| THE FIRES OF VULCAN by Steve Lyons |
| Story 12 Synopsis: Pompeii, 79 AD. The TARDIS arrives, and the Doctor becomes melancholic after seeing Mount Vesuvius. Despite a premonition of doom, he and Mel visit the town centre, where Mel becomes caught up in a domestic dispute. The Doctor steals money from an ex-gladiator, Murranus, who vows revenge. It transpires that the Doctor believes this is the time where he will lose the TARDIS, and it will be buried under the lava of the erupting Vesuvius, before being dug up again in the 20th century. Hence, he and Mel are doomed to die. Mel helps a slave girl, Aglae, at the risk of her own life, and the Doctor faces Murranus in a gladiatorial arena. The eruption begins, and the Doctor and Mel manage to find each other again. With time running out, they make it into the TARDIS. After the lava has set around the edge of the police box shell, the Doctor pilots the craft into the future, where they await its discovery. Then, after time has caught up, they leave. |
| Review:- Steve Lyons had made a name in Doctor Who circles for some fine, funny and thought-rpovoking books. This was his first audio play for Big Finish (his 2nd being Colditz). It seemed that Steve was inspired by the idea of the Doctor turning up and "losing his TARDIS". This is my main problem with it. As an excuse to build a story on, it falls down by being so out-of-character for the Doctor to become so depressed. Surely he wouldn't just assume so quickly that he was doomed. Even so, wouldn't he fight to his last breath to avoid the 'inevitable'? Then there's the idea of stealing in a bar, which seems to be included to be sent up. Presumably if the Doctor were feeling jollier, he would have got away with it? Mel gets the better subplot, and goes a long way to establishing that she was a decent companion all the time, and that Bonnie Langford isn't the disaster many fans take her for. On the plus side, the 'trapped in time' gubbins only spoils the beginning and the end, the sound effects of the erupting Vesuvius make for quite affecting listening, and the chap playing Murranus steals the show, for me. I believe, in a rare example of me spotting an actor from another play, he also played Dr Holywell in Phantasmagoria, which makes his work here all the more impressive. Certainly the 3rd cliffhanger feels real. So, leaving aside the tricksy rubbish, this is a strong story. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |