets exploding she manages to get more than a few moments to shine. She has her first experience of TARDIS buffering and it leaves her quite shaken. She is subtle and discreet, pretty and functional. There is a hilarious moment when she is surrounded by aliens and is agog with pleasure with the sheer oddness of some of them. She asks the right questions and there is never any question of her not doing the right thing, putting herself in danger over and over, facing bombs and Daleks. Evelyn tidies up after the Doctor. She becomes vital to the plot in later episodes when her retina pattern is the made the master key to operating every system on Gallifrey, to her delight and the disgust of the xenophobic Time Lords. During a tense sequence Evelyn delights at being escorted by guards, thinking she was too old to give squaddies the eye. Her apology to the Doctor after his spectacular rant in episode four is heartbreaking. These two sing when they’re together.

Aristocratic Adventurer: The remarkable Lalla Ward returns to Doctor in a shower of fireworks. I thought nobody could top Baker and Stables but there are scenes she effortlessly steals with her commanding and ice cold delivery of Romana’s lines. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Romana has left E-Space and returned to Gallifrey. The current (retiring) Lord President fought to bring her to power, despite objections. She was on Etra Prime when the Daleks stole the planet and has been their prisoner for 20 years, emaciated and atrophying. She desperately wants to travel again, to go through a door and not know what’s on the other side. Her captivity has left her out of shape; the Daleks took away everything from her except her Presidency. Reminding us of the cheeky traveller of old she thinks the Doctor will make a beastly mess if he is left on his own, tells him he is in the wrong body and during her bluff to the Daleks she admits (with more than a ring of truth) that she is too old and important to be taking orders from the Doctor. She manages to pacify the Daleks mentally, suggesting formidable telepathic powers. At the climax she questions why they are saving the universe only to expose it to Dalek subjugation, only for the Doctor to remind her once again that it is always worth saving lives.


Great ideas: Oh Christ where do I start. I have always been an ideas mean, I have to be straight with you. I like my science fiction to be big and bold as well as small and intimate and I just love it when a writer packs in loads of clever ideas and dramatises them in a way that I had never seen before. It happened in The Last Resort, probably one of the most loathed EDAs of the lot but I adored it because it took a genuinely groundbreaking idea (that each scene was taking place in an alternative universe and you were reading subtly different takes on each character from one scene to the next) and took it too a truly mind blowing conclusion (thousands of Doctors, Fitz’s, Anji’s and TARDISes encrusting on a desert plain…what a visual!). The Apocalypse Element is similarly loathed and yet the escalating threat in this story is like a dangerous swelling of drama, finally bursting in that last gloriously destructive final episode. There are so many good ideas in this story they all deserve a mention.
The planetoid Etra Prime is missing, stolen by the Daleks and strip mined for a rare element. They are piloting the planet through space and in a moment of utter cruelty they set the planet to collide with Archetryx destroying both now they have what they have raped the planetoid of what they needed, leaving no evidence of their activities.
This story is practically audio Dalek pornography with the grisly mutants shedding their casings and attacking the Doctor and Trinket in a tense sequence. They are the epitome of evil in this story, willing sacrifice anything to achieve their goal. Daleks commit suicide by detonating their shells to prevent people escaping and to get through doors on Gallifrey. They murder indiscriminately, killing everybody on both Etra Prime and Archetryx and slaughtering Gallifreyans galore to satisfy their bloodlust. In one particularly squeamish scene they burn out the eyes of a near-dead Gallifreyan (his scream is horrible) and use them to access systems. The final indignity though is their diabolical scheme to cause death on such a scale as the only alternative to their subjugation of the universe. Abominable. Even when trounced the Daleks refuse to acknowledge defeat, seeing the newly formed Serephian galaxy as a million worlds for the Daleks to conquer. Their arrogance and genocidal lust is so out of control now it is unsurprising that the Time War (of which Russell T Davies mentioned in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 that the ‘Etra Prime incident’ was one of the opening skirmishes of) took things to their natural conclusion, utter destruction for both Empires.
But wait…there’s more! We’re introduced to the Monan Host, a new temporal power who we will be seeing a lot more of in the future. There is a chilling image of 300 corpses turning up on Archetryx riddled with time distortion. The Dalek replaced the rulers of Archetryx years ago with their duplicates.
The Daleks invading Gallifrey should be the centrepiece of the story but things get much more dramatic than that. However their method, stealing a Monan Host ship and duping the Time Lords into thinking they are a Monan evacuee fleet in need of assistance. It wouldn’t work as a ploy in narrative terms if the Time Lords weren’t so greedy in wanting to get their hands on Monan technology. There is almost a feeling of justice as the Daleks pour out of the ship cutting them down. Even more brilliantly they try the same sort of ruse again…’Oh Time Lords, we cannot control the element…let us in and we can work together to contain it!’ Unbelievable underhandness.
The Apocalypse Element is a focussing device allowing the Daleks to channel their thoughts. It is woven into the very fabric of the universe and with Monan and Time Lord technology they can hold the whole of time and space at ransom. The destruction of the Serephia (four times the size of the Milky Way) is something of a minor demonstration of what they could have achieved.

Standout Performance: Lalla Ward for her devastating speech in episode two where she describes 20 years being trapped with the Daleks. Not only does she sounds as though she only left days ago she has come back better than ever, aristocratic, officious and downright sexy.

