The Time Machine.

1 episode, approx. 69 minutes.  Written by: Matt Fitton.  Directed by: John Ainsworth.  Produced by: John Ainsworth.  Performed by: Jenna Coleman, Michael Cochrane, Nicholas Briggs.

THE PLOT

"It was Saturday, 23rd of November 2013 - The day the human race discovered time travel..."

Alice Watson is an Oxford graduate student assisting Professor Chivers (Michael Cochrane) with the assembly of his greatest scientific achievement: A working time machine. But this is not the culmination of decades of research and experimentation. Instead, Chivers is assembling it piece by piece, following the intructions of a future version of himself who is sending the pieces back to him. Now the machine is complete... Which is when the Doctor arrives.

The Doctor knows something is very wrong, and as soon as he meets with Chivers he recognizes what it is. The time machine is not a new scientific breakthrough - It's a method of invasion. The Creevix, an insect-like species from another universe, are using the paradox created by the time machine to break through. They insist that the deed is already done, that their mastery of time is such that they already know every step the Doctor will take to try to stop them. But that won't stop the Doctor from making the attempt.

Except that his attempt that may well be the very deed that allows the Creevix access to our universe!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Reader Jenna Coleman does a terrific job conveying Matt Smith's vocal tics and mannerisms. This Doctor is a blur of constant motion, seemingly unable to remain still. Until he suddenly does stop, which makes the moments of stillness that much more effective for the contrast. A moment I particularly enjoyed comes near the very end, when a character who encountered the First Doctor in 1963 asks after Susan. The Doctor sidesteps the question, his evasiveness saying more than any direct statement could have done.

Alice: The one-shot companion for this story, a young woman who has deliberately shut out the world in favor of science. She doesn't appreciate fiction, and catches none of the allusions the Doctor drops to either popular culture or literature, not even the Alice in Wonderland references that she must surely have heard a thousand times while growing up. She is loyal to Professor Chivers - But from the instant she sees the Creevix and recognizes that the Doctor is telling the truth, she assists this virtual stranger without question, including some very critical help at the story's climax.


THOUGHTS

The Time Machine concludes the Big Finish/AudioGo Destiny of the Doctor series, and it does so in a suitably fast-paced and entertaining fashion. Like most of this range, the story very much captures the feel of its era. The Eleventh Doctor's characerization is spot-on, as is the structure of the story: Beginning in the middle of the action, with a Doctor who already knows much of what's going on, with a pace that barely pauses for breath.

As a story unto itself, this is a fairly standard alien invasion plotline with an effective twist in that the aliens are coming from another universe to completely devour ours, like locusts descending on a field of crops. This could have created a rather good horror story, if the narrative was willing to slow down to allow more build-up and if the story was willing to have at least one or two gruesome moments. Unfortunately, the Creevix are too generic to be particularly interesting, there are no particularly vivid moments, and these villains just never feel as formidable as both the story and the Doctor insist they are.

The ending binds together bits of all the previous Destiny of the Doctor stories, in a way that's possibly a little too much like many of Steven Moffat's payoff episodes: It's admittedly clever, but also a touch hollow. In a way, The Time Machine's greatest downfall is that it may be just a bit too much like the era it's replicating. The climax of the story basically consists of the Doctor smugly informing the Creevix that he rewrote some aspect or another of history - Like The Curse of Fatal Death, only played straight. It works as far as it goes... But anyone hoping for some more meaningful connection among the stories of this range is likely to come away disappointed.

I will say that The Time Machine moves along quickly, and benefits from a terrific reading by Jenna Coleman. But in the end, it just doesn't add up to much, with one of the weakest standalone plots of the Destiny of the Doctor range. As an individual story, it's OK, though no more than that; as a grand finale to an overall pretty solid Doctor Who range, it's a disappointment.


Overall Rating: 5/10.

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Death's Deal.

Not Yet Reviewed.

Night of the Whisper.

