Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #282934 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-30
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Nothing to do with Mr Spock!
Another great historical story from Big Finish; this is what they do best and Fires of Vulcan is no exception. McCoy is on song and Langford is a revelation; after watching Trial of a Timelord recently I actually thought she was better on TV than I remembered, and she is great here: Brimming with enthusiasm (but not in an annoying stagey way), positive whilst The Doctor is uncharacteristically negative, and generally holding things together throughout the story. I heartily recommend this one.

The re-evaluation of Melanie Bush begins
"Two thousand years ago, a cataclysmic volcanic eruption wiped the Roman city of Pompeii from the face of he 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. With time running out, they fight to escape from the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. But how can they succeed when history itself is working against them?"

Who'd have thought that Bonnie Langford's Mel could ever be anything but an annoying screamer? But with The Fires of Vulcan, writer Steve Lyons achieves the remarkable - he writes a well-conceived story in which Mel stays true to character but doesn't scream once. It makes you realise how badly put together much of Season 24 really was while the series was still running on television. Instead, Mel becomes a plucky soul who refuses to give up even when a depressed Doctor believes them to be doomed. At the end of the day, it's due to Mel's tenacity that the duo manage to escape Mount Vesuvius without being buried in the pyroclastic explosion.
Astonishing transformation of Mel aside, The Fires of Vulcan is an enjoyable Hartnell-style historical with a variety of suitably decadent but also human characters. Apart from the rather pointless addition of the gladiator Murranus, the characters and performances all hit the right notes (with the best support coming from Gemma Bissix as the slave girl Aglae). The portrayal of Pompeii as a thriving Roman city is interesting to hear and there is, as ever, excellent and atmospheric sound design and a decent score.
Historicals can be dull, but The Fires of Vulcan keeps the listener interested and to hear Mel as she should have been written is refreshing.

This play has restored my faith in Doctor Who audio
This is everything a good a Doctor Who should be. It was riveting and enjoyable from beginning to end. Time passed swiftly as I listened (in stark contrast to 'Dust Breeding' which I would not recommend). The characterisations were good; Sylvester was very reminiscent of his t.v. persona and Mel (thankfully) was very different and very good. It was also very atmospheric throughout and the incidental music was appropriate and evocative. It even had a strong educational aspect as per the original (long forgotton) tv remit. Heartily recommended.