Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56735 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-30
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Come on!
It's great fun - don't bother listening to the last reviewer. The "New Adventure" feeling is there, of course, but for most of us, that's nothing short of a joy - finally hearing these characters as a trio come to life. Benny's great, Ace likewise, and the Seventh Doctor is every bit as dark and whimsical as he ought to be. The Scourge are not particularly memorable, fair enough, but they do the job. And the mixing of the mundane and the extraordinary (which, it has been said so many times, is something Dr Who does so well) is right at the heart of this story. Buy it and let yourself be absorbed by this TARDIS crew that never was. It's a treat.

The scourge of fairweather fans...
I am going to have to go with Dr Congo on this one - I feel that the first reviewer has far too high expectations and are themselves somewhat pretentious in their reviewing of this story. In the context of the rest of the Big Finish range of original audio adventures this comes out pretty well: True, the 'monsters' themselves are very bog-standard and the distortion effects used to create their voices start to grate very quickly. However, the adventure scores bonus points for its teaming-up of Benny and Ace; the two companions spark off each other really well and provide great support for The Doctor. Sylvester McCoy does what he does best - hams it up tremendously - it is easy to remember why his TV portrayal was not to everyone's taste but like Colin Baker before him he is better-served by the medium of radio and has gained a whole new lease of life thanks to Big Finish. The supporting cast provide good entertainment and The Doctor reveals a hitherto unknown interest in the art of 'cross-stitch!'
Overall the story has convincing effects, good acting and a storyline that, whilst not amazingly original, is easy to follow and fun to boot.

Oh my, what a disappointment!
Paul Cornell is one of the most lauded writers of Doctor Who fiction and created the character of Bernice Summerfield. This is her first Doctor-led audio and it should have been a triumph.

Unfortunately Paul Cornell is an extremely variable writer and sometimes produces some of the worst nonsense ever to be inflicted upon the Doctor Who mythos. His novels are full of continuity for nerds, idiotic extrapolations and a desperate desire to appear hip and trendy.

This audio recalls the original Virgin novels range that Cornell helped to kick off but it seems he thought he was actually writing a Virgin novel because this audio is difficult to follow, brazen, pointless and utterly out of character with both the characterisations of the main protagonists and one of the most boring storylines ever created. It's pompous, ridiculous and not worth your time.

Which is a shame because the actors give their all and Lisa Bowerman is the embodiment of Bernice Summerfield. Well,except for the always awkward cries of "Goddess!" with which the character has been saddled for twenty years. It always sounds false, it never has the impact or the strength it should possess and the reason she says it has never been explored.

The actors get the one star. Paul Cornell should stick to Casualty. I still have doubts about his 9th Doctor TV episode too, not in the characterisation and emotional content but in the sci-fi idea/time paradox that seems to propel it.

Paul Cornell: unjustly lauded. This audio: rightly forgotten.