1 episode. Approx. 79 minutes. Written by: Cavan Scott and Mark Wright. Directed by: John Ainsworth. Produced by: John Ainsworth. Performed by: Nicholas Briggs, John Schwab.


THE PLOT

The Doctor, Rose, and Jack arrive in the colony of New Vegas, housed within an atmospheric bubble on an otherwise uninhabitable moon. New Vegas is the classic Las Vegas, only on steroids. It is crowded with casinos, and managed by crime bosses who barely conceal their activity. The most powerful of these is Cyrus Wolfsbane, who brags that he owns New Vegas and proves it by hosting the mayor at his private casino.

But someone has decided to clean up the corruption of this Gotham in space. A masked vigilante known as "The Whisper" is exacting a lethal brand of justice on the city's criminal population, hissing: "Justice will be served." Knowing that Wolfsbane is an inevitable target, the Doctor sends Rose undercover as a casino waitress.

When Rose witnesses (and barely escapes) a Whisper attack, the Doctor steps directly into the investigation, using his psychic paper to forge credentials as an outside investigator - much to the ire of Police Commissioner McNeil (John Schwab). But The Whisper is growing bolder and more violent, expanding his targets from gangland killers to petty criminals and even graffiti artists. As the death count rises, The Whisper's catch-phrase evolves to an even more chilling statement:

"Justice will be served - for all!"


CHARACTERS
The Doctor: When Nicholas Briggs was announced as reader for this story, many Doctor Who fans were disappointed that the reader wasn't one of the companion actors, or at least one of the major recurring actors. Once the release came out, however, the complaints died. This wasn't just because Briggs does a good job as reader (though he does) - It was because of how startlingly dead-on his Ninth Doctor is. Briggs captures Eccleston's vocal mannerisms and inflections, as well as the Northern accent, to deliver a Ninth Doctor that's only a small step removed from the real thing. Assuming future Ninth Doctor audiobooks, I cast my vote for Briggs as default narrator... And I doubt many who listened to Night of the Whisper would be inclined to argue with me.

Rose: Irritated at traveling through time and space only to end up working as a waitress at a seedy nightclub. A recurring beat in the story is that the Doctor had promised Rose the "trip of a lifetime," and that serving Kronkburgers and fries to gamblers and petty criminals doesn't exactly meet that standard. Rose continues to act as a humanizing influence on the Doctor, pulling him back from his rage at the actions of the individual responsible for the Whisper. In effect, her compassion reminds him of his own.

Capt. Jack Harkness: Is delighted to be in New Vegas, instantly thrilled by the prospect of the debauchery surrounding him. He's somewhat less thrilled at playing "star reporter" at a local publication, though he consoles himself with the many pretty girls (and boys) around him. The middle of the story shows his abilities as an investigator, as he unearths some vital backstory about Wolfsbane. His part of the story is cut short when he falls prey to his own Achilles' heel - a pretty face. Briggs' Jack is the weakest of his interpretations, so loudly American that no emotion or nuance is able to break through; John Schwab, as McNeil, actually sounds considerably closer to John Barrowman's Jack than Briggs does!


THOUGHTS

Night of the Whisper is a comic book story. Which isn't to say it isn't also very true to the Christopher Eccleston season of Doctor Who, with its rapid-fire pace and fallible, short-tempered Doctor. But it also incorporates many graphic novel trappings: A masked vigilante with apparent superpowers, an untouchable crime boss who is quite literally a walking and talking wolf (with a Russian accent!). It even takes place in a domed city on a moon and has one of the regulars going undercover as a star reporter. Suffice it to say, I'm sure I'm not the only one who envisioned some scene transitions occurring in comic book panels.

This works very well for the story. Writers Cavan Scott and Mark Wright have crafted a snappily-paced piece, moving between multiple large-scale action set pieces while still finding time to give each of the three regulars plenty to do. They invoke the iconography of comic books at every turn, but it never ceases to feel like a proper Doctor Who story at the same time. The action set pieces are perfectly executed for an audiobook: Described completely enough to be coherent, but economically enough to keep the momentum going. There's a hover-bike chase in the middle of the story that would be at home in a big budget sci-fi/action movie, save that it doesn't last so long as to wear out its welcome and that it actually advances the plot.

