Peri (confused): A Time Lord! But that means ... No, you can’t be!
The Rani (satisfied): So you do know me, after all! I knew you would. Spit it out, girl! I can see it’s on the tip of your tongue!
Peri (in horrified realisation): The Rani!
Peri and the Rani, The Rani Elite

It is a little ironic that the release of The Rani Elite occurred only a month after the broadcast of Dark Water/Death in Heaven, the two-part finale in Doctor Who’s most recent TV series. The revelation that Missy was a female incarnation of the Master invited vast debate in online forums by fans, with some decrying the Master’s gender swap and others praising it. Those who opposed it in particular bemoaned that it would have been more “logical” if Missy had been another former Time Lady nemesis the Rani, particularly as the uploading of dying minds into the Nethersphere was apparently more in tune with the Rani’s modus operandi.

Realistically, there was never any chance that Missy would have been the Rani. This is because the Master is the most well known foe after the Daleks and the Cybermen to audiences of the modern series. If Missy had been the Rani, the modern audience’s reaction would have been “Who?” or “Huh”? As much as long-term fans may dislike this answer, it’s really as simple as that. The Rani featured in two stories in the latter years of the classic TV series – not least in an era when the show was in decline and maligned by the BBC, the audience and some fans alike. She certainly didn’t leave such a lasting impression that she deserved to be Missy. (Yes, the Rani has been in plenty of other Doctor Who spin-off fiction over the years and even the 30th anniversary short Dimensions in Time but again that’s not enough of a CV to impress a modern viewing audience!) There are plenty of other Time Ladies, notably Romana and Susan, who could have also been just as entitled to be Missy if the Doctor Who production team hadn’t been bold enough to make her the Master’s latest incarnation.

Fans of the Rani will simply have to settle for The Rani Elite as a consolation prize. The one thing in this story’s favour is that Big Finish has finally revived the character for audio; indeed, after 15 years of holding the Doctor Who licence, it’s surprising Big Finish never brought the Rani back sooner. Siobhan Redmond, best known for television work such as The Bill, Between the Lines and Holby City, has succeeded the late Kate O’Mara in the part (she is only the second actor to play the Rani, albeit the third Scot to play a Time Lord/Lady in the last year, after Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor and Michelle Gomez’s Mistress). It is also fitting that to herald the renegade Time Lady’s return to the Doctor Who universe, she is pitted against the original TARDIS team that she fought in 1985’s The Mark of the Rani: the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant).

In The Rani Elite, the Doctor and Peri answer an invitation to the CAGE – the College of Advanced Galactic Education – where the Doctor is to receive an honorary degree in moral philosophy that even he’s not certain about but he anticipates is “well deserved!” Deliberately arriving a day before the ceremony, it isn’t long before they discover that someone is conducting unethical medical experiments on some of the CAGE’s brightest students, in the process substantially altering their personalities. It soon becomes clear that the galaxy’s foremost authority in moral philosophy Professor Baxton isn’t whom she seems and her plans for the Doctor are not as benevolent as an honorary degree.

While the premise I’ve described is actually quite intriguing, it is dependent on the listener knowing as little as possible about the story for it to be effective. Unfortunately, it is all too predictable from the start because we know from the title that the story features the Rani; further, there was much publicity about the character’s revival and Redmond’s casting from Big Finish five months before the serial’s release. As a result, any opportunity for genuine surprise or twists is lost. Imagine how more effective the story would have been if it had a less revealing title and Redmond’s casting had been kept secret (she could have been credited simply as Professor Baxton on the CD sleeve) until the episode one cliffhanger. This would have been genuinely surprising for listeners and made the story far more engaging. The problem with knowing about the Rani in advance is that you’re then second-guessing exactly what her latest scheme is (and in this reviewer’s case, it didn’t take a lot of guesswork at all).

By comparison, Big Finish should have taken a leaf out of the book for one of its earliest Doctor Who releases over a decade back. The 2001 serial Dust Breeding marked the return of Geoffrey Beevers as the Master with little prior fanfare, making it a genuine, astonishing twist for long-term fans upon the first listening. To this day, it still remains one of Big Finish’s masterstrokes and brilliant cliffhangers. The only announcement at the time of that release which seemed significant was that Beevers was a guest in the story with his late wife Caroline John, presumably as a new character. To have revealed that Beevers would have been playing the Master would have ruined the tale – and the experience of not knowing who the villain was.

