Big Finish Audio drama, January 2005
hmmm. The Doctor is back from Auld Mortality and he’s wandering the universe, pursued by a Time Lord with a warrant called Zeuro. How appropriate. He manages to escape but loses all power for the TARDIS and is stranded with Sir Francis Drake in space. And Susan is traveling with him but she is sick, too.
So we travel along with him and slowly figure out what's going on. Susans galore are running around in the fourth episode and then there are these stones... Drake mines them from an asteroid in the belt in our solar system. This is the threat to Earth that could destroy it--these jewels that are alive. It's really unclear where they really came from but ultimately, it doesn't matter. But we're left with a feeling of "what's the point?" Greed causes the problem, greed and reckless spending on the part of Queen Elizabeth in this universe. But Drake just wants her attention and affection so he's willing to go to any lengths to get his queen her jewels.
It's a great little story but there are just a few odd things. The banter back and forth doesn't ever really solve things so it's a bit unsatisfactory. The riddle of Susan is neatly solved, leaving the door open for additional adventures, if they so desire. But the jewels? They follow the big jewel that was initially on Earth and led Fettiplace to the whole lot of them in the first place. But their home is the asteroids? Why did they con him into moving them from the asteroid belt? How can they have motivation?
The people part of this story is good but the bad guy alien is just kind of blah. So ultimately, just three jelloids for an intriguing tale of the high seas in space. Enlightenment, anyone? Minus Turlough, of course, and the guardians.
Geoffrey Bayldon (The Doctor), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Cameron Stewart (Francis Drake), Ian Hallard (Zeuro), Kate Brown (Queen Elizabeth)
writer: Marc Platt
director: John Ainsworth