One of the story's biggest assets is that the writing is very visual. Scott and Wright bring the setting to life, so that you can tangibly see the casinos and back alleys; the dome of the city; the apartment in which one key scene occurs; the industrial area in which the climax unfolds. In the paragraph above, I almost wrote that the action scene happened in the middle of the "movie," because it unfolds like a film and it has the visual strength of one. Appropriate for a story that so heavily invokes a visual medium, when I think back on the scenes of the story what I see are pictures, not words or plot points.

There's little here to dislike.  Night of the Whisper adds one more story to the 9th Doctor's too-slender era, and does so in style. Breathlessly paced, with some terrific action scenes and a good feel for its era, this is definitely well worth the listen.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

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Enemy Aliens.

1 episode. Approx. 60 minutes. Written by: Alan Barnes. Directed by: John Ainsworth. Produced by: John Ainsworth. Performed by: India Fisher, Michael Maloney.


THE PLOT

The Doctor and Charley have just completed an exploit in 1935 England, one that has left Charley exhausted... and, for reasons never fully disclosed, dressed in a Russian uniform. All she wants is a short break, a chance to catch her breath before their next adventure.

That isn't to be. No sooner has she sat down then the Doctor receives a message from his 11th incarnation. Heavy static makes it hard to distinguish what his future self is asking, but two things come through clearly. There is a plot involving "enemy aliens" at the exact time and place the 8th Doctor is currently visiting; and the key to whatever's going on is "William Tell."

Charley is put in mind of Rossini's William Tell Overture, the sprightly and easily stuck-in-the-head piece that would become inextricably linked to The Lone Ranger. But when the Doctor sees a bill showing a "memory man" named William Tell, reciting obscure facts at a music hall, he thinks he has found a lead. When Mr. Tell delivers facts the Doctor knows to be false, he's certain that he's on the right track. He stands up and demands to know about the enemy aliens.

A flustered Tell cannot help himself. He starts to answer, providing clues that lead to a quay in Scotland. But before he can say too much, William Tell is shot dead. In the confusion, the gun is planted on Charley - leaving her running for her life in the company of the affable Hilary Hammond (Michael Maloney), pursued by the police and still none the wiser about the enemy aliens, whose invasion is imminent...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: In his energetic 8th persona, he sees little reason for a break between adventures and appears genuinely puzzled at Charley's desire for some down time. With only a vague message that basically amounts to the words "William Tell," his way of trying to find his goal is to simply wander around and keep his eyes and ears open until something develops - which, inevitably, it does. When police are closing in on them on a train, and there is only one hiding spot available, the Doctor insists Charley hide while he jumps, and he is genuinely surprised that Charley doesn't expect to find him alive later.

Charley: Now aware that she should have died in the crash of the R101, and feels somewhat disconnected from life as a result. This leads her to seriously consider Hilary's offer of marriage. Even though he's a total stranger, he seems a decent sort; in a time only a few years removed from her own, a marriage to him might be "her way back" to life. She ultimately turns him down, because she can't bring herself to marry a man she has no feelings for. Which makes it all the more revealing that she borrows Hilary's reasoning to try to maneuver the Doctor into a marriage of convenience just a few minutes later. When the Doctor almost kisses her out of enthusiasm, Charley moves her head to deflect him. As she observes, she knows he doesn't mean anything by the gesture - and therein lies the problem.


THOUGHTS

The most notable single feature of Enemy Aliens is its choice of companion. All other audios in the Destiny of the Doctor range featured companions from the television series. For the Eighth Doctor, this was not possible; he'd only had one television outing (this was before The Night of the Doctor, in which he was a solo traveler anyway), and there were significant rights issues involved in using characters unique to The TV Movie. Meaning that, for the only time in this anniversary range, they had to use a Doctor/companion team created for another medium.