As a result, by revealing its trump card so early, The Rani Elite also lacks a major twist to the plot. In the two previous releases – The Widow’s Assassin and Masters of Earth – there were at least some unpredictable turning points to the tales that kept them ticking along and maintained the listener’s flagging interest. The Rani Elite is largely run of the mill from the moment the Rani reveals herself at the episode one cliffhanger, as the major characters get caught, escape, get recaptured and escape again.

U
Rather ironically for those fans that would have preferred Michelle Gomez had played the Rani on television, the Rani’s agenda (spoilers!) is eerily similar to Missy’s and certainly consistent with her grand plan in 1987’s Time and the Rani. It doesn’t matter that the Sixth Doctor is effectively encountering the regenerated Rani out of chronological order (for the Rani, these events occur post-Time and the Rani) because while we know the Doctor himself isn’t specifically threatened, Peri’s fate, occurring as it does after her muddled departure on television, is now much more open-ended. Indeed, for a while, you are left seriously wondering if Peri is still destined for a tragic end. After all, in this loose trilogy of Sixth Doctor adventures, Peri has been subjected to no small amount of repression by unconnected malevolent forces. In The Widow’s Assassin, we learnt she spent five years under the thrall of a mind parasite whilst Queen of the Krontep, and in Masters of Earth, upon her first trip back in the TARDIS, she was infected by a Varga plant and started to undergo a physical transformation into a Varga herself. In The Rani Elite, Peri finds herself again subjected to mind manipulation, a prospect that naturally terrifies her after the events of 1986’s The Trial of a Time Lord, and Nicola Bryant convincingly portrays that terror.

Once again, Big Finish’s sound effects and a strong cast help to paper over some of the cracks in Justin Richards’ script. Siobhan Redmond does Kate O’Mara’s memory justice in her portrayal of the Rani, faithfully continuing O’Mara’s original rendition of a highly intelligent, ruthless, amoral and calculating scientist with a superiority complex. In fact, were it not for the Scots lilt in Redmond’s voice, her portrayal would be almost indistinguishable from O’Mara’s performance.

Redmond’s interpretation is also a vastly different one to that of Gomez’s Missy – the Rani has none of the Master/Mistress’ megalomania and vindictiveness, she is simply cunning and matter-of-fact. She is a scientist that is dedicated to seeing the results of her experiments through to the end, whether by fair or foul means. She doesn’t necessarily enjoy killing or inflicting pain but she’s not squeamish about either, as she clearly demonstrates over the course of the story.

Colin Baker’s Doctor, of course, is the perfect sparring partner for Redmond’s Rani, someone that is at least her equal on an intellectual level (the Rani, of course, considers herself the Doctor’s superior, resorting to the insult of “Double Gamma” to make her point!). Baker, as ever, delivers a commanding performance but, as in Masters of Earth, injects plenty of humour into the dialogue too, eg:

The Doctor (to the Rani): And it’s a good job I did turn up early!
Peri: In time to thwart your plans!
The Rani: Thwart my plans? You must be a devotee of the cheapest forms of melodrama!
The Doctor: Forgive her, she’s American!

The younger members of the cast also deliver strong performances throughout the story. Becky Wright delivers a fearful, sympathetic turn in the first episode as Lizzo, one of the students at the heart of the Rani’s unethical medical experiments, while Charlie Morton (Reev) provides a slimy underling for the Rani and Mike Noble (Miklev) able back-up/moral support for the Doctor and Peri.

Ultimately, The Rani Elite, while full of promise, is a “by the numbers” Doctor Who tale. It is not only a weak serial in its own right but also the weakest link in a trilogy of Sixth Doctor stories in the last three months that have all been of mixed quality. All the serials have had some good ideas to recommend them but the stories have often been found wanting. This is a pity, as Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant have been fantastic in all of them but there hasn’t been enough character development between the Doctor and Peri that reflects their rekindled friendship after the traumatic events of The Trial of a Time Lord. The return of the Rani also under-delivers in its promise but there is certainly potential for the character to be reused and for Siobhan Redmond to stamp her authority on the part. Another round between the Rani and the Doctor and Peri, as well as encounters with other Doctors, ought not to be out of the question but Big Finish needs to conceive stories that will make the villain’s future appearances memorable and exciting for the listeners. In other words, more focus on the scripts, and less attention to the publicity.

 

Big Finish have done a sterling job of recreating and complementing eras of classic Doctor Who over the years, be it new full cast adventures for classic TARDIS teams or the more stripped back Companion Chronicles and Lost Stories, often using the medium of audio to expand the scope and defeat the on-screen budget issues of the TV series. Often these tales are respectful riffs on a bygone era that go off in different directions, or shade in character development of the type that you’d see in the modern series. Perhaps it's the version of Classic Who you think you remember.

The Romance of Crime is different. Skilfully adapted by John Dorney from Gareth Roberts’ classic Missing Adventures novel (Scarily, twenty years old this month, where does the time go?), and reuniting the Fourth Doctor, Romana II, and K9 for the first time since 1980, it goes one better. It's not just a strong evocation, or a clever riff on an old idea. It is Classic Doctor Who. It’s as if someone taped Doctor Who on Betamax in 1979 but the picture on the ancient tape was lost to drop-out, leaving the soundtrack intact. Roberts has a particularly strong affinity for this era - this story forms part of a box set with Dorney's dramatisation of another of his classic novels, The English Way of Death.

The story itself could be a period script by Douglas Adams or David Fisher, directed by Michael Hayes. It has an artfully Dudley Simpson-esque score from Howard Carter, a strong cast of supervillains, ne'er do-wells, preening artists, and inept detectives. The dialogue both zings and sings. Basically, The Romance of Crime would be on to a winner even if presented as a more modest audiobook. However, Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, and John Leeson, with solid support from Michael Troughton and Miranda Raison make this something extra special. 

This particular TARDIS crew has never reconvened before for TV or audio, for perhaps obvious reasons considering Baker and Ward were once married - but here they are, exuberant as ever, and sounding like they've stepped straight out of Season Seventeen. That spirit of '79 chemistry is still there, and Roberts' story both captures them to a tee and gives them all good material to get stuck into. Tom, in particular sounds like he's having an absolute blast. Any script that can pull off a scene where the villain captures the Doctor and tortures him whilst explaining the entire plot is doing something right.

The plot deals with shady goings on at the Rock of Judgement, an asteroid-based prison. The TARDIS arrives just as vengeful super-being Xais is resurrected and all hell breaks loose, with cockney gangsters and dim Ogrons thrown into the mix. Miranda Raison is excellent in the dual roles of Xais and Margo, the unfortunate officer on the Rock that Xais possesses. Xais is a well-drawn villain, played by Raison with strong hints of Eldrad from The Hand of Fear. She's psychotic, with the rather nasty power to crush people to death with telekinesis, but is given a tragic backstory and a good reason to hate 'normals'. Elsewhere, Michael Troughton as cowardly artist Menlove Stokes comes very close to stealing the show in his scenes with Romana. The strong cast is rounded out by Marcus Garvey as hopeless, yet totally self-absorbed gumshoe Frank Spiggot, Graham Seed as the scheming Pyerpoint - and writer John Dorney, doubling up here as an Ogron and one of the Kray-esque Nisbett brothers.

Crime of the century. Go get it.

“But it doesn’t happen that way ... The Daleks don’t get wiped out – not yet anyway! I was there when their schemes unravelled, when the people of Earth walked free ...”

The Doctor, Masters of Earth

Much like the previous release of The Widow’s Assassin – which carried a lot of baggage from the TV series about the eventual fate of Peri Brown – Masters of Earth is heavily influenced by a vintage Doctor Who serial that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary – The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

The 1964 serial marked a seminal moment in the series’ then short history – it not only resurrected a menace that had captured the imagination of a generation of young children only a year earlier but it was also the first time Doctor Who brought an alien threat close to home. The sight of the Daleks in the deserted streets of London and trundling around famous landmarks like Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament undoubtedly left a haunting mark on the collective memory – and would create a template for later production teams to bring more alien threats to modern day locations. Many people over the years when they fondly talk about The Dalek Invasion of Earth have unconsciously channelled Jon Pertwee’s later remark that it is far more frightening to confront a Yeti on the loo in Tooting Bec than on a far flung planet.

