Bernice Summerfield

#6.03. The Lost Museum ~ 10/10

◆ An Introduction

Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted that my favourite spin-off would be based around two characters from that God-awful ‘Key 2 Time’ trilogy. Back when I was uploading to the other site, I held the privilege of being the only person to have reviewed every episode of ‘Graceless’, for about two years.

My journey through that range really made me appreciate the talents of Simon Guerrier, which makes me so happy that he’s going to be taking over as producer of the Benny audios from Series Seven.

And after listening to ‘The Lost Museum’, he really is the best man for the job!

◆ Publisher’s Summary

January 2606. TribCity is at war with itself. The old dictatorship has been crushed, but the population have turned on each other. The army cannot stop the fighting, nor the ever-mounting casualties. They can merely clean up the mess.

In the midst of all this, Professor Bernice Summerfield and her ex-husband Jason Kane try to assess the damage done to the TribMuseum. The building has been used as a bulwark, and one of the most important collections in the galaxy lies strewn about the floor. Prized relics are missing, and even the kids on the street seem to know more about who took them than the museum's director.

Benny and Jason struggle to find answers amid the farrago, but all they can unearth are more questions.

In a city where no one speaks the same language, in a city with no shared identity but the horrors of its recent past, in a city where nothing can ever be simple, everyone has something to hide.

◆ Prof. Bernice Summerfield

Easily her best performance of the series, so far, Lisa Bowerman did a terrific job with ‘The Lost Museum’.

Benny thinks it’s absolutely absurd that Adrian and Bev have been sh****ng like rabbits. She describes the behaviour of the locals as thuggery, of the most basic and stupid kind. The TribMuseum is one of the most important collections in this part of the galaxy, and Benny is absolutely enraged at how the military are seemingly doing nothing to stop it being vandalised in the chaos. She’s snapping at the military and Jason, but it’s because she cares; cares about preserving what history TribCity has left. She thinks that the Director could be her assistant after all – she can’t speak a word of English, is mad as a box of frogs, but she knows when to make the coffee! Benny is absolutely disgusted to find that the museum vault was used as a torture chamber by the old regime. Only she would run across the rooftops of a war-torn city, in nothing more than a bath robe and running shoes! It doesn’t end very well for her, as her arm gets blasted off during the mayhem. Benny decides to use longbows from the Earth exhibit of the museum to fight off the rioters, and even claims that she was present at the Battle of Agincourt.

◆ Jason Kane

Series Six features Stephen Fewell quite heavily – that’s not a complaint, because I love the bones off his character! He delivered a fantastic performance here.

Jason has actually shown off some technological know-how, by creating a translation device to try and help the people of TribCity understand each other. He uses his translation devices to try and help those orphaned by the conflict, to hear their stories and show some actual compassion. Poor Jason tries to make things better by knocking the rioters out with anaesthetic gas… but he instead causes the rioters to feel no pain.

◆ Story Recap

Benny and Jason have arrived in the midst of anarchy, hoping to recover some of the artefacts from the state museum of TribCity… before they’re all either lost to thieving locals, or destroyed in the chaos that has gripped the entire metropolis.

They both knew that the situation here was bad, but neither of them could be prepared for what they saw – the population is at war with itself following the collapse of the old regime. The army are completely powerless to stop the infighting, powerless to stop the death and destruction that is consuming this city.

Benny and Jason have got their work cut out for them in recovering the artefacts, and not just because of the civil unrest outside the TribMuesum – the Director is being extremely evasive, and nobody in the entire city seems to speak the same language. Can they save the relics of the past, or will the horrors of TribCity’s recent history consume them too?

◆ Relics of the Past

I appreciate when writers take full advantage of Benny’s career as an archaeologist, as someone who believes there is a lot of value and importance in history. There’s a real passion to preserve the relics of days gone by, and that passion burns bright throughout ‘The Lost Museum’.

Having her and Jason attempt to stop a museum in a war-zone being pillaged and vandalised makes a huge amount of sense, and her anger at the military doing nothing constructive to help the situation is understandable. The greatest strength of this script, without a shadow of a doubt, is Benny – specifically her moral outrage and outright condemnation at the state of TribCity, and the fact the locals seem content with letting the artefacts be completely decimated. It’s really quite sad.

◆ Sound Design

The soundscape of TribCity can be overwhelming at times, but it really helps illustrate the mayhem and civil unrest spreading over it like a plague.

The opening scenes are a real assault on the ears; explosions being set off by rioting locals, with gunfire and alarms merging into the wall of noise. The blaring horn of a military transport vehicle, ploughing through the civil unrest sweeping through the city. A shot rings out as Jason ends up injured, and a bomb wipes out several innocent civilians. Benny and Jason fall through the ceiling of local poultry shop.

◆ Music

‘The Lost Museum’ has a very harsh and electronic soundtrack, but it works excellently with the harsh and chaotic setting of the adventure.

◆ Conclusion

“They seem pretty united to me. Wanting us dead has brought them together.”

After hearing ‘Graceless’, my expectations are always very high when it comes to Simon Guerrier. It’s a good thing that he always manages to meet those expectations, or venture above and beyond them!

‘The Lost Museum’ takes full advantage of Benny’s passion for history, and her duty to protect it as an archaeologist. It’s quite a dark episode, one that really pushes Benny and Jason to the limit. Highly recommend it.