We are back again in the company of the 6th Doctor and Evelyn (who we only left in 19th century Scotland two stories ago) as they pitch up on the Galapagos Islands at the same time as a certain Charles Darwin.  What then ensues is an ‘almost retread’ of Doctor Who and the Silurians, with a splash of Warriors of the Deep and a dash of the current series fondness for a celebrity historical  and for a Doctor who’s been setting a few things up prior to the story we are enjoying (although this was written and released long before the new series aired).

I use the phrase ‘almost retread’ with a hint of trepidation.  I don’t want people to think this is a carbon copy of …and the Silurians but have to admit that in many aspects, particularly at the start, it feels very much like aspects of the Malcolm Hulke original have been ‘borrowed’.  Dr Quinn is replaced by Governor Lawson; a local encounters the Silurians which brings forth terrible race memories; there is a ‘bad’ Silurian and a ‘good’ Silurian; the Silurians plan to release a virus to destroy the humans.  However, there is much more to this story which helps disguise the fact that these elements are copied a little too closely.

Most obvious is the presence of Charles Darwin.  Alongside the Beagle’s captain, Fitzroy, he forms a bond with the Doctor and Evelyn which is akin to that seen with Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare or Agatha Christie in the new series.  The two of them join forces and battle the Silurians and are performed superbly by Miles (Braxiatel) Richardson as Darwin and George Telfer as Fitzroy.  The running theme of ‘descent by modification’ and of how this adventure leads Darwin to forumulate the Origin of the Species is played out throughout the story, with Evelyn and the Doctor giving him the odd nudge in the right direction.  To be honest, it is written a little heavy handed for my taste.  I’m not 100% convinced by this story’s assertion that all human life on this planet is a result of Tulok’s (the evil Silurian scientist who is the villain of the piece) genetic experimentation.  It is quite a pill to swallow in terms, not only of the Doctor Who universe, but also in terms of real life.  I know real life and Doctor Who are separate entities, but rarely do I feel slightly uncomfortable with what the series is suggesting might be the ‘truth’.  It’s not like the Daleks emptying the Marie Celeste, or even Scaroth’s spaceship jump-starting life on Earth.  The Silurians made Homo Sapiens just seems a step too far.  Maybe its because I’m a Christian.  This story goes to great pains to show Darwin renouncing his faith because of his discoveries (not just of the fictional Silurians but also the real life flora and fauna of the islands).  It is interesting to note that, in later life, Darwin did not completely renounce religion and described himself as agnostic, rather than atheist, suggesting that after these events he actually took a far more balanced view of science vs religion.  Doctor Who writers don’t often go out of their way to denounce religion as hocus pocus and mumbo jumbo for the masses but just occasionally a story’s implications sit a little uncomfortably with me and Bloodtide’s central tenets is one example.

That aside though, I do rather enjoy this story.  The Silurians are one of my favourite returning monsters and Bloodtide does some good things with them.  Not least is the rehabilitation of the Myrka.  A horrifying sea monster like the Myrka is supposed to be, obviously works a billion times better on audio than it was ever going to on screen in the 1980s.  I’m not even sure it would be carried off convincingly in the new series.  However good the CGI can be, I can’t help feeling it would turn into a bit of a Lazarus Monster (a creation which never convinced me as ‘real’).  Voiced, partly by Rob Shearman, the Myrka in this story is huge (an adult, apparently) and audio allows the listener to modify the visual memory of Dobbin the Pantomime Sea Dragon into something far more terrifying.  And the Myrka kills Greta, so that’s good.

Greta, ah yes.  Jane Goddard, wife of Rob Shearman, popped up a lot in the early days of Big Finish – she’s the brilliance behind Keri Pakhar, a character from the Bernice Summerfield audios, and has done all sorts of roles here and there.  But her performance as Greta is terrible.  Her South American accent is horrendously over the top and she spends two episodes wailing and moaning about eMEEEELLLLLLEEEOOOOOHHHHH, her brother.  She dies sacrificing herself to the Myrka and, to be honest, when I came back to the audio a day later to listen to the second half, I completely forgot she was even in the story!

The rest of the performances, though, are pretty good.  Daniel Hogarth’s Tulok and, Big Finish regular, Helen Goldwyn’s Shvak – the two main Silurians, do well to give good performances buried, as they are, under voice distortion (a very good recreation of the original Silurian voices).  Julian Harries as Governor Lawson is a glorious baddie – noshing away on roast tortoise whilst sending local fishermen to their doom.  When he is abandoned by the Silurians, his pathetic response is a little chilling.

Colin Baker is on top form as the Doctor and this is also a good story for Evelyn, paired as she is with Darwin for much of the story.  It’s good to see her written properly here.  As a history lecturer it is believable she would have a fairly good knowledge of Darwin’s voyages on the Beagle (although him being a personal hero of hers seems a little odd – if she was a scientist it might be more feasible) and it shows how nonsensical it was for her to be completely ignorant of Burke and Hare in Medicinal Purposes.

The sound design is excellent.  Of particular note is the way the various Silurian sound effects have been recreated and I also like the touch of ‘kazoo’ in the incidental music.  The Myrka’s attack on the Beagle and the flashbacks to prehistorical times are absorbing and contrast with the light airiness of the early scenes of the Doctor and Evelyn exploring the island.  It really is a superb production and another good example of a story giving sense of time and place (although possibly more with the place, than the time).

Bloodtide is a good example of Big Finish making Doctor Who for the fans – a rehabilitated 6th Doctor, a fun companion, returning monsters and references to old stories.  Bloodtide isn’t revolutionary or stand-out but it is a solid adventure, comfortable to listen to and, relatively, traditional in its writing.