However, barring the many iconic moments that the serial evoked in the viewers of the time and long-term fans of the TV series, The Dalek Invasion of Earth isn’t an especially great story. In fact, by modern day standards, the serial suffers from sluggish storytelling and padding (it could have been told in four episodes, not six), extremely clunky production values (not least the Daleks themselves, their pet Slyther and some of the unconvincing miniatures!) and some cringe-worthy acting from the wooden Robomen. Yet, in spite of all these shortcomings, the serial has had an enduring legacy. In addition to inspiring the second colour Peter Cushing film in 1966, The Dalek Invasion of Earth over the years has been revisited in plenty of Doctor Who spin-off fiction, some average, some awful and some jaw-droppingly extraordinary, notably  Nick Briggs’ two-part Lucie Miller/To the Death in 2011 for Big Finish. But I’ll come back to that one later ...

Masters of Earth therefore can’t really stake any claim to being a wholly original spin-off/prequel to The Dalek Invasion of Earth. But then again, the production doesn’t strive to be original – it’s plainly an unashamed love letter not only to the original 1964 serial but indeed to a majority of the 1960s Dalek tales (even the title is inspired by the famous boast a Dalek made in the TV serial). Much effort is made within the production to emphasise that the Daleks of Masters are the same models featured in the original serial (both evident on the sleeve artwork and Peri’s own description of the metal meanies in dialogue when she notices the satellite dish arrays mounted to their backs). The extermination soundbite also mimics their 1960s guns, not the more familiar sound effect of the modern TV series. Throw in the Slyther (the 1960s equivalent of the Silurians’ Myrka!), Varga plants (from The Dalek Masterplan) and elite squads of Robomen, plus a cross-country scenario that channels Terry Nation’s later apocalyptic drama Survivors, and you have the perfect makings of a staple Dalek serial that Nation could easily have cooked up in five minutes (Nation was notorious for rehashing a lot of his scripts in the 1960s and ‘70s).

For the most part, Mark Wright and Cavan Scott’s script is a rather dull Dalek story told with some atmosphere, in a similar vein to the source material that inspired it. It’s an odd mesh of 1960s Doctor Who capped off with a 1980s flavour that is embodied by Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant’s Peri Brown. The serial is for the most part sluggish and very much a run-around story until the episode three cliffhanger. Only in the final episode does the dramatic tension go up several Dalek rels – listeners are presented with an innovative, exciting variation on an old theme that takes cues not just from the original 1964 serial but from modern Who’s Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel two-parter and even James Cameron’s original Terminator film. The Daleks even perish in a fashion that is more 1980s Who than 1960s – the death toll would make ‘80s script editor Eric Saward proud!

The problem is this surprise plotline almost feels tacked on – like an afterthought (although there are hints about some characters and their motives throughout the broader serial, it is not evident on a first listening). It also leaves more questions than answers for the listener (to elaborate in this review would unfortunately mean lots of spoilers!). Wright and Scott have a brilliant idea but don’t afford themselves enough time to wrap up the serial satisfactorily and convincingly.

The production itself makes up for some of the script’s shortcomings; Big Finish as usual excels itself in the sound design department. Nick Briggs – the Dalek Prime himself – not only lends his voice talents to the creatures for the umpteenth time but also directs the story and composes the music while sound designer Martin Montague does an exceptional job with natural, everyday sounds (eg seaside birdsong, wind, motorcycle engines, other motors) and manufactured fantasy noise (eg the whirring of a Dalek as it travels through a corridor, the traditional “heartbeat” of Dalek machinery, the rustling of the Varga plants and the elephantine roars of the Slyther). As a result, there is plenty of atmosphere at various points of the story, especially when the Doctor, Peri and the supporting cast are treading through what turns out to be a Varga plantation and later on a trawler on the North Sea when they are attacked Kraken-style by the Slyther (plural).

The cast is also impressive, given most of the characters are underdeveloped and quite two-dimensional (although this is deliberate for some characters in the first three episodes). Given the story is set in Scotland, the supporting cast are, of course, Scottish. However, while there has been a strong effort on the parts of the writers and the performers not to resort to stereotypes, inevitably some of the characterisation and dialogue does border on type, eg Brian McCardie’s portrayal of Alan Weir. Tracy Wiles, on the other hand, brings attitude and spirit to the story as Moira Brody, a hero of the human resistance whose exploits will inspire other rebels to eventually overthrow the Daleks. The character with the most promise that is the most horribly underused is Kyle Inskip, played by Hugh Ross. Given how outstanding Ross has been as civil servant Sir Toby Kinsella in the Doctor Who audio spin-off series Counter-Measures, it’s almost criminal how small his role is in the narrative. If the writers had been more imaginative, Inskip could have provided a great foil for Colin Baker’s Doctor.

Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are, of course, on-song as the Doctor and Peri. In their one and only Dalek story on television (Revelation of the Daleks, 1985), they were bit players in the overall narrative. In Masters of Earth, while the Doctor and Peri cannot interfere in what is essentially a fixed point in time, they are very much part of the action and more often than not at the forefront of events. To again emphasise what an almost traditional 1960s-style tale this is, the duo in many ways fulfil the roles of the First Doctor and his companions in many purely historical tales of the same period – arriving at points in time that they know they cannot alter but inevitably getting caught up in those events, no matter how hard they try to avoid them.

The portrayal of the Doctor and Peri in this tale – occurring shortly after Peri rejoins the Doctor in his travels – is much warmer and affectionate than it was on TV in 1985. Bryant delivers a confident, mature and courageous performance as Peri who isn’t afraid to stand up to the Doctor when she has to, but she still displays her vulnerable side. No sooner is the young woman coming to terms with her sense of self after five years in the thrall of an alien mind parasite than she finds her will again put to the test when she is stung by a Varga plant. Baker clearly also enjoys the opportunity to work with Bryant again, particularly in scenes when they spar over some of the Doctor’s more questionable actions. 

Baker’s Doctor maintains much of the warmth and good humour that the character has developed over the last 15 years of Big Finish but he is never lacking in moments when he has to express steel in his voice or disgust and horror at the Daleks’ and other antagonists’ actions. Perhaps a little too much, Baker also lets his enthusiasm for teasing the Daleks show through. “Oh dear, it’s all going a bit Dalek-shaped, isn’t it?” is definitely one of his funnier quips!

Masters of Earth is entertaining in parts and compelling in others but mostly for three quarters of the story it’s just plain dull. While a tale that honoured the golden anniversary of The Dalek Invasion of Earth may have seemed a good idea in script meetings at Big Finish, Masters of Earth is almost a dull retread of the original story. Even when the tale finally starts to get interesting, the listener’s enthusiasm is cut short simply because the narrative runs out of time. While Doctor Who fans are likely to persevere through it, it’s hard to imagine a casual listener would dedicate that much effort and would probably run out of patience before the critical turning point in episode three.

Indeed, for a more profound and action-packed spin-off to The Dalek Invasion of Earth, then fans should instead listen to the aforementioned two-part Lucie Miller/To the Death. That audio tale is a more dramatic take on the original 1964 serial and shows that the Doctor and his companions are not invulnerable and that there are real consequences to fighting the Daleks, something that Masters of Earth barely touches on. Masters is a footnote by comparison, a Dalek “greatest hits” album that doesn’t quite pay off for the listener.

 

 

Effectively held hostage by a long-forgotten enemy of the Doctor, the TARDIS crew must try and stop a major distortion in the time vortex itself. Being a Time Lord should give the long-lived hero a sporting chance, but will he go to the extent of sacrificing any number of his fellow travellers?

Any story opening with the panel 'The End' would be lacking something were it not to take a head-scratching premise and run riot with it. Doctor Who of the 21st century has offered numerous 'timey-wimey affairs' - especially with incumbent showrunner Steven Moffat. This story gives the great man a run for his money, and uses the particular comic format to wonderful effect. Every panel of this story has something to offer, and the layout of reverse chronology and back again offers notable re-readability, which is quite unusual for most comic book stories.

The Eleventh Doctor is truly in charge here, but at the same time very keen to make sure that his companions offer a helping hand. Of the three of them it is perhaps somewhat surprising which one provides the best and most dramatic way of confusing the villain. I will not disclose exactly who is involved in making life difficult for do-gooders, but can say that we have another nod back to Classic Doctor Who - akin to 12th Doctor effort 'The Swords of Kali'.

A lot of the dialogue is on the money this month. There are quite a few speeches and bits of exposition that may have been a bit over-done were this to be more conventional a tale. Yet with so much material demanding multiple viewings, a bit of excess is justified. And as the frantic task to unbend the convolutions of chaotic cause-and-effect take centre stage, there is still some very engaging characterisation which lets the reader know some inner feelings and beliefs that the regular protagonists harbour.

