Bernice Summerfield

#3.04. The Mirror Effect ~ 7/10

◆ An Introduction

Finishing up the third series now, we’ve got an adventure with our four main characters… which could be a problem. Having so many big personalities vying for the spotlight could go either way, but I do trust the writer of this audio. Stewart Sheargold created my favourite Seventh Doctor story, ‘Red’.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Do you believe in the mirror or do you believe in yourself?

Under the ice on a cold world lie the derelict remains of the lost Grid 4 Mining Station. Inside the station is a mirror, an ancient alien artefact, its existence known to few. Inside the mirror is one Professor Bernice Summerfield, and she can't get out. Trapped and alone in a place she cannot trust, with her friends distorted and turned against her, she is haunted by fears and reflections.

And inside Bernice Summerfield is a little baby creature that wants her to be mother.

◆ Prof. Bernice Summerfield

Lisa Bowerman’s performance in ‘The Mirror Effect’ was excellent.

Benny wants to get home to her baby before Joseph traumatises him with his baby talk! She’s trying to be careful and not blunder round like an amateur, and she clearly isn’t relishing her ex-husband being assistant for the day. She doesn’t react all that well to the threat of dismemberment, even at the best of times.

◆ Jason Kane

Great performance from Stephen Fewell.

With Jason’s record, there is probably something pretty nasty lurking in the darkness.

◆ Adrian Wall

Harry Myers does a great job in ‘The Mirror Effect’.

Adrian is convinced the mirror separated the weak from the strong (which is why he got paired up with Brax).

◆ Irving Braxiatel (Brax of Dellah)

Miles Richardson does a brilliant job in this episode, and is easily the star of the show.

Braxiatel hasn’t ventured through many looking glasses in his time, but thought it very intriguing. His reaction to finding a dead body is one of indifference and optimism; a survival instinct will keep them on their toes (the man is unhinged)! He claims to only ever do what is best for Bernice, he said with all the charm of a serpent. Brax doesn’t care about Jason or Adrian, but Benny is valuable to both him and the Collection… in ways that we ourself are yet to discover. He is exactly who he’s always been; far more than who people think he is.

◆ Story Recap

Deciding to step through a magic mirror that Irving Braxiatel wants for his precious collection, our fab foursome find themselves separated… and trapped at a mining base in an icy landscape.

Grid 4 Mining Station has a lot of secrets hiding in its shadows; dead bodies and mirror images of Benny, Jason and Adrian. Perhaps more disturbingly though… is the creature from the mirror, who is now calling Benny mother!

◆ Runtime

‘The Mirror Effect’ is extremely ambitious with what it set out to do. While not entirely successful, I still think what we got was a very interesting character piece based around our four regulars. Then again… that might be part of the problem.

Since the end of Series One, this range has focused on pumping out hour long adventures onto a single disc. It’s great for the smaller casts that these stories tend to have, but when 90% of your cast are main characters, it can get confusing trying to bounce between them all. I wholeheartedly believe that Sheargold’s script would have benefited from an extra hour.

◆ Everybody Loves Irving!

The strongest, and coincidentally, most note-worthy aspect of ‘The Mirror Effect’ is the development given to Braxiatel. He seemed like a rather charming man in his first appearance, but also a man of business who would look out for himself before his friends.

This episode shows just how far he’d go to get what he wants, to keep his own investments sound – it’s why he decides to hypnotise Jason to forget his part in the events of this story, making sure that he’ll be plagued with the most painful migraine possible if he EVER tries to remember. Morally ambiguous and his motivations now being questioned, this is the start of a very long story arc for our Irving.

◆ Sound Design

Andrew Swann provides an excellent soundscape to back up the already fantastic writing, really managing to conjure a chilling atmosphere (pun entirely intended).

Water dripping from icicles, and the creaking of ice. The growling of the mirror creature. Water flows in, as Jason starts drowning. The smashing of the mirror.

◆ Music

Darlington’s score is unfortunately quite weak, feeling like the same “mosquito fart” electronica we’ve had once already.

Given the icy landscape this story takes place in, I genuinely think a piece filled with twinkling ivory keys would’ve been perfect! The kind of music that Fox and Yason expertly delivered during the third and fourth volumes of ‘Graceless’.

◆ Conclusion

“What are you hiding from me, Brax?”

Stewart Sheargold provides us with the most ambitious script in this range so far, and unfortunately, it doesn’t quite succeed with everything it set out to do. It’s a character piece focusing on the insecurities and negative feelings held by our four regulars, but the hour long runtime means the whole thing feels really constricted – that’s also why trying to navigate this adventure can occasionally get confusing.

Lisa Bowerman and Stephan Fewell are really comfortable with their roles now, Harry Myers continues to impress as everyone’s favourite mutt, and Miles Richardson easily takes the title of star performer here!

A slightly underwhelming conclusion to Series Three, but I appreciate the attempt to do something more ambitious.