Using Charley Pollard, in a story set during the second Eighth Doctor audio "season," was an ideal choice. The first two Eighth Doctor seasons represented a return to performed Doctor Who that actually moved the series forward. The Big Finish stories allowed McGann to put his own stamp on the role, his performance informing the development of his Doctor on audio. Before the announcement of the new series in 2003, the first two Eighth Doctor/Charley seasons effectively were new Who. As such, they were exciting - particularly that second season, when the storytelling became more challenging and ambitious, and the characters really came into their own.

Writer Alan Barnes knows this Doctor/Companion team well. He introduced Charley and the audio 8th Doctor alike in Storm Warning, and had a heavy hand in the development of both characters and their various arcs. As such, it's no surprise that Barnes recaptures Charley's characterization seamlessly. Though many stories of the Destiny of the Doctor range have gone for a third person omniscient viewpoint, with many scenes from the Doctor's viewpoint, this story is written effectively as a third person Companion Chronicle. Charley is present for every scene, and only a few stray lines diverge from her viewpoint.

The story heavily references Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, from the use of a music hall memory man to Charley being paired with a stranger as she is hunted by the police - and even in the identities of the ultimate villains. Even the year the story in which the story is set is a reference: 1935, the year The 39 Steps was released. None of which stops this from being thoroughly engaging on its own merits - but listeners familiar with the Hitchcock classic will gain an extra smile or two of appreciation.

Enemy Aliens is unremarkable, but it is consistently enjoyable and effortlessly likable, spotlighting a Doctor/Companion team that is always good company. Not a "must-hear," perhaps, but still a good 60 minutes' entertainment.

Overall Rating: 7/10.


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Shockwave.

1 episode. Approx. 63 minutes. Written by: James Swallow. Directed by: John Ainsworth. Produced by: John Ainsworth. Performed by: Sophie Aldred, Ian Brooker.

THE PLOT

The Doctor takes Ace to Tarsus Six, a colony world in the midst of an emergency evacuation. The star system's sun, Tarsus Ultra, is collapsing - releasing temporal energy that renders the hyperdrive of the fleeing ships useless. It does the same to the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor and his companion committed to their course of action all the way to its end.

Impersonating Earth officials, the Doctor secures passage for himself and Ace on the Obscura, a giant space liner captained by the dutiful Oh-One (Ian Brooker). The Obscura is the last ship to leave, carrying the final mass of escaping colonists. The Doctor lends his aid to the escape, but that isn't his real reason for bringing them here. As he tells Ace, he is here to "break into a bank vault," a secured storage container that holds the Voice of Stone, a Gallifreyan artifact whose only confirmed position in Time and Space is aboard the Obscura during this flight.

The Doctor is able to break into the vault easily enough, with Ace's assistance in distracting security. But what he finds is the case for the Voice of Stone - already opened, and already empty. The time travelers barely have a chance to absorb this before the Obscura's engines fail. There is a saboteur on board - Ninejay, a girl who was transmatted on board at the final moment by Ace herself!

CHARACTERS

The Doctor: This incarnation of the Doctor is more comfortable with deception than most of his predecessors. Captain Oh-One is a good man, and the Doctor recognizes him as such right away, but he only admits (some of) the truth to him when he is left with no other choice. In this case, this Doctor's closed nature likely complicates his task, as his deception alienates Oh-One and makes him and Ace into suspects when honesty might have avoided both complications. He takes a while to admit the truth to Ace, as well, a pointless deception that only serves to leave her in the dark until the last possible moment.  In the obligatory Eleventh Doctor cameo, his future self rather amusingly chides him to "be nicer to Ace."

Ace: Writer James Swallow centers his story very much on her. She clearly loves traveling with the Doctor, drinking in how different each day is from the next. She also takes on board the things he says to her, even when she doesn't seem to. Early in the story, she tries to convince the Seekers, a cult that believes they will be transformed by the shockwave into pure energy, to escape on the Obscura. The Doctor tells her that they can't force their will onto others - words Ace later echoes to Ninejay to convince her that her sabotage of the Obscura was wrong.