Alice and ARC are both very well-done companions that offer interesting but very different qualities. The pastiche figure of Jones is to my mind perhaps a bit weaker in realisation, but still fulfills plot requirements comfortably. There is also some real suspense over just who will be left standing out of this quartet. Without spoiling the storyline, it would appear the worst does happen - but it's lasting effects seem to be minimal. What could have been a big weakness instead amounts to both a justified reset button and a definite progression for the TARDIS crew.

Although I enjoyed Boo Cook's contribution visually in the previous two issues, the return of Simon Fraser is certainly not unwelcome. And he clearly knows how to best use his style to tell such a dynamic story. In addition to dialogue, Rob Williams' writing in general is consistently engaging; managing to make this adventure stand up as a solo piece for the more casual sci-fi or comic aficionado. Somewhat of a relief is the lack of any overt 'SERVEYOUinc' story arc threads, which allows for this issue's villain to stand on his own balletic feet.

In summary, with fizzy dialogue that reflects the sheer zaniness of events, along with simultaneously gripping and carefree plot mechanics, this is a must-read. It will both satisfy fans of this Titan series, and convert those somewhat more sceptical about Doctor Who's suitability for this medium. I was perhaps not too impressed with earlier one-offs starring the Eleventh Doctor, but this holds up as a work of art which rivals the crème de la crème of visual storytelling.

** Bonus comedy strips: AJ's 'Ice Cold' sees the apparent return of an alien that has both helped and hindered the Doctor during his many lives. A sneaky twist however provides a fine punchline.
'Bus Replacement TARDIS' from Marc Ellerby is a wonderfully irreverent effort and also appropriately set in snowy conditions. Amy and Rory struggle to cope with the climate and and an infuriatingly bubbly Doctor who fails to apologise for the change to their 'normal' travel and accommodation.

"Take your time, why don't you?..shoot the distinguished gentleman with the twinkle in his eye --or the raging monster that's about to rip him limb from limb?!" - The Doctor demanding to be rescued.

The villain roster goes from one supernatural entity to another in this new multi-part story. The Doctor and Clara are ushered through India's past and future in a bid to stop a form of vampire creature which has infiltrated the country's 'premier dynasty'. Originally a deliberate break from action was planned, but the Doctor had been hailed by a gentleman called 'Tiger' via the TARDIS phone. Tiger is a friend from long ago again needs some help. 'The Swords Of Kali' features a good handful of time zones and locations with the dramatic events having one TARDIS occupant stranded in 1825 and the other in 2314 trying somehow to reach them. 

There are echoes of the Jagaroth (from 1979 TV gem 'City of Death'), in that a supernatural family have helped mould and direct Mumbai's path from a tribal nation to a cutting-edge interstellar presence. There are other nostalgic details too: the Fourth Doctor's image is featured in a picture on a wall, and the Mona Lisa has once again been affected by the Doctor's actions. There is even a cameo from Leonardo Da Vinci (who was absent from that same Classic Series story). 
And for those only familiar with modern Who, the plot is worthy of 'Blink' and other 'timey wimey' TV installments; not letting up in pace, but thankfully avoiding being rushed. There are many strong original characters once again, but the stand-out is Rani Jhulka. She is a remarkably powerful and quick woman, who saves a couple from some thugs in the pre-credits section, and proceeds to infiltrate a fortress - where she meets up with one of the regulars. With a striking look, and a distinctive way of speaking, she is a much better realisation than Jenny from Series 4 tale 'The Doctor's Daughter'. 

Morrison's writing is again fluent and full of incident, but also offering engaging themes and strong characterization. Dave Taylor reprises his memorable artwork - with sterling support from colourist Luis Guerrero. Both the regulars and the guest characters are drawn with full life and emotive range, and the pages of this comic almost seem to turn of their own accord. Imagery and symbolism are strong too: the atmosphere generated by various sources of light and energy against the backdrop of night-time is inspired. For those readers living through wintry conditions this provides an added edge.
The villains and monsters involved are certainly not the run-off-the-mill stock which Doctor Who sometimes is guilty of, and there is real sense of jeopardy and high stakes. Again this clearly demonstrates how artist and writer are getting their combined vision across.