Sparkling Dialogue: Subverting my expectations after some of the unconvincing dialogue scenes in Land of the Dead, there were some blinding lines in this story, including a powerful speech by the Doctor that really drives home the severity of the situation (Colin Baker’s pitch perfect performance helps immeasurably) so see if you can spot which one it is below.
‘It looks like our phantom planetoid is back!’
‘Who would risk the wrath of so many galactic powers?’
‘If it’s any consolation there are still about 20 Daleks who missed the bus!’ – Evelyn cuts to the point with great humour.
‘Trust Time Lords to be the most clinical gossips around.’ – Trinket bitches about ‘contact’.
‘Now I’ve seen everything. A Dalek sillied me off!’
‘The Daleks are invading Gallifrey!’ – the only cliffhanger that really matters!
‘If Gallifrey falls imagine what the Daleks will set their sights on next?’ Indeed!
‘Knowledge like this can blow your filthy, twisted little minds! Romana on fine form.
‘Half the science we’ve used is nonsense!’ ‘No change there then.’ The Doctor and Romana sparring.
‘You can’t take it in, can you? Oh the blessing of a human mind. It’s a matter of perspective Evelyn. Let’s take your own galaxy, the Milky Way, an area of space so vast that if it were reduced to the size of the United States of America the Earth would be less than the smallest mote of dust barely visible through an electron microscope. Serephia is four times the size of the Milky Way and in just a few hours six hundred billion stars will be as snuffed out candles to a new sun, a ball of fire 400, 000 light years across and from there it will spread on and on and on through the 100 billion other galaxies in the universe! The death toll will be as incalculable as it will be absolute and by the end there will be nothing left! Nothing!’ The performances in this scene are perfect, proving Nick Briggs is just as good at directing actors as he is blowing stuff up; Evelyn’s digging, the Doctor’s rising anger, Vansell’s gentle warning, Evelyn’s shock and finally the Doctor’s anguished apology.
‘All those lives. So many magical worlds I’ll never know.’
‘Life from Death.’

Audio Landscape: The Apocalypse Element is an audio tour de force for Nick Briggs who provides a glorieux portmanteau landscape, combining dramatic music, varied sound effects and superb performances to gripping effect. Alien crowds scenes suggest a Cantina of different races. The multitude of Dalek sounds is impressive, from the mind blowing Black Dalek voice to the squelchy and shrieking Dalek mutants and the weird farting noises they make as they fall to the floor as the gravity restores. Bombs explode and Daleks self destruct with the sound of an igniting car, all tearing metal and flames and when Romana subdues them in later episodes the Daleks gurgle with drunken pleasure. Etra Prime strikes Archetryx with maximum devastation and Time Lords scream as extermination blasts tear them to pieces. There is a wonderful airless sequence where spacesuits stick to an unventilated surface and you wince when the Daleks burn out the Time Lords eyes. There are also lots of glorious touches of continuity in this story too; the Monan Host ship sounds like Mavic Chen’s Spar, the Doctor’s TARDIS sounds throaty and gorgeous but there is also the SIDRAT noise from The War Games and the wonderful Dalek time ship materialisation from The Chase! The Deadly Assasin Gallifreyan alarm makes an appearance as does the War Games TARDIS bay hum.

  On a more hilarious note, the new super powers in town, The Monan Host, are clearly the mincers of the universe, sounding rather like a cross between Julian Clary and a Bandril.

Musical Cues: Easily Nick Briggs’ best score to date, he makes this dramatic story even punchier. The piano heartbeat that suggests the Daleks presence builds menace superbly and the electronic sting when they appear beautifully suggests the conflict of emotions you are feeling, sheer terror for the characters and pure thrill for the fan in you. There is a superb piece in episode three when the Daleks spot the TARDIS on the scanner screen, the sixth Doctor is on his way to kick their ass and the music reflects the excitement of that. The string music towards the end of episode two works a treat, an urgent we’ve-run-out-of-time feeling but gently played rather than forceful.

Isn’t that Odd: That the trailers are now at the beginning of the play. Maybe nobody was listening to them on the end (I was) but it just feels odd to start the story with a taster of the next story.
This story has a technobabble factor of about 400 trillion.
Was the whole point of Evelyn becoming the key to Gallifrey’s technology simply to explain why they needed a human eye to open the Eye of Harmony in The TV Movie? I hate it when spin off stories go out of their way to explain established continuity in contrived ways. Simply to make Evelyn our salvation was more than reason enough.

Standout Moment: Whilst I would like to choose Romana’s devastating confession in episode two the Colin Baker fan in me chooses his dramatic end-of-the-universe rant in episode four. A truly standout audio moment suggesting the spiky hero of old hasn’t gone anywhere.

Result: An unfairly maligned story, this is leagues ahead from Steve Cole’s previous effort. There is something romantic about defending a derided story but I feel there is more than enough evidence listed above to hold The Apocalypse Element in high esteem. The blockbuster script is powerful and dramatic, with a believable escalating threat and some really meaty ideas and rather than being a soulless action thriller there is some blistering characterisation that keeps this real. Cole’s dialogue has improved in leaps and bounds and the story has some highly quotable lines and the story moves at a frantic pace that never threatens to leave the audience behind. I love a story with huge ideas, science fiction can accommodate the melodrama of universal peril and Doctor Who especially so and Cole introduces a threat so absolute in this story we reach theatrical levels of drama. Colin Baker, Maggie Stables and Lalla Ward all give magnificent performances and Nick Briggs convincingly brings this space opera to life with real gravitas. You might hate it, but I enjoyed it thoroughly in two blocks of two episodes and think this is one of the few stories to sustain its threat from the first scene to the last. Justice for The Apocalypse Element!: 8/10

Artwork by Simon Hodges @ http://hisi79.deviantart.com/

Dragon’s Wrath by Justin Richards, adapted by Jac Rayner and directed by Ed Salt

What’s it about? The Gamalian Dragon ¬ a jewel-encrusted statuette captured by the warlord Gamaliel from the legendary Knights of Jeneve after the Battle of Bocaro. It is now sought by Romolo Nusek, apparently Gamaliel's descendent, to prove his right to assume his ancestor's mantle as ruler of the Sector. When Benny joins a group seeking to find the legendary statuette, she has a secret. No one can possibly find one on Stanturus because she's already carrying it ¬ left for her by a murdered colleague. The trouble is, the expedition does find one and, as a result, most of them are mysteriously slaughtered. Benny realises she and historian Nicholas Clyde must discern the traitor in their midst. Could it be Gilder, the obsequious administrator from Benny's own university? Could it be Truby Kamadrich, the famous archaeologist? Or might it be the bizarre librarian Reddick, who never leaves Nusek's vaults, protected by an inhospitable volcano?

