Wednesday 3 August 2011

REVIEW: Doctor Who 149 - Robophobia

Seventh Doctor

Cast:

The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
Liv Chenka/Elicien - Nicola Walker
Farel - Toby Hadoke
Bas Pellico - William Hazell
Selerat - Nicholas Pegg
Cravnet - Dan Starkey
Tal Karus/SV10 - Matt Addis
Leebar/Computer Voice - John Dorney
Robots - Matt Addis, Nicholas Briggs, John Dorney, Toby Hadoke, Dan Starkey





Synopsis:

Nothing has ever been officially confirmed, but there is a rumour that on a Sandminer, bound for Kaldor City, the robots somehow turned homicidal and nearly wiped out the entire crew. Can that really be true?

The robot transport ship Lorelei has a cargo of over 157,000 robots on board, all deactivated. So even if there were any truth in the rumour of that massacre, there'd still be no danger. Surely, there wouldn't...

But then, the Doctor witnesses a murder.




Review:

Another Seventh Doctor episode, another one where he knows more than he's letting on which I always enjoy, and there's no companion either so it's just a Doctor showcase. This one is written by Nicholas Briggs, who in my opinion is the Steven Moffat of the Audio Series.

The Doctor does his usual not divulging information to people, but he seems to be enjoying watching everyone squirm a lot in this one, as they panic. Occasionally it felt he was being just a little bit too cryptic at times though. The pacing of the gradual plot revelations is good with a lot happening for you to digest making it a very interesting listen. It keeps you paying attention. The revelations leading into the second half are particularaly interesting.

The only misgiving I have is that the resolution isn't quite inspiring or convincing in its explanation but it's only a minor point. The story isn't quite one of his clever or epic offerings but is a solid episode nontheless.


Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Nicholas Briggs
Directed by: Nicholas Briggs
Produced by: Big Finish
Released: July 2011

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