Much complex shifting from one time zone to the other is central to the plot. This could have been clumsy, but instead is handled well and only adds to a story filled with incident and excitement. The Twelfth Doctor is typically brusque; his portrayal keeping with continuity in that he is really struggling to relate with Clara. Furthermore he is arguably chillingly indifferent to a young woman's grieving for her murdered father. Yet the Doctor is still a hero and will gain retribution for the violence perpetrated by the vampires. One downside in all this packed excitement is that fans of the Clara character will see her being overshadowed by both the actual events and some of the new protagonists featured. Yet the theme of Series 8 is maintained with her well-intentioned efforts to make startled onlookers understand the Doctor's seeming apathy for the crisis unfolding. And with her left to cope with the crisis alone, perhaps the former 'Impossible Girl' will pull off something remarkable. 

** 
Bonus Humour Strips: 'Dark Water' (AJ/RF) advertises a specialist drink that is produced on a Cyberman dominated world. Somewhat disturbingly it reminds us of the dehumanising process that the Cybermen hinge on to multiply, and yet the tone is not muddled. 
'Planet of the Diners' (courtesy of Colin Bell and Neil Slorance) uses Doctor Who's time-travel element at its most frenetic, but still succeeds as a bit of an enjoyable diversion. The lack of noses on the faces of characters is perhaps odd, but otherwise this is colourful and convoluted fun.

“The thing is, Peri, I always go back ... for my friends. In time, I always go back ...”
The Doctor, The Widow’s Assassin

The Widow’s Assassin seeks to definitively address a question that has gone largely unanswered for nearly 30 years: What really happened to the Sixth Doctor’s erstwhile young American companion Perpugilliam Brown after their visit to Thoros-Beta?

When we last saw Peri (Nicola Bryant) on television in part eight of 1986’s epic, season-long serial The Trial of a Time Lord, it appeared that she had died on Thoros-Beta. In what must have been an even more confusing situation for the young woman, Peri had beforehand been seemingly betrayed and abandoned by the Doctor (Colin Baker). However, in what many fans nearly three decades on still consider a dreadful copout, it was later revealed that Peri’s life had been spared and she had become the queen of the Krontep warrior King Yrcanos. Even comforted by the knowledge Peri was still alive, it seems the Doctor never went back for her on-screen – or at least never attempted to reconcile with her.

Indeed, it has been left up to lots of spin-off and fan fiction over the years to speculate about Peri’s ultimate fate, sometimes ranging from the tragic to the absurd. Baker himself even had a go in his 1994 Doctor Who Magazine graphic novel The Age of Chaos. Writer Nev Fountain, best known for TV’s Dead Ringers and various other Doctor Who audio contributions for Big Finish, offered his own heartbreaking take on Peri in the Doctor Who Companion Chronicle Peri and the Piscon Paradox (2011). However, the most absurd theory came from Philip Martin, the scriptwriter of parts five to eight of Trial, who suggested in the 1989 novelisation of his script that rather than becoming a queen, Peri was safely returned to Earth and became Yrcanos’ manager on the US pro-wrestling circuit!

Now Fountain, who is actually married to Nicola Bryant, has had a go at definitively resolving Peri’s story (presumably with Bryant’s input) with The Widow’s Assassin. After nearly 30 years, has it been worth the wait, you may ask? And is it any better than some of the speculation that we’ve been served up over the years?

Fountain answers these questions by putting to us another: Yes, we know the fair maiden was ultimately rescued and became a queen – but was it ever truly that simple? On one level, Fountain’s tale is plausible, and he draws on the apparent fairy tale aspects of Peri’s fate to illustrate that perhaps it wasn’t all sweetness and wine after all (the opening monologue to the story is especially memorable). On the other hand, there are some elements of the story that just aren’t executed as well as they ought to be and really place a lot of blind faith in the listener’s conviction.

The tale start offs as a relatively straightforward murder mystery in a pseudo-mediaeval setting on Krontep. The Doctor arrives on the day of Peri’s wedding to Yrcanos to beg her forgiveness and to try to understand why she never waited for him on Thoros-Beta after he was whisked away to his trial. However, Peri has him promptly arrested and thrown into prison. Yrcanos is poisoned at his own wedding and dies a week later (fans who still cringe at Brian Blessed’s shouting nearly three decades on can breathe a huge sigh of relief – Yrcanos is only mentioned in dialogue and their sensitive ears are spared Blessed’s booming tones!). Five years later, Queen Peri pardons the Doctor and enlists him on a diplomatic mission to the planet Hurn to observe the suitors for the nuptials of its ruler Princess Dirani (Fiona Sheehan), only for the Time Lord to again fall foul of the law and be accused of regicide ...

