Stories Audio Book Short Trips (Audio) Short Trips Downward Spiral 1 image Overview Characters How to Listen Reviews 3 Statistics Quotes Overview Released Tuesday, July 28, 2020 Written by Alan Flanagan Narrated by Sarah Sutton Runtime 37 minutes Synopsis Travelling through space on your own can be lonely. It’s why Siobhan Matthews’ ship has been installed with COMPANY, an AI that has stored personalities of Siobhan’s nearest and dearest. Someone to talk to when the silence is overwhelming. Siobhan has other guests today, which is impressive considering she didn’t let them onboard. They’re called the Doctor and Nyssa, but they’ve arrived at the worst possible time. Siobhan’s ship is spiralling towards something in the dark, and it’s hungry. Listen Listened Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Fifth Doctor Nyssa How to listen to Downward Spiral: View on Big Finish Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 3 reviews 30 March 2025 · 70 words Review by No311 A very tense story about space travel and the dangers associated with it. Not the usual dangers for Doctor Who though. Got me on the edge of the seat to the end, with some developments that surprised me but seemed logical in hindsight. Some points have to be taken off for 5 to have far more manic energy than is normal for his characterisation, he sometimes felt like 10 in this story. No311 View profile Like Liked 0 4 November 2024 · 99 words Review by dema1020 It's fine, I guess. I enjoyed having a story focused on Nyssa and the Doctor along with the dark and lonely ambience the story easily established. Part of that is owed to Sarah Sutton's great narration. I think the problem is a little deeper though. The story itself felt a little bland and predictable. It really didn't stick with me in any meaningful way. So it feels like a competently made and written Short Trip, one that was a very easy listen, but one that also didn't quite leave much of an impression on me one way or another. dema1020 View profile Like Liked 0 26 April 2024 · 138 words Review by efficacy 1 I enjoyed this more than I was expecting. Nyssa can be hard to write for, as her role in the TV series was often little more than eye candy or a calm voice to contrast with outbursts from Tegan, Turlough, or Adric. I'm also not generally a fan of second-person narrative, which can feel like the author is telling the reader what to think. In this story, however, Nyssa's passivity and optimism work well with the psychological nature of the challenge, and the use of second-person is cleverly justified by the end of the tale. There's an alien threat. It's Doctor Who, so the presence of some sort of alien is not really a spoiler. However, while listening to the story, I kept wondering whether the alien threat was really necessary. Either way, this was a pleasant listen. efficacy View profile Like Liked 1 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating30 members 3.40 / 5 Member Statistics Listened 32 Favourited 0 Reviewed 3 Saved 1 Skipped 1 Quotes Add Quote Submit a Quote