Bernice Summerfield

#6.02. The Kingdom of the Blind ~ 8/10

◆ An Introduction

I’ve really come to appreciate those episodes focused squarely on Benny and Jason. Their dynamic is utterly intoxicating, and it’s clear that Bowerman and Fewell get on like a house on fire!

We’ve got three such episodes in this series, and the first of them… is a meeting with the Monoids.

Really?

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Jason Kane thought things had been going so well with ex-wife Bernice Summerfield, until she went sleepwalking, stole Brax's shuttle (causing Jason grievous bodily harm in the process), and then abandoned her on-off lover to the mercy of a horde of mute and unfriendly aliens.

Although Benny – waking to find herself marooned on a strange planet dressed only in her nightie, with strange voices in her head and a bunch of one-eyed monsters threatening to cut out her tongue – would probably argue that her day was even worse, thank you very much.

But Benny does seem to have stumbled across the last resting place of a legendary civilisation, so it's not all bad. Well, assuming she and Jason can survive – intact – long enough to tell anyone about it…

◆ Prof. Bernice Summerfield

Jacqueline Rayner is a fan-favourite writer amongst fans and performers alike: Bowerman has mentioned in a couple of interviews how much she adores her scripts, which you can definitely hear in this excellent performance.

Benny is horrified by the barbaric way that 26’s people are being treat, that they are having their tongues removed just for speaking. She’s a quick-thinker, and pretends to be deaf in order to retain her ability to speak. It’s great hearing Benny use the fake deafness to her advantage, and start singing a spud peeling song to hack off the Monoids.

◆ Jason Kane

Stephen Fewell delivered a marvellous performance in this episode.

Jason is reading a bedtime story to baby Peter, where he’s a handsome wood-cutter that’s cutting open a wolf’s stomach with an axe… a wolf who looks like Adrian (I see that friendship they established post-occupation has started to dissolve). He’s not hungover, he’s just dealing with “another ex-wife incident”. Jason wasn’t strapped in when the shuttle blasted off, and so his legs are well and truly screwed… and he is pretty much paralysed. I love that he tried to incite a revolution with 44, to make the Halyvon rise up against the Monoids.

◆ Story Recap

Benny has gone off sleepwalking, stealing Brax’s shuttle in the process and buggering off to some far away planet. It’s here that she encounters a humanoid race with latent telepathic abilities, who have been enslaved by the Monoids.

Those one-eyed creatures have barred the use of speech among their slaves, and brutally punish those who disobey – they impair the use of one of their senses. The slaves are allowed to choose which sense they lose out on, with most opting to have their tongues cut out (aside from one who escaped named 44, who opted to have his eyes removed instead).

But these slaves are actually the descendants of an ancient race known as the Halyvon, who posses great psionic powers. If they can reactivate their natural abilities, they can free themselves from slavery.

◆ Kingdom of the Mute

I guarantee most of you had the same reaction as me upon realising this was a prequel to ‘The Ark’ – one of utter bewilderment. I’m a big fan of the First Doctor’s era, but said story was undeniably crap: all I can remember is that Dodo nearly killed off the entire future of humanity by giving them the coronavirus!

That being said, this episode really makes the Monoids feel like a credible threat. They manage to enslave an entire race of telepaths, barring them the ability to speak to keep them subservient… because the alternative is having your tongue removed with a bloody knife! The plot is far from original, but the execution carries that high level of quality you associate with Jac Rayner scripts.

◆ Sound Design

Robinson provides a minimalistic soundscape for this episode, but one that’s still rather effective.

The sharp and piercing telepathic scream of 26. The Collection shuttle lifts off rather quickly. Loud explosions are used by the Monoids to see if Benny really is deaf or not. The Halyvon shuttle blasts away from the desolate Monoid world.

◆ Music

Channelling his inner Tristram Cary, Robinson’s score sounds like something straight out of an episode of 1960s Doctor Who.

◆ Conclusion

“You speak!?