The Everywhere Man

Today's post reviews yet more Big Finish Doctor Who audio plays.

Valhalla:   This is an old one which I picked up in the BF online sale. Marc Platt's 2007 story is most notable, I suppose, for the performance of Michelle "Missy" Gomez, with whom I once chatted in the Tron Bar in the 90s. She knew me from something I'd been acting in at the time.

The Seventh Doctor is trying to spend his retirement quietly on Callisto, the moon of Jupiter, but discovers monsters ( natch) at the heart of this dystopian society. I'm willing to bet these insect invaders were originally Macra- before RTD revived the hapless 60s crab-creatures in tv's Gridlock.

The first two episodes are very atmospheric and tense but the later scenes, where the heroes are transformed into termites, are bizarre and ludicrous. Platt also spoiled Cradle of the Snake with talking sheep- I wish a script editor could rein in his penchant for whimsy.  The late Susannah "Lara" York plays the termite queen. So, for suspense and successful world-building,  4/5 Talmars.

Mistfall: This is a sequel to 1980's Full Circle by its author, Andrew Smith and sees the descendants of the Starliner crew return to Alzarius. The Fifth Doctor and his very large crew - Tegan, Turlough and Middle-Aged Nyssa- re-enact the Fourth Doctor's adventure.

The Radiophonic soundtrack evokes the early 80s terrifically well.  Jemma "Kate Stewart" Redgrave guests as Decider Lana Merrion.
Despite BF's compulsion to provide sequels to every frickin' tv story ever made, this is a rollicking if very traditional adventure with rampaging Marshmen and ravenous Marsh Spiders.  4/5 Talmars

The Exxilons:  Another sequel, this time to 1974's Death to the Daleks.  the Fourth Doctor and Leela discover a Star Trek: Next Generation-style mission on a primitive planet. There's a twist about which party of characters are, in fact, the eponymous City Dwellers: I saw it coming but it is effective, nonetheless. Again the soundtrack excels, particularly in its evocation of the work of Carey Blyton.  I did get a little lost at the end when my focus drifted but ,despite the (again) rather vanilla premise, there is lots of attack and energy in the performances. 4/5

Finally, another handsomely presented box set. Who could have foreseen that BF would reunite Tom Baker and Lalla Ward? Here, BF dramatises two of the Virgin Missing Adventures range of novels by Gareth Roberts. He has, of course, subsequently written comic adventures for three tv Doctors: Tennant in The Shakespeare Code and The Unicorn and the Wasp; Smith in The Lodger and Closing Time and Capaldi in The Caretaker.

I first read The Romance of Crime in a chilly bedsit in Belmont Street in 1994. The plot revolves around an asteroid prison where a mutant criminal inmate is taking her revenge. That strand is a coy reference to the 1980 Dr. Who Annual but the meat of the story is devoted to parodies of the Kray Twins and Nineties Jimmy Nail cop vehicle Spender (bafflingly, a big BBC hit). I think there may even have been a Coronation Street joke in the original book.

So, it doesn't quite work as a novel since it attempts to pastiche the Douglas Adams era of the show while poking fun at 90s Lad Culture. On audio, it's mildly amusing but the second play is more successful- probably because it's the better book.( 3/5)

The English Way of Death has an almost identical premise however: a bodiless cosmic villain possesses humans in a scheme for universal domination. It's also a parody of tv's Mapp and Lucia but with flesh-eating zombies! It's really too gruesome for 1979's Season 17. English Way has recently been reprinted as part of this year's Historical Who novel series and is one of the best of the MA range. The audio dispenses with a couple of characters but is great fun to listen to. (5/5)

Coming soon: Paul McGann and the last instalment in the Dark Eyes saga.

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