Archaeological Adventurer: After a whole year of excellent showcases for both Bernice Summerfield and Lisa Bowerman it disappoints me to inform you that Dragon’s Teeth is the first story where Benny doesn’t really have an impact at all. And what a shame it should be the story where we leave the world of the New Adventures and Big Finish try and segue this series into an original storyline for her character. From this point on the Bernice Summerfield adventures are original adventures but after the problems of Dragon’s Wrath it doesn’t leave me with any enthusiasm for those stories. One of my audio bugbears rears its head in this story, people standing around shouting into microphones – and Bowerman’s shrill performance wrapped up in a number of echoed locations left me wincing a hell of a lot! The only thing we learn about Benny is that she considers herself a good archaeologist and is mightily pissed off when she realises that they didn’t want a good archaeologist…and they chose her!

New Theme Music: Good God why…? The original theme tune that played over the first five stories wasn’t the best I had ever heard but it served a purpose and worked to an extent but it is now replaced by a truly diabolical song that makes me ask what went wrong? ‘The thrill of a mystery is my only release…’ – choice lyrics there!

Great Ideas: This audio is adapted from a halfway decent novel, not one of Justin Richards finest but even on autopilot he creates a finely woven plot line with some choice twists. Unfortunately that is not the story that is translated by Big Finish and the finished result is a castrated, condensed and incomprehensible version of the same story. Why the story had to be squeezed onto one disc is not explained (financial reasons?) but a lot of the intelligent detail is lost. What we do have is some of the nicer concepts; the Gamalian Dragon being one of the most guarded artefacts in this region of space and yet it has still been copied, Nusek’s home built into a grumbling volcano like a crazed Bond villain and some nefarious double dealing around the revelation of which copy is the real Gamalian Dragon. But these are merely pleasant gesture to what should have been a well conceived and solid narrative. But Isn’t.

Standout Performance: Gary Russell by miles. He is the only performer who seems even remotely excited about the material and plays Gilder with far more interest than he is written with.

Sparkling Dialogue: Distinctly lacking, or if there was any it was buried under some terrible direction.

Audio Landscape: So much of this story is awkwardly put together or sounds like it is several fake sound FX put together it was really tricky to try and buy the story. Rainfall threatens to overpower the dialogue, cutlery and crockery clink with far too much gusto, the echoey volcano distorts the dialogue, weird squeaky rat creatures assault the ears and there is a general feeling of a director totally out of his depth with such a mammoth production. None of the scenes flow well into each other, they feel like chopped up pieces of actions lazily inserted together – although I blame the music as much as the director for that as the score could make those transitions a lot smoother. The attack of the dog(s) is diabolical because the snarling and barking is unconvincing and it is slapped over the actors performances first too quiet and then far too loud!

Musical Cues: An experimental (that’s a nice way of saying failed) score by S&R Cressida. I quite like the music in the first scene, it sounded amateurish but it had the mysterious edge that the story was going for.
However the rest of the story is punctuated by some really inappropriate percussion instruments that serve no dramatic purpose at all. Somebody will say some dialogue and all of a sudden a cymbal will crash or a drum will crash for no reason and when mixed with the poor script, underwhelming performances and inappropriate direction it is merely another distraction! The music at the end of the story is apoplectic, all the percussion players in the band take to the streets and bang and crash and cause general chaos!

Isn’t the Odd: That this story should be such a disaster? It’s a Justin Richards plot (usually sound), starring Lisa Bowerman (who never gives a poor performance) and directed by Ed Salt (who would go on to direct so of the finest Bernice Summerfield stories). The problems with this story stack up from scene to scene, the horrendous theme tune, the inexplicably long tracks (the longest of the four is over 20 minutes), the terrible dialogue (‘Hi, my friends call me Benny!’), the overpowering sound effects, Richard Franklin giving a hugely theatrical and unconvincing performance, the storyline losing itself in too many twists that have no impact, the underwhelming nature of the climax, the lack of closure for a whole season of adventures…

Result: I’ve been cruel enough: 0/10 Worst audio ever (so far).

Just War written by Lance Parkin, adapted by Jac Rayner and directed by Gary Russell

Message Sent 2594 – sender Bernice Summerfield
Recipient Joe Ford – 2010
Subject –Nazis
‘I don’t know who I am anymore. I just don’t. Joe…I was tortured. I was tortured by the Nazis, starved, abused and scarred. Jason killed the man responsible but it wasn’t enough, it felt as though I was responsible for that death. I’m sick of thinking about people dying. I just want to be left alone. I wish you were here. You’d say something stupid and inappropriate and it would make me laugh. I just don’t know if I have any laughter left in me. This is depressing, I’ll write again soon in a better mood.’

What’s it about? The Nazis occupy British soil and British citizens are being deported to European concentration camps. Those who do not co-operate with the Germans are shot. This isn't a parallel universe: this is Guernsey, 1941, and it's where Bernice is stranded. With no sign of Jason, she has to endure the full horror of the situation, alone and afraid. And something somewhere has gone wrong. The Nazis are building a secret weapon, one that will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the war - and it's up to Benny to put history back on course...