THOUGHTS

Shockwave is another solid, engaging story in the reliably solid, engaging Destiny of the Doctor range. It isn't the best of the range (both the 5th and 6th Doctor stories were better, in my opinion), but it is entertaining, a well-structured story that is very well-told.

James Swallow's writing captures the characters of the Seventh Doctor and Ace perfectly, and Sophie Aldred's reading is excellent. She slows down and lets us summon up in our minds the awesome spectacle of the shockwave, then speeds up when narrating an action scene involving Ace dodging security drones while the Doctor breaks into a vault. She clearly differentiates her voices: one for the narration, one for Ace's dialogue, and one for Ninejay (though it should be said that her Ninejay voice sounds suspiciously similar to Luna Lovegood's in the Harry Potter movies). I remain unsold on her Seventh Doctor voice, but it's at least good enough to avoid harming the story. A pity Sylvester McCoy couldn't have lent his own voice to the Doctor's dialogue, though.

The story is well-constructed and well-paced. The opening scenes, of the chaotic evacuation of Tarsus Six, grab the listener's attention right off the bat. The situation is established briskly, as the Doctor secures a place for himself, Ace, and the TARDIS aboard the Obscura, then makes himself useful during the ship's escape. Ace's rescue of Ninejay provides the story's complication, and we can tell as soon as Ace lets her aboard that this will lead to trouble.

With the situation established, the Doctor throws his curve ball: The reason he and Ace are here to begin with. Focus then shifts to trying to retrieve the Voice of Stone. Both plots come together as the time travelers are arrested by Oh-One, who feels betrayed at the Doctor's deception, only to learn that the ship has now been sabotaged by the same person who stole the artifact. The story's ultimate solution can be seen coming, but it works well enough to be a satisfying wrap-up... Though it is somewhat oversold in an epilogue that tilts ever so slightly toward melodrama.

Despite a few niggles with that epilogue, the story kept me entertained throughout its briskly-paced, 63-minute run. Definitely a good one, if well short of being a great one.

Overall Rating: 7/10.

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Trouble in Paradise.

1 episode. Approx. 75 minutes. Written by: Nev Fountain. Directed by: John Ainsworth. Produced by: John Ainsworth. Performed by: Nicola Bryant, Cameron Stewart.


THE PLOT

The Sixth Doctor receives a message from his Eleventh incarnation, telling him that he needs to collect an omniparadox, a space-time event caused by the collision of time, and store its energy in the TARDIS, or else the universe will cease to exist. The Doctor follows his future self's directions and materializes in the hold of the Santa Maria, the lead ship of explorer Christopher Columbus (Cameron Stewart)'s famous expedition. It is 1492, and Columbus has just discovered the West Indies.

Columbus mistakes the Doctor and Peri for island natives... That is, until Peri falls overboard and a storm appears that signals the end of the universe. When the Doctor is able to stave off the storm using equipment from the TARDIS, Columbus realizes that he is far more than some strange medicine man. But when Columbus realizes that the Doctor is an explorer whose voyages make his expeditions pale into nothingness, he resolves to put an end to this imagined competition in the most final way possible: By killing the Doctor!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Any Sixth Doctor audio that doesn't feature Colin Baker is going to struggle against that. Nicola Bryant is game, but her Sixth Doctor never feels like the real thing (oddly, her Eleventh Doctor is bang on). Fortunately, the script does a solid job bringing the Doctor to life. He's excited at the thought of meeting Christopher Columbus, a notable figure in world history - but he quickly recognizes that the man Columbus is a far cry from the myth. He remains protective of his companion, feeling desolate when he fears she may be lost at one point... But once reunited with Peri, he can't help but get some digs in about how a goat makes a perfect substitute for her. Points to the script for the very funny image of the Doctor holding up a goat that has swallowed the TARDIS key and using the animal to unlock the time ship.

