Big Finish audio drama, July and August 2007
The crazy stuff that all leads up to this episode with the headhunter really makes the headhunter subplot really, really LAME. Come on! She’s really just a headhunter for a company. Like in the standard, corporate sense! A bit disappointing, to be honest. But the rest of the story goes on like a treat. Office building that isn’t a building but a lovely large robot with guns.
I have to admit the melodramatic music takes a bit of punch out of the story. Annoys me, actually. Sheesh. At least the dramatic finish is really quite stunning as the Cybermen show up to ruin the party on Monsis. Doh! Bad news Doctor. Whoopsie. The confusion of the characters is a great way to make this story move on and the Doctor and Lucie have to investigate, to figure it all out. So it’s very intense and crazy right up to the ending.
Other than the disappointment of the headhunter, I really like this adventure. The cliffhanger was good though not a huge surprise as we know that it’s all building up to some big villain, whether we knew it was the Cybermen or not. The luck generator is a really cool idea, as is the robot office building. Sweet! I want one. I like that the Time Lords put it there to protect Karen, as they had the wrong person they were tracking in Lucie. At least the CIA was tracking the wrong person. And lied to her, too, telling her she saw something. Instead, she would become a world dictator based on her experiences. Yet Karen is a really boring person next to Lucie! They have fun together but Karen really doesn’t do anything other than her office duties, much like the other people in the office.
Even fighting off the invading Cybermen doesn’t make her shine above the rest. I am just not convinced that she is really important enough for the Time Lords to mess with. If she is, why not everyone else, like the Doctor? And where does it all stop? They don’t really go into this issue but it’s something that may be brought up later. Here’s hoping since the Time Lords profess to watch only. Yet meddle they do, even meddling with the Doctor and his TARDIS to do their dirty work (see No Place Like Home for an excellent example). But the adventure here is borderline 3 to 4 jelloids as the people are just doing their jobs but as part of a robot with weapons. And that headhunter thing just bugs me—they build it up all this time and that’s it? I laughed at first, then I was annoyed and remain so. But not enough to downgrade it to a 3 jelloid rating. Yet…
Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith
writer: Eddie Robson
director: Nicholas Briggs