Archaeological Adventurer: Just War was easily one of the best Bernice books of the entire New Adventures range, up there with Sanctuary and Human Nature. She is pushed to the limit in this story and all of her best qualities shine through, her humanity, humour, her fear in the face of terrible abuse. Brought to life by the impressive Lisa Bowerman, Bernice breaks your heart in this story. Her quivering, close to the edge voice makes you long to be able to step into the story and hold her. With this story seen through Bowerman’s eyes it feels more like documentary footage of genuine Nazi horrors than an audio adventure, she’s that convincing. At the beginning of this story she has been living on Guernsey during the Second World War fro 3 months with her hair dyed blond and posing as Celia Doras. A war took her real mother from her and so it is only fitting that it should give her another. There is a subtle, edgy but still very warm relationship between Bernice and Ma Doras and they feel all the closer because of the stifling atmosphere the story generates. Bernice has suddenly become aware of her own morality and she is terrified of it. One of the Nazi’s, Gerhard, fancies her and in a horrible moment of realisation she has to murder him when he realises she isn’t who she says she is. To protect Ma and herself. She disarms a German office as she has had more combat training than him. She makes jokes about being a helpless victim of Nazi terror but she is really shaken up here. She thinks she should have been shot because she doesn’t feel strong anymore. Tameka (no!) is looking after Wolsey and she misses both them and the 26th Century. She witnesses Marie having her neck snapped and confronts her killer only to be arrested, deprived of sleep, food or any comfort. Her attempts to sound brave in the face of this inhumanity, Bowerman’s broken weak speech where she admits how scared she is will break your heart. Her ‘Don’t leave!’ to Kitzsel at the end of one is utterly chilling. When Bernice finally turns the tables and manages to overpower Kitzsel it is a punch the air moment and when she shoves her in the draw that is far too small for her it can only feel like a moment of justice. She cries when she realises that the torture is over. Her reaction when Jason kills Wolff is absolute horror and she can barely string a sentence together. She admits that she still loves him but at the moment she can’t feel a thing. At the end of the story she has a new diary and wants to be alone with herself. She remembers having feelings for Jason but not what they were. She cannot feel anything anymore wondering is she is still a woman of peace. Haunting.

Lovable Loser: A fantastic showing for Jason that allows him to be far more than the lovable rogue we have seen so far in this series. Of course he bollocks this up, as the Susan Meyer of the Bernice series everything he does is bound to turn to shite but accidentally giving a Nazi genius the idea of radar and thus prompting the invention of a stealth bomber than could swing the war in their favour is probably about as stupid as it gets. Careless talk costs lives, right? Jason is not sure whether he comes from the 26th Century or the 1990’s anymore. He was kidnapped by aliens and taken to the future where he met his wife. In a horrifying moment he admits that his dad used to beat him, his sister had her fingers broken and he was forced to sell his body on the streets to make ends meet. Or perhaps he was just looking for something he wasn’t getting at home. He wonders if his Dad’s bullying behaviour was a result of Nazi cruelty. Jason’s discussions with Steinmann show him at his most intelligent and humane. His anger at Bernice’s treatment and his shooting of Wolff allows the audience to get close to him like never before, his shaking anger when the German officer boasts of hurting Bernice leaves him only one course of action.

Great Ideas: Whilst this is primarily a story of unforgettable character moments there are still a number of healthy ideas floating about. Jason accidentally mentions radar in a bar to a German officer and he adapts this technology and creates the German stealth bombers. Bernice is responsible for six villagers being shot dead because she murdered Gerhard. The very idea of torturing Benny in this fashion is a brave and discomforting notion. Steinmann discussing the glory of the Nazi’s should be clichéd and embarrassing but he actually makes a sound case in their defence by simply admiring his people so much. Stealing the Nazi stealth plane returns this series to its adventure story roots and driving it over Southampton with explosions detonating as the Germans try to bring them down is one of the best set pieces in this season. The conclusion keeps pushing the audience as Steinmann reads Bernice’s diary which talks of the end of the war. Whilst he pretends that this is a fantasy written by a deluded woman Steinmann murders Franz who has also read its contents, declaring that it is sad that his parents would have to think of him as a traitor. He is quietly disgusted by the contents, declaring that that future will not take place.

Standout Performance: Lisa Bowerman gives what is probably her best performance in her entire ten seasons in this story and considering the strength of some of her performances to come that is quite a statement. She’s heartbreakingly good at preying on our emotions and manages to become a martyr by simply caring as much as she does.
The guest cast are astonishing. Maggie Stables puts in a typically reliable performance; this is years before we see some of the more shattering moments in Evelyn’s life and so the terrified Ma Doras is something of an acting coup for her.
Mark Gatiss’ Wolff is terrifying, more so because he exudes a quiet menace. His character is aware of his power over the women of the island and he fucks with them mentally before murdering them, in a totally sadistic fashion. For an actor this must be the sort part they dream of playing.
Michael Wade impresses as the ‘acceptable side of fascism.’ He’s personable, humane but he loves the Nazi party through and through. His reaction to knowledge of the future is one of absolute horror, understandably so.