Peri: About a third of the way through the story, her brain falls out. There's no other explanation for her petulant temper tantrum when the Doctor balks at the thought of curing a man with a disease that should be incurable in 1492. She doesn't just try to persuade him to ignore the Web of Time - She has an absolute meltdown, screaming at him about how he would let her die for not being important. Um, how many times has he saved your life now, Peri? Including once at the cost of his previous life? I understand that the demands of the plot require the loss of the TARDIS key and Peri being separated from the Doctor. But this entire argument is too shrill to convince, even for this most fractious of TARDIS teams. Later in the story, Peri reflects that she had only intended to make a point and that things simply got out of hand... But that feels like a weak attempt to paper over a bit that the writer knows doesn't actually work.

Christopher Columbus: A complete prat: Egotistical, avaricious, and arguably sociopathic... All of which lines up entirely too well with most historical accounts. At one point early in the story, Peri recites some specifics of Columbus' brutal treatment of the natives - a list which barely scratches the ugly surface. Cameron Stewart voices him with an affected accent, emphasizing his arrogance. This might make him into a comedy character, except that he maintains his blase manner even when threatening to cut off the Doctor's hands or when resolving to kill the Doctor. That this almost comedic speech style is undisturbed when contemplating torture and murder tips him from funny to frightening, and is well-played by both script and actor.


THOUGHTS

Trouble in Paradise is a Nev Fountain story. Those who have heard Omega, Peri and the Piscon Paradox, and - most particularly - The Kingmaker will have a good idea of what to expect: Sharp wit, clever plot turns, and iconoclastic treatment of significant figures.

The figure here is Christopher Columbus. At this point, enough is very publicly available about his darker deeds that those adults who still insist on viewing him as a Great Hero are doing so out of willful blindness. Fountain's script takes care to point out that even by the standards of his day, some of his acts were considered appalling by the government that sponsored him. Suffice it to say, those who cling to a schoolboy view of The Great Christopher Columbus are unlikely to enjoy this story at all.

For everyone else, this is a fast-paced, entertaining story. Fountain incorporates the two-voice format of the Destiny of the Doctor range into his story structure. The main body of the story is read by Nicola Bryant, with Cameron Stewart performing the roles of Columbus and the Bovin, the alien of the week. But every major story beat is separated by an entry from Columbus' diary, in which the explorer gives his very egocentric view of the unfolding events. The diary entries are the source of much of the story's humor, as Columbus invariably puts events within the context of what will be best for his reputation or self-preservation.

The story's weakness is that, after the plot moves from Columbus' ship to the island, it loses some of its early texture.  Columbus' ship is brought to life in a way that the island simply isn't.  The story compensates for this with an audacious (and quite funny) final Act that sees multiple versions of the time-traveling Bovin confronting itself while the hapless Columbus looks on. Even so, the island scenes have a generic feeling that is a disappointment after the strong shipbound ones.

This, coupled with the weak characterization of Peri, keeps this from matching the best of the Destiny of the Doctor range. Still, it's a fast-paced, clever, and engaging story, one that's well worth a listen.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

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Smoke and Mirrors.

1 episode. Approx. 67 minutes. Written by: Steve Lyons. Produced by: John Ainsworth. Directed by: John Ainsworth. Performed by: Janet Fielding, Tim Beckmann.


THE PLOT

The Doctor answers a summons from an old friend: Harry Houdini (Tim Beckmann), the legendary escape artist. Houdini has called the Doctor to an English fairground in the 1920's to investigate a fortune teller he suspects is using alien technology to simulate a connection to the spirit world.

It's all rather routine, and the Doctor and his companions have few concerns about breaking into the fair at night to search the fortune teller's tiny booth. But there's far more afoot than a simple charlatan with a dodgy crystal ball. An old enemy has laid a trap - and the Doctor has walked right into it!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Enjoys the fairground atmosphere, and is dismayed by Nyssa and Adric wondering "what's the point" of the carousel, particularly when they are bewildered when he tells them the point is to have fun. Though he appears to walk blithely into the trap that's been set for him, he does sense that something's amiss and takes a few sensible precautions - such as having his companions wait outside as a lookout while he and Harry go into the fortune teller's tent. He likes Houdini personally... but he's not blind to his friend's faults, and never shows the same open trust in him that he does in his actual traveling companions.

Adric: His overbearing tendencies are on full display as the story opens. He scoffs at Tegan for not seeing how a fortune teller is able to guess so much about her ("Isn't it obvious?" he sneers at her), and makes a show of being unimpressed by Houdini. His virtues are also shown, however, as he uses his mathematical skills to figure out the trick behind a "ghost show" at a critical moment. When Tegan is able to save him with some quick thinking, he is genuinely surprised - indicating that he thinks of the loudest of the group as stupid, or at least less intelligent than himself.

Tegan: Adric may be surprised at Tegan thinking quickly (and well), but that's because he's too wrapped up in himself to pay attention. Tegan's acerbic asides are frequently observant, such as when she acidly asks how the Doctor can get them to the 1920's fairground so easily when he can't manage to get her to Heathrow Airport. She's star-struck by Houdini, and her complaints ease off considerably once she meets him. Her basic loyalty to her friends is shown multiple times: When Nyssa is under hypnosis, she knows exactly what appeal to make to get her to shake it off, if only temporarily; she doesn't hesitate to run into a dangerous situation to rescue Adric; and she is the first to step forward to help the Doctor at the story's climax. 

Nyssa: Gets the least to do of the regulars, but she doesn't get wholly forgotten. Her closeness with Tegan doesn't stop her from trying to restrain her friend's impulsive streak, with several moments that see her trying to get Tegan to think before she acts (mostly without success). She is the first of the group to fall under the villain's spell, though not so completely that she isn't able to break free when ordered to kill her friends.


THOUGHTS

Smoke and Mirrors, the 5th Doctor entry in the 50th anniversary "Destiny of the Doctor" series, is a Season 19 story. This is no bad thing - As readers of my reviews have likely noted, I rate that season very highly overall. But this period of the show does come with the burden of three companions, which tended to end up being one companion too many on television.

Writer Steve Lyons makes that potential burden into an asset. It's obvious that he knows this Doctor Who era well, and he has a wonderful grasp of the characters. Not only does he give each of them something to do - He tailors his script to the characters' strengths. Nyssa is rational but a bit hesitant to act; Adric's overbearing traits are there, but he is also able to puzzle out things that the others might miss; and Tegan is quick to act, rash but willing to step in when the others might hang back. The dynamic between the three didn't always (or even often) work on television, but Lyons makes splendid use of them here.

The story is well-structured and marvelously paced. It starts out small and inconsequential. When Houdini reveals that he's called the Doctor here to investigate a fortune teller, you half-expect the Doctor to snap at him for such a trivial summons (It's lucky for Houdini that he ended up with the 5th Doctor instead of the 4th or 6th). But as soon as the group breaks into the fairgrounds at night, Lyons' script and Big Finish's excellent production introduce disconcerting elements. It's all too deserted and too quiet, making us very aware that something sinister is lying in wait. Then, once the reveal is made at the midpoint, it moves like lightning and doesn't let up. 

Janet Fielding's reading is largely excellent. Her narration is well-judged, and her speaking voice for the narration is noticeably more subdued than her "Tegan" voice, making it very clear when she's shifting from narration to dialogue. She effortlessly recaptures her Season 19 Tegan persona, and also channels Sarah Sutton's Nyssa with startling accuracy. She doesn't attempt to imitate the Doctor or Adric, which is probably a good choice, but she does deliver their lines with the appropriate emotions and attitudes to reflect their characters.

Overall, I was impressed with Smoke and Mirrors. Like all the "Destiny of the Doctor" stories to date, it feels right at home within its era. But the superb pace, clever structure, and near-perfect balancing of the regulars combine to make this a cut above most of this anniversary audio series. 


Overall Rating: 8/10.


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