An anthology of four tales on the theme of perception.
Breaking Bubbles by LM Myles
The Doctor and Peri find themselves in the palatial gardens of the deposed Empress Safira Valtris where nothing is ever quite what it seems.
Of Chaos Time The by Mark Ravenhill
Cast adrift in his own chronology, the Doctor must avert the consequences of a catastrophic experiment in using time as a weapon of war.
An Eye For Murder by Una McCormack
The year is 1939, and a case of poison pen letters at St Ursula’s College threatens to change the course of the Second World War. Fortunately thriller writer Miss Sarah Perry is on hand to investigate…
The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time by Nev Fountain
Michael is a young boy who likes to solve mysteries, such as the mystery of the extra gnome, the mystery of the absent father, and the mystery of the strange man in yellow trousers at the bottom of the garden.
About every 18 months, Big Finish has taken to doing a little anthology release. Usually it’s four stories, all with the same Doctor and same companion. This year we get the Sixth Doctor and Peri, and while the result isn’t perfect, it is quite good.
First we have “Breaking Bubbles”, which features one of those little moments we get from time to time where we’re reminded that Peri has an interest in botany. Without giving too much away, it’s basically a holodeck episode. Now that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a very interesting holodeck episode, and I’d really like to have a follow-up featuring the Empress character, since I feel there was a lot of story potential with her character. This is probably the strongest story in the set.
It is, sadly, followed by the weakest story which is “Of Chaos Time”. Here’s your basic timey-wimey story where the Doctor is stuck drifting around in time and experiencing various moments out of sequence. It’s an interesting concept that can work out ok, but in this story it just didn’t. I don’t know why. I think part of it is that the basic central conflict and setting aren’t all that engaging. That said, the Doctor’s inner monologue actually worked out a lot better in audio form than I might have expected it to.
Next we have “An Eye for Murder”. In this story, the Doctor and Peri find themselves at a women’s college in England on the day World War II starts. There’s a bit of spy stuff and an alien artifact. I could easily see this having been a two-part story back during the Sixth Doctor’s time on TV. As it stands, it works out well in audio form, though parts of it are a bit obvious and heavy-handed. I think this is another that could have been improved by being expanded out a bit.
Finally we have “The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time”. This is a story that could have easily backfired. It’s told primarily in the first person by a fourteen-year-old boy who is either a high-functioning autistic boy, or someone with Asperger’s. He talks about counting things, including his garden gnomes, which is why he knows when there’re 130 instead of 129. He also talks about “invisible rules” and how much he dislikes them. It’s a surprisingly touching story, and I really liked it and the character much more than I had expected to. It’s also the one story of the lot that feels perfect at the length that it is. Not too short, not too long.
As you can see, this is something of a grab-bag set, but if you want a good starting place for Big Finish, or just a good Six and Peri story, I do recommend this one. Quite good.
Written By: Mark Ravenhill, Una McCormack, LM Myles, Nev Fountain
Directed By: Nicholas Briggs
Cast
Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Jemma Churchill (Safira Valtris/Dr Maria Backhouse), Andy Secombe (Laris/Akros/Policeman), Allison McKenzie (Tondra/Dr Joan Dalton), Janet Henfrey (Dr Petherbridge), Jessica Knappett (Dr Ruth Horwitz), Paul Panting (Maylon/Geoff/Llangragen), Anjella Mackintosh (Standing/Olivia), Phil Mulryne (Trobe/Warma), Johnny Gibbon (Michael), Toby Fountain (Young Trobe)
Breaking Bubbles and Other Stories is available now from BigFinish.com and via the Amazon link below.
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