2003, Special Release II
This is one of those truly fun and intense audio dramas, where the Doctor and Romana seem to wander all over the place but really, they don’t. Limits to the location, a bad guy who is after another bad guy in Salyavin, who is actually a good guy! It’s a mixed up list of characters yet it’s all very clear and the mysteries unravel at a nice pace, keeping me interested and wishing that Douglas Adams was still around to write a few more of these! Why haven’t they gotten someone like Harlan Ellison to write a Dr. Who audio drama? Too expensive, I bet. I read the screenplay to the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever and that definitely had more punch than what they showed on TV! But they really couldn’t do the edgier things back then, at least that was the theory. But Douglas Adams would be the comedic version of Mr. Ellison, I’d imagine! Good imagination, that. Hehehe.
The only complaint I really have about this story is that the TARDIS doesn’t participate much in this story. Not as her own thinking, doing things to oppose the villain, Skagra. I like the humans who assist in the story, Chris and Clare. Helpful and without being too obvious, asking the questions we need the answers to. Very covert. The Kraag are just the strong arms in this storyline. But as usual, the villain can’t really control the beings he creates. One of the downfalls of being the bad guy, I think! They really can’t cover all eventualities. Same thing happens to both the good and bad people in the world, I’d say! Excellent telling of the tale overall.
Paul McGann, Lalla Ward, and John Leeson
writer: Douglas Adams
director: Nicholas Pegg