The mediaeval flavour of The Widow’s Assassin gives the listener a story that is (much like Fountain’s period drama The Kingmaker) more farce than drama – or more Blackadder than Game of Thrones! It features many colourful, exaggerated characters with ridiculous and snobbish accents such as Baron Pteratrark (John Banks), Reverend Flitamus (Andrew Dickens) and Prince Harcross the Ever Patient (Glynn Sweet), as well as the distinctly Welsh working class intonations of the simply named Guard One and Guard Two (Dickens and Banks again), who fulfil similar roles to the fools of many Shakespearean epics. Indeed, the only no-nonsense character, apart from the Doctor and Peri, is the Queen’s head of security Constable Wolsey (Tim Chipping) – and even he is a genetically modified human-sheep hybrid! Apparently having four stomachs gives Wolsey an extra “gut feeling” when solving crimes!

The story also parodies fairy stories, particularly of the beautiful princess bagging her wonderful prince at the end of the story – although in the case of The Widow’s Curse, we discover that not all royal personages necessarily live happily ever after, nor they know true love either!

In addition to straddling the fairy tale, pseudo-mediaeval and murder mystery genres, The Widow’s Assassin to boot throws in a “wibbly, wobby, timey-wimey” element. This was a strong feature of Fountain’s Peri and the Piscon Paradox and also of The Kingmaker but the “timey-wimey” component in The Widow’s Assassin is subtler and requires not only a lot of exposition but an open mind on the listener’s part to make it credible (something that the author should make work of his own accord, not anticipate the listener to accept). It does, however, explain why the Doctor is supposedly content to spend time in prison rather than investigate Yrcanos’ murder.

While The Widow’s Assassin is mostly satirical, the cliffhanger to part two of this four-part serial takes the story in a more sinister and abstract direction from what you’re expecting and it ceases to be your conventional murder mystery. In fact, the story has a twist within a twist, completely overturning the usual assumptions we have had about Peri’s fate after life in the TARDIS and really testing the story’s plausibility and again the listener’s ability to suspend disbelief. Unfortunately, the antagonist, which is revealed to have as much of a personal connection to the Doctor as Peri herself, is “too grotesque to be real” (as the Sixth Doctor once said of another of his foes) – that is, the adversary is even more two-dimensional and underwhelming than intended (a fact not helped by the over-synthesised voice!). Fountain tries to be a little too clever with his script when he doesn’t need to be.

Nevertheless, the production itself is delivered with all the energy and enthusiasm that we have come to expect from the cast and crew of a BF audio production and, apart from sections which require a lot of ponderous exposition, the story is well paced and well performed by the cast. It is a credit to the likes of Chipping, Banks, Dickens and Sweet that they can deceive the ear with differing voices and inflections and create the impression that there are more actors involved in the production than there actually are. Indeed, all the actors, including the regulars, should be congratulated for fantastic voice work. Baker and Bryant even swap roles in the climactic stages of the story (Bryant’s portrayal of the Doctor is brilliant and Baker’s impersonation of Peri’s American accent is riotously funny!). Baker even lends his voice to other roles; the reason why makes sense as the story progresses (despite again testing the listener’s credulity) but you do not realise it is Baker’s voice until you sit through repeated listenings.

For the most part, The Widow’s Assassin is an entertaining, farcical romp with plenty of black humour but as a definitive resolution to Peri’s fate in the Doctor Who universe, it really should have been a more earnest, darker story – much like the Thoros-Beta story arc of the Trial season which inspired it in the first place. Indeed, you expect the story to be much darker after the great cliffhanger to part two; Fountain sets up what seems to be an intelligent, logical follow-on from events on television but then attempts to be too clever and fancy with it and expects far too much of the listener to accept some of his plot points and join the dots. Nevertheless, if you’re a fan of Peri Brown (and Nicola Bryant) and were always disappointed at the uncertainty of her departure, you will now be pleased that the character has effectively been given a new lease of life (pun not necessarily intended!) and that she may yet have more satisfactory closure in BF’s ongoing Doctor Who audio range than she did on television.