Sparkling Dialogue: So much of this story is beautifully written, unforgettably performed extended dialogue scenes I would be all day quoting them all. So here is the best of an outstanding script:
‘What is it about me and younger men? He’s probably missing his mother!’ Well I’m glad it was mentioned sooner or later!
‘You would think that someone somewhere would have invented a code that didn’t sound like a French exercise and the Two Ronnies!’
‘Bernice, it’s going to get better isn’t it? We’ll win the war…?’
‘You know Ma, I’ve faced death before. I’ve been through a lot in the past few years. I’ve been abandoned, starved, blasted, drugged, betrayed, lacerated, bruised, conscripted, battered, probed, kidnapped, knocked out, taken over by grasshoppers, blown up, shot down, kicked and chucked out…I’ve done it all but I’ve always bounced back ready for whatever they threw at me – this time its different.’ Listening to this, as Bowerman makes the dialogue faster, more dramatic is like a crescendo of pain, unrelentingly mesmerising.
‘Let me tell you something Marie. This road is called the Rue de Vache. Let me tell you why. Cows from Jersey could not be unloaded from the quay so farmers would push them into the harbour, they would be forced to swim ashore and they would be herded up this way to the abattoir. Those poor pretty long lashed cows. I do not like spies or whores Marie, even those with pretty necks.’ Utterly chilling, Wolff snaps Marie’s neck after making her think she will survive by whoring herself. It is an unspeakable cruel moment.
‘To be honest with you, I’m feeling queasy. My stomachs empty, I’ve not slept for three days and I’m scared pooless just being here because I know what the Nazi’s do to their prisoners. It’s those things you should be playing on.’ A heartbreaking admission.
‘I’m sorry but that’s just not true. This Reich doesn’t even last for 1000 weeks let alone 1000 years. Oh yes, fascism disappears as a political force in your lifetime Oskar. By the 1990s where my ex husband comes from the only people wearing the Nazi uniform comes from sad little blokes who can’t get it up any other way. A few gangs of glue sniffing thugs had the swastika tattooed to their foreheads but they never learnt what it really stood for. In other words fascism ended just where it started. Your only legacy will be their ignorance, their hatred.’
‘The sun has already set on the British Empire.’
‘Come on Jason quickly!’ ‘That brings back memories!’
‘You just killed him…’

Audio Landscape: The wartime music opening plants you straight into the story. The period is captured with radio tunings, boots marching, and boats chugging away across the sea. There are some impressive bar scenes with lots of realistic chatter in the background, lovely beach scenes (with waves crashing on the shore and a strong wind whistling by) and the UFO (?) crashes down with dramatic effect, screaming from one ear to the other. Benny escapes in an armoured car in a sequence which is a as gripping as the similar one in Beyond the Sun wasn’t. A heavy prison door swings on its screaming hinges and the underground prison has an odd echoed banging throughout. Bernice gets a delirious interrogation from Steinmann and her escape from Guernsey in Munin is another exciting set piece, explosions ripping through the air around her.

Musical Cues: Once again the piano is used to subtle but emotional effect.

Isn't that Odd: I complained in Birthright that a secondary character was clearly Stephen Fewell putting on a cockney accent so imagine my disdain when he appears in Just War as another character putting on an aristocratic accent this time! Imagine how much I laughed when we discover it actually is Jason in disguise this time!
Gary Russell as a German Officer…his accent is extraordinary! He needs his own series!
The CD sleeve tells me that Just War was originally written by Justin Richards. Really…?

Standout Moment: Hard to choose but my favourite (and thus most discomforting) moments came when Bernice was in the clutches of Wolff. Chilling does not begin to describe the atmosphere at these moments.

Result: Hard-hitting and dramatic, if you have any doubt that the Bernice Summerfield series could not deliver the goods than go and listen to this story now. What you have here is a polished script written with drive and bursting with great character scenes and a director who allows the story room to breathe at a relaxed pace to bring out some extraordinary performances from his cast. Bowerman and Fewell do their best work from series one here, Benny and Jason have never felt more like real people and their reunion never more touching. The stifling atmosphere never lets up and the story manages to sell the idea that the Nazi’s might win the war, one of the most hackneyed ideas ever. On audio this is a superb production, never letting you forget where we are and what it means. I’ve heard this story ten times and every time I have come away astonished at how good it is. Extremely scary in places: 10/10

Re – Nazis
Message Sent 2010 – sender Joe Ford
Recipient Bernice Summerfield 2594
‘I just don’t know what to say. I love you. Things will get better. I hope.’

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/15-Bernice-Summerfield-Just-War

Birthright written by Nigel Robinson and adapted by Jac Rayner. Directed by Nicholas Briggs.

Message Sent 2594 – sender Bernice Summerfield
Recipient Joe Ford – 2010
Subject – Details…
‘You don’t miss a trick do you? Okay so I buggered up a bit and had to hunt down the chronokinetiscope but don’t worry it was found and I have prevented your imaginatively conceived extra appendages from sprouting (ha!). Those blasted time rings have been nothing but trouble (well, he gave them to me after all…) as this time I ended up in Victorian London (hey you can’t say my life isn’t diverse) infected with bloody insect eggs trying to prevent a race of conceited bugs from migrating to the Earth (which means I guess I have stopped your timeline from changing twice…you owe me!). I don’t mind so much though as I got to put my feelings for John to rest and met a magnificent father figure in Micha Popov, a rather wonderful Russian detective who somehow always turned up at the right times. You got any bug spray?’

What’s it about? Thrown off the Time Path, Professor Bernice Summerfield is trapped in early 20th Century London, with only one of the pair of time rings she needs to get home. At the other end of time, her ex-husband Jason Kane finds himself stranded on a dead world, where the queen of the Charrl demands his help to save her dying race. But all he wants to do is find Benny, and return to the 26th Century. In the East End a series of grisly murders has been committed - is this the work of the legendary Springheel Jack or, as Benny suspects, something even more sinister? Allied with a Russian detective, she determines to find out. But the master of a grand order of sorcerers has other plans for her...

