Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #210406 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-07
• Released on: 2002-05-06
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Audiobook
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio CD

Synopsis
Further dramatized adventures of the time-travelling Doctor Who, this time in the murky world of pirates and hidden treasure.

Customer Reviews

Definitely needs a second listen!
After listening to Brian Hayles' "The Smugglers", I found my head spinning and was left generally confused as to everything that had just happened. That's not to say that the experience wasn't enjoyable - it was - but with a quite exceptionally large cast of supporting characters, all male and many with very similar voices, even after four episodes I'm unsure who certain characters were and what side they were on.
This complexity and duplicity is half the point of the story in a way. As with many (but not all) of these missing story audio recordings, it's a real shame that the visual cues are no longer available to help the viewer / listener understand the events that are taking place. Whilst I seldom have any difficulty understanding the new audios by Big Finish Productions, the same cannot always be said of the 1960s stories, which were of course not originally made for presentation solely on audio.
None the less, the production is enjoyable, with decent sound design for the era and helpful but sparse narration by Anneke Wills. Within the story, Anneke Wills and Michael Craze are a breath of fresh air as out-of-their-depth 1960s everyman and everywoman Ben and Polly, and come across more effectively than previous companions Steven and Dodo. I can see now why Ben and Polly were popular companions and how they managed to carry the viewers over through the Doctor's first regeneration (imminent at this stage in the Doctor Who chronology). Both sound natural and there is real chemistry between them, even on audio.
The guest cast are also effective, but once again I found their voices very similar and some of their names unmemorable. As the story plunged into the chaos between the smugglers, the pirates and the revenue man with his militia, I couldn't remember where the character of Jacob Kewper had come from, or who exactly the treacherous Cherub really was. For me, at least, "The Smugglers" definitely needs a second listen.

time travelling fun
well this is certainly a fun romp through time with the doctor, and for the first doctor one of the best historical ones. As far as historical accurracy of the time though I would doubt it potrays much more than a popular fictional view but good fun nonetheless (interestingly I think the locals would have been speaking cornish not english at the time. It is also very nicely packaged without any dated feel. good fun stuff.

Dr Who and the Smugglers
Excellent Audio Book. Anneke does the linking materials well. I never really liked the historical stories (purely preferred monster stories), but this and a couple of others (Reign of terror and the Highlanders) are making me revise my opinions. I think this my favourite 'Who' historical Stories. The Doctor usually is not allowed to change history, but in this story you feel he actually doing something rather than just passing through some historical events as he does in the Romans, the Aztecs, and The Crusades etc. The story is beautifully set in Cornwell and has action packed climax. If you want to buy one historical Dr. Who, try this one.