| SEASONS OF FEAR by Paul Cornell |
| Story 30 Synopsis: Finally getting the TARDIS to Singapore, 1930, the Doctor is glad that Charley has finally kept her date with Alex Grayle. He is less glad to meet Alex's granddad, Sebastian, who tells the Doctor that they have met before; Seb is immortal, and he claims to have killed the Doctor, so that Earth may belong to his "masters". The Doctor spirits Charley back to the TARDIS, and they are soon in a Roman fort, 305AD. They meet Seb's ancestor, Decurian Grayli, who has made initial contact with his masters. He has set up a sacrifice, but the Doctor thwarts him. Moving forward to 1055AD, the Doctor and Charley find Grayle at the court of King Edward the Confessor and his Queen, Edith. Grayle has mined a shipment of plutonium, but with roayl help, the Doctor thwarts him again. Finally, the TARDIS lands in 1806AD, and Grayle is about to open the gateway to bring his "masters" to Earth. The Doctor cannot stop him in time, and they arrive. Grayle is working for the Nimon. By hijacking their travel sphere, the Doctor gets Charley to the TARDIS, but Grayle is there too. The Doctor gets thrown into the Vortex, and takes a Nimon with him. He finds his way back to 305AD, and alerts the Romans to the impending visitation, and how they can kill the beasts with weapons of pure iron. Charley uses the Fast Return switch to bring the TARDIS back to 305AD, and the later, changed Grayle meets his earlier self, who is horrified at what he has become. He kills the later Grayle, and the Romans beat the Nimon. The Doctor is confident that the timelines have been corrected, and that Grayle will not now go on to kill him. The TARDIS leaves, but a mysterious creature arrives in 1806AD, and despatches a couple that the Doctor & Charley met there. The creature says it is after the Doctor next. |
| Review:- Paul Cornell's swansong from Dr Who, and a very important tale in the current storyline. The Doctor spends most of the story in narration, and unlike earlier examples, we get a scene at the end where we find out he is narrating to a specific person, and with implications that will be learnt at a later stage. Although the many threats to the Doctor are slightly nullified by this, it plays with the expectation of him surviving anyway. After all, he starts the story under threat of death, then gets thrown out of the TARDIS (last seen in The Shadows Of Avalon, that trick), and attacked by swords and Nimon. But he still turns in a show-stealing turn. Charley manages to share the Doctor's punchlines, and yet remains tantalisingly unlikeable. Her attitude is at least constant, but she has a element of harshness. Her continuing pleas to bump Grayle off seem a rather vulgar affectaion, and I was waiting for some link with the sword. Well, I got that, but a different connection. Grayle is an excellent creation, slowly evolving as his immortality drives him mad. It hasn't put me off wanting it, but when the two selves meet in part 4, there is a clear sign that they are the same man, yet different. The fact that Grayle is played by a man who looks under 35 makes me all the more impressed. I was less impressed by Lennox Greaves and his wife, voicing King Edward the Confessor and his wife Edith, as they sounded too reminiscent of Mr Shaughnessy and what's-her-name from The Chimes Of Midnight. I know Big Finish re-use actors and actresses, and usually I don't notice. But I did this time. The Nimon are the big surprise package, and I for one didn't see them coming, despite DWM's review tipping them off. They are convincingly handled, echoing Alien Bodies' virtuoso efforts with the Krotons. Can't see them coming back, but it was nice. The time travelling aspect works, and the 3 settings are nicely chosen, and all the more appreciated for being unfamiliar haunts. Overall, a jolly good tale. Then, of course, the post-story saga. Who IS the Doctor talking to? Who IS the creature drawn by time disturbance, and what does she want? Why does she sound (and look) like Charley Pollard? The end is coming... |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |