Product Description

Visiting the English seaside town of Cromer in the summer of 1932, the Doctor happens upon the strange world of the Cromer Palace of Curios. The young Ernestina Scott is unusually beguiled by one of the museum's exhibits, and when the Doctor befriends her, they unwittingly embark upon a terrifying escapade. Chased by animated dolls through a nightmarish model house, the Doctor realises he is being hunted by a familiar enemy. The unmistakable sound of hornets is in the air, and they are keen to speak to him. Overseeing this game of cat and mouse is the Palace of Curios' curator - a certain Mrs Wibbsey...With Tom Baker as the Doctor, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Clare Corbett as Ernestina, and Christian Rodska as the Reverend Small, "The Dead Shoes" is the second of five linked stories written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7617 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-08
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Funny, macabre, bonkers and brilliant
The second installment of Tom Baker's 5 story return as the Doctor is a step up in quality from the first episode, which itself was hugely enjoyable, although it did feel a little awkward in places and Baker took a while to settle back into a role that he hadn't played properly for nearly 30 years. Here, however, he sounds much more like the Doctor we know, and throws himself whole-heartedly into the action. Baker really sounds like he's enjoying himself here, and gives a wonderful performance, much more like the fourth Doctor, and less like the Tom Baker, Little Britain narrator he often came across as in the first story. It helps greatly that the story itself is a much better one, with more great characters than part one had, a great setting, excellent performances from the other actors, and a fantastically strange, bizarre and macabre storyline. It also benefits from giving the Doctor a companion of sorts for this story, as Baker's Doctor has someone to bounce off like he did in the old series, the character just doesn't work very well when he's on his own. Also, the balance between spoken narration and audio drama is more even in this installment, about 50% narration and 50% audio drama.
Richard Franklin's Mike Yates has, unfortunately, very little to do here, appearing just at the beginning and at the end, although this does help as there is no intrusions throughout the story, as there was in the first part, with the Doctor breaking off mid way through his 'tale' to speak with him.
I enjoyed the first story, but I found this one to be better by far. Baker is clearly having a whale of a time and really has found his feet in the role again after a slightly shaky start, and the bigger story arc is starting to become more clear and intriguing, as plot threads start to become more apparent.
The Dead Shoes is one of the best Dr Who audio dramas I've heard for some time, and I can't wait for the next chapter....The Circus of Doom! Wonderful stuff.

Full-on, fruity Who
The first installment of Hornet's Nest seemed a bit creaky to me. This second episode however is a quite a big step up, being a vivid and satisfying fantasy set at the seaside in the 1920s. It features supernatural ballet, killer dolls and possession by alien insects.

There are more characters in the volume and there are more interactions between them. The Doctor forms a lively partnership with a young dancer Ernestina Stott (played nicely straight by Clare Corbett); it is revealed just how and why the Doctor's future housekeeper, Mrs Wibesey, came to take up her post; and Christian Rodska's Reverend Small is a beautifully tipsy contributor. Crucially, the overall direction of the story is becoming clear; the Doctor has embarked on an episodic journey backwards in time towards the point when the hornets first met him.

The writer seems to like using fairy tales and their trappings for his stories. It works pretty well here where The Red Shoes are not too surreptitiously translated into The Dead Shoes (dismembered feet and all). There are never any real surprises in the story because of it's derivation; the satisfaction depends on the success of the writer transporting the Doctor into a fantasy world and then the conversion of that world - by his presence - into a 'real' one.

My favourite moment in the whole episode is a something-and-nothing moment; the Doctor's three, soft-repeated "Oh"s in answer to Mike Yates' questioning. To anyone steeped in late 1970s Doctor Who, it's a startling moment; an absolutely archetypal utterance from the 4th Doctor - and Tom Baker is fully the 4th Doctor here. The increased amount of 'live action' gives the story more of the spontaneous, dancing feel of a Tom Baker tale; it's full of the whimsy, contrariness, alarm and bombast that one expects from his character.

It is lovely to have this greatest of Doctors back and in a format which suits his creator so well. Bravo!

Highly recommended! The saga continues. . .
The disc starts with a helpful "The story so far. . ." recap before launching into an intriguing, (and just plain batty), tale of dancers, dolls' houses, piers, hornets and Tom Baker's Doctor at an unrestrained best.

The 'Hornet's Nest' series got off to a poor start as they were advertised as plays; they are not. They are effectively multi-voiced talking books, far more reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes story where the Doctor (Tom Baker) narrates a tale to Cpt Mike Yates, (the excellent and highly welcome Richard Franklin); in this episode they are in holed up in the cellar of the Doctor's cottage whilst upstairs. . .

I don't want to give away any details as, for me, the pleasure of having the chance to have another adventure with Tom Baker's Doctor is the whole point of these releases and I wouldn't want to spoil anyone else's enjoyment.

I will say that I highly recommend this title and suggest listening in a comfy chair with a box of violet creams and a glass of cream sherry.