Big Finish Main Range
The Doctor and the newly revived Peri arrive at the College of Advanced Galactic Education for an award, which turns out will be given to him the following day. And within an hour or two he and Peri are in the thick of things deep in the bowels of the university medical wing, in an operating laboratory with the Rani. With walls that magna-lock, like the toys I presume. Thus the battle of wits begins, with the Rani (for once) not even revealing her plot yet the Doctor being able to figure it out. Naturally.
Ultimately this story depends on the humanity of the “aliens” involved in the experiments. It’s believable to a certain degree but then the science gets a bit weird towards the end and I just have to go along for the ride. Usually I can muddle through getting the gist of the concepts but sometimes, I just don’t quite get it. Plus there really aren’t very many people wandering the halls of this college. Is it during a break? The students seem to be taking exams and in the full swing of a semester (or whatever) so that can’t be it. The background noise is a bit lacking from the sound design point of view but perhaps British universities are just that quiet – I know American ones aren’t except at 3 am. So this is a very good story overall, just stuck with a few quiet and unbelievable things. I look forward to hearing Siobhan Redmond as the Rani again! Glad BF brought her back.
Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Siobhan Redmond (The Rani), Andrew Bone (Vice Chancellor), Becky Wright (Lizzo), Mike Noble (Miklev), Charlie Morton (Reev)
Writer: Justin Richards
Director: Ken Bentley
Release: December 2014