Archaeological Adventurer: Building an audio around an established character has proven to be a total success as Bernice has so much backstory to capitalise on and yet all of these stories feels as if they are adding brand new facets to her character. Lisa Bowerman gets some wonderful opportunities in this script and she really grabs them by the horns and gives another memorable performance; hilariously drunk in the opening scenes (‘And lastly I don’t actually have a home to go but I’m gonna leave anyway because if I have to hear any more of this chauvinistic rubbish I might forget that I’m a lady! Goodbye!’), subdued and emotive when she reads John’s letter and terrifyingly psychotic when she becomes infected by the Charrl eggs. She is eager to see John again but admits that Jason is the only man who has any right to call her his love. Her father-daughter relationship with Popov is rather lovely; he is a gentle and helpful man and exactly the sort she is not used to meeting. She doesn’t batter an eyelid at a bloody assault victim and rather running scared like Popov is intrigued by the Charrl’s sudden appearance on Earth. She cannot understand the cultural divide that sees the lower classes wishing homicidal harm on the gentry and does a passable cockney accent (‘Dun ‘er ‘in! Leave off mate!’). In a grab the tissues scene Bernice discovers that John has just gotten married in this time period and wrote a letter upon his return to his time period calling her a true heroine, courageous, strong and pure of heart. She is charged with attempted murder but she considers this a waste of her time rather than something to be worried about. She has met a few insects in her time, mostly in bars at closing time when they have had too much to drink and think they are Gods gift to women. She struggles to hold onto her mind as the Charrl infection takes hold but Jason helps her through it.

Lovable Loser: Jason reminds me so strongly of Susan Meyer in Desperate Housewives, a character who we are supposed to be feel sorry for and whose intentions are always right but no matter what they do they somehow always manage to make a complete a total hash of whatever situation they are in. They are the tragic heroes of this world, farcically unable to function as human beings because they try for the best but end up ruining peoples lives. As soon as Jason started talking about helping to save the Charrl race I knew this was all going to end in tears. Nobody wants him for himself just for his time ring and soon he is going to start taking it personally! He almost tried to pull of the same trick with Benny as he did in Walking to Babylon but this time his conscience steps in and stops him. Whoever knew he had one? Bernice describes him as an ‘apocalyptic scruffy human.’

Great Ideas: They have chosen a great book to adapt her, one that is full of tried and tested and yet still inventively used concepts. The Charrl planet is one of flower forests and honey pools but it was devastated by solar flares. They no longer have the minerals to run their gravity ships and there is no planet within 10,000 parsecs that can support them. The race would not survive another migration but the chronomancers have discovered and formed a link with another world. They want to invade the Earth, to use the time rings to stabilise the ‘great divide’ and use humans as incubators for Charrl eggs, they will tear free of the human body and feed on the sustenance from the fresh corpse. There is a really terrific Planet of the Apes moment where Jason realises the Charrl adopted home world will be Earth.
John’s letter to Bernice provides a necessary link between the three time ring stories, following on from their romance in Walking to Babylon and providing a reason to go to Guernsey in Just War, to recover the chronokinetiscope.
Infecting Benny gives the second disc a real boost.

Standout Performance: Is there anything Colin Baker can’t do on audio? He provides a charming and irresistibly sweet Popov, so different to his tone and accent as the Doctor and yet just as convincing. It is a shame that he is confined to this one story because he would have made an excellent substitute father figure for Benny. His plot, following the murder of his daughter and the other girls to England, is very well done.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I shall never wash that cheek again!’ – Benny kisses Popov.
‘Have you never seen a pair of bloomers before? Come on, give a lady a bunk up!’

Audio landscape: Miles better than Beyond the Sun but not as good as Walking to Babylon. You’ve got dogs barking, horses clopping, bottles clinking, yokels coughing, a ticking grandfather clock and chittering Charrl mandibles. Bernice being spat out of the time fissure is impressive, an ear piercing scream as she lands in a pile of rubbish! The Charrl voices are great, an almost Sil-like tongue waggling purr and their truly alien sounding background chanting gives a real sense of unease. Also the contact scenes between Khan and the Queen leave you quite disoriented, echoing from ear to ear.

Musical Cues: Nicholas Briggs provides some dramatic and scene setting music in this story, using a gentle piano underscore to suggest dangers approaching and a terrific use of wind pipes to give the more violent scenes a real punch.

Isn’t that Odd: Khan’s lackey in his first scene is so obviously Stephen Fewell putting on a really poor cockney accent I actually thought Jason was already there in a not very good disguise!
Given the events of the first disc it ends on a really unclimatic note and I did not feel compelled to put the second disc on for three days afterwards. On a similar note the first disc pretty much reveals the entire plot which leaves disc two buying time (admittedly with great performances and some fine dialogue) until the conclusion.

Standout Moment: The beginning and the end. There is a gorgeous prologue to the story that doesn’t feature Bernice at all, playing out like some penny dreadful with a lady of the night being ripped apart and her client rushing into the nearest pub and screaming ‘It weren’t human!’ The climax too is very memorable with lightning splitting the sky as the migration to Earth begins, Bernice infected and bloodshed as the police arrive and start shooting everything. Definitely a loud and action packed ending.

Result: An atmospheric tale, Birthright translates onto audio with some panache. It is this story that I can see the most revision made to to fit into the Bernice audio world but none of the changes do any harm at all and swapping Ace for Jason adds a whole new element of danger to the off world plot. Lisa Bowerman proves once again why she was perfect for the part and enjoys a wonderfully relaxed chemistry with Colin Baker, a world apart from their friction in Whispers of Terror. The second half of the story is far more sluggish than the terrific first half but things definitely pick up for the conclusion. A nice story to listen to on a cold foggy night: 7/10

Re – Details…
Message Sent 2010 – sender Joe Ford
Recipient Bernice Summerfield 2594
‘Bug spray…check! You think you’ve got it bad! I spent Christmas looking like some blond psychopath in a hoodie! I’m not sure where we’re at with the Doctor, chronologically speaking but his adventures on Earth just seem to be getting madder and madder! The whole bloody world turned into Harry Saxon, I knew we hadn’t seen the last of him! So…Victorian London, big bugs and father figures…things never slow down for you, do they? Don’t you ever fancy a rest?’

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/14-Bernice-Summerfield-Birthright

Walking to Babylon written by Kate Orman and adapted to audio by Jac Rayner. Directed by Gary Russell

Message Sent 2594 – sender Bernice Summerfield
Recipient Joe Ford – 2010
Subject – Hanging gardens of Babylon!
‘That got your attention! I’m sorry about my last message, who wants somebody leaking a bleeding heart all over an email. Bad metaphor, sorry. You and Simon are so cute; don’t let me ever hear you comparing yourselves to me and Jason again. And that’s an order. Jason had the bloody nerve to walk into my rooms at the University with a People (apparently that’s grammatically correct) and steal my wedding ring! Two People were hatching the lamest scheme this side of Dad’s plan to cause war on Earth to benefit mankind but I did get to step through time again and visit Babylon. Babylon! I wish I could put down in words the splendour and the atmosphere of the place. A little part of me wishes I was still travelling with the Doctor (especially that dishy Byronesque one!) so I could see sights like that more often. I kind of got swept away by the romance of the place and ended up in bed with a dishy academic from 1901. It felt so good to get that close to somebody else, even if just for a short period. It cleared my head and left me thinking perhaps Jason and I do have a future. Somehow it felt like cheating, in all the best ways.’

What’s it about? The People are one of the most technologically advanced races in the Universe - except in the area of time travel. Professor Bernice Summerfield has a time ring. So does her ex-husband Jason Kane. Trouble is, they're their wedding rings, and they won't work unless they're together. Benny is surprised when Jason turns up to visit her at St Oscar's, especially when she discovers that he has brought one of the People with him. She should have guessed that her good-for-nothing ex wasn't just interested in her company... Using the time rings, two People create a Time Path and travel back to ancient Babylon, taking an unwilling Jason with them. Benny has just 48 hours to find them and rescue her errant husband, before the People back in the 26th century send a singularity bomb to destroy the Path - and Babylon. But someone else has discovered the Path and walked to Babylon - Edwardian time-sensitive John Lafayette. And Benny discovers her mission has a complication that she never dreamed of - romance.

Archaeological Adventurer: A superb showcase for Bernice written by one female writer who captures her voice beautifully and adapted by another female writer who wrote possibly the greatest novel she appeared in (The Glass Prison). After she is visited by Jason (and before he realises he has tricked her again) she ruminates on why she snaps at him so much and how difficult it is to relax around him and she categorically states that he left her. She enjoys meeting fans. Hilariously Benny refused to buy water from a desert trader because he put an apostrophe in drinks! You can understand why the Doctor had the faith in her to entrust her with the time rings, she understands the laws of time and still obeys them – to the point of risking her life to prevent established history from being catastrophically shattered. Her romance with John Lafayette is one of the loveliest things in the first season and it is great to see a relationship between an enlightened 26th Century girl (‘Tell whoever you like, publish it in the Times!’) and a moral bound 19th Century prude. John thinks she is too young to have earned her position and offers her marriage after they have slept together! He doesn’t think that she is ruined but brave and resourceful and wants to protect her even if she thinks she doesn’t need it. There is a beautiful moment where she attempts to comfort him on his death bed which really highlights the strength of her feeling for him. She makes things happen and spends a lot of her time reacting. She admits she longs to explore more planets and that she has already seen more than she can remember. In a quiet but powerful moment she admits that if she can’t save Babylon she isn’t going to leave because she is scared of letting everyone down. Her story of being trapped on an alien planet, disabled, surviving, drinking dew and eating bugs and crawling back to camp day by day taught her to always be prepared to be cut off and helpless. Things always turn out okay when she is around.

  Lovable Loser: He is up to know good again, of course and is understandably described as an untrustworthy individual. He is a 20th Century guy who can charm Benny with ease and order her to her bedroom! He has terrific rapport with Joseph and I can’t wait to hear more from these two. I love how overtly theatrical he is when he tries to escape (‘Oh Benny! I love you! Woe is me!’) and if he had never admitted that he had slept with men as well I would start to wonder! The thought of Benny getting her rocks off with John makes him recoil with shock – perhaps he thought she would be pining after him forever. And yet he still flirts with Ninan’s slave regardless. He proves to be quite thoughtful in the latter half of this play, questioning Ninan’s idea of slavery and encouraging her to break tradition and forge her own path in the world. He admits it was worthwhile making the effort with Benny.

Great Ideas: The starting point for this novel/audio is really neat. The People and their rivals (The Time Lords) once had a terrible war (the Time Lords are making a habit of this!) and after the conflict they made a pact to not approach each others territory so two revolutionary People creating ruddy great time fissures and popping back into established history and mucking about threatens that treaty. Which gives Benny 48hrs to head back into ancient Babylon, find Jason, sort the People and get back. If not the (understandably frightened) People will toss a bomb down it to destroy it destroying a pivotal moment of history with it.

Standout Performance: One of the few men who hasn't let Benny down, John is portrayed sensitively by Barnaby Edwards. John is one of the few men who Bernice has had a dalliance with that is anywhere near worthy of her and that is all down to Edwards' performance. Elisabeth Sladen’s Ninan is a delight, one of those characters that comes along every now and again and manages to surprise you be being genuinely nice but not too twee. Her enthusiasm and lust of stories and adventures makes her very appealing and I love it when she locks horns with Jason and decides to leave the temple and help save Benny despite everything she has been taught to believe in. It is a scene that makes you want to punch the air with delight…in fact I think Benny does!
No matter how good Lis Sladen is the standout performer in this tale is Stephen Wickham as Joseph. I love Joseph with every fibre of my being, a friendly porter with an attitude problem! He has the cutest voice in the world, and that’s genuinely cute and not pass me the sick bucket cute and his observations and sarcasm just add to the charm (‘You can’t fool smart rope you know!’). I love the scene where he heals John, it is really sweet (‘B-b-be gentle with him…’) and you can see why they made him a regular later on. He just adds to the fun and uniqueness of the series.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘What would the Dean say if he knew I was entertaining two men in my private rooms?’ ‘Most probably gosh, she’s having a quiet weekend!’
‘Oh ha ha. Back in the 20th Century we believed sarcasm was the lowest form of wit. You obviously don’t subscribe to that in the 26th.’ ‘Oh no we believe that too so we reserve it for the lowest form of humanity.’
‘I touched Ms Summerfield and there was no explosion!’ ‘I won’t make the obvious joke.’

Audio Landscape: Babylon is brought to life with gusto to great effect; I cannot believe the confidence of this story when compared to the awkward execution of Beyond the Sun. There is a lovely burbling time fissure and when Benny leaps into it you can hear it curling around her as her voice distorts and echoes. When John emerges into Babylon there is a real sense of live action taking place around him with children laughing, horses trotting, chickens, whispering and a flowing river. Very nice. The party scenes really help generate an atmosphere with lots of laughter and merriment, drinking and great music. The market scenes suggest lots of movement, animals and aggressive daily activity. At the end of the story I felt as if I had taken a trip back to ancient Babylon and it was a magical as I ever imagined.

Musical Cues: The standout score from series one and that is some praise considering the efforts in Oh No It Isn’t and Birthright. There is an urgent piano melody that plays over Bernice’s initial trip back in the past and once again when John and Ninan plot to save Benny. Go and listen to the music where Benny and John find the snake…it really plants you into the scene! Then there is the wistful string work in the hanging gardens of Babylon that expresses the lustre and the beauty of the scene and the terrific party atmosphere on track 6 which plays continuously for about 6 minutes and got my bopping around the house! The end of disc one features some of the most filmic and storytelling music yet from Big Finish, very nice work indeed. John’s deathbed scene is transformed from something sweet and sickly to a moving character scene because of the haunting piano underscoring the moment. Finally the music the plays over Benny’s cliff falling story is tense and gripping. It is a fantastic score and Harvey Summers and his cohorts should be proud of creating such a feeling of wonder and emotion, it aids the play immeasurably.

Isn’t it Odd: That Kate Orman uses the same bloody ridiculous plot from Return of the Living Dad and taken it to another level of stupid. I just don’t buy that any character can be as daft or illogical as the People in this. In Living Dad we had Issac Summerfield attempting to cause a devastating war on Earth to up our defences and be ready for the Dalek Invasion that is eminent. Rather than, say, speaking with the authorities and warning them and suggesting ways of helping. Here we have two ridiculously naïve People who are opening time fissures so the Time Lords get cheesed off and attack their People again. And why? Because they want them to have a little humility! Because the People did not lose the last war they have become arrogant and to bring them down a peg or two they want another devastating war that they will lose to help them grow as People. Give me strength. Where does Orman get these ideas from? Whatever next? A group of extremists who want to show how vile the Nazi’s were so they form their own Nazi party and wipe out half the globe and say…see I told you so.
This tale is clearly character first and plotting second (which is Orman working to her strengths) so I’m not certain why it is framed within a race against time to save the world. We keep cutting back to one of the People at the other end of the fissure with his bomb ready to chuck down and blown them all to smithereens saying ‘No time left for you Bernice Summerfield’ and about 20 variations on that theme. Its no good having lots of lovely character moments on the one hand and this fella telling us to hurry along on the other…one cancels the other out!

Result: Emotional, evocative and easy on the ear, Walking to Babylon lives up to the promise of Oh No It Isn’t and proves that this series can emote as well as making us laugh. Gary Russell creates a place of wonder in Babylon going for a real historical epic feel and aided by a fantastic musical score and some authentic sound FX. Lisa Bowerman gets her teeth into a fine romance story for Benny where she gets to be the more powerful character to John’s weaker moral bound academic. I love their scenes together; they have a relaxed chemistry that makes their feelings toward each other very believable. Add to that the fabulous Lis Sladen being given a chance to step out of Sarah Jane Smith and play a great new character, the introduction of the priceless Joseph and another strong performance by Stephen Fewell and you have a dedicated and interesting cast bringing this story to life. If only Kate Orman could get this odd sense of martyrdom out of her head this could have been flawless but because of the idiotic behaviour of her villains Walking to Babylon is award a: 9/10

Re - Hanging gardens of Babylon!
Message Sent 2010 – sender Joe Ford
Recipient Bernice Summerfield 2594
‘Are you having a laugh with me? The hanging gardens of Babylon? And a handsome fuddy-duddy academic as well! Some girls get all the luck. I’m really happy to hear that things have picked up for you; your last email left me feeling quite anxious. The sights you must have seen, you make a normal guys life sound positively dull. I only have one question though…what happened to the chronokinetiscope? I don’t want my timeline radically altered so I grow several horns (I’m not the only one with a filthy mind!) and the ability to look at somebody and see how they die! Can’t wait for the next instalment.’

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/13-Bernice-Summerfield-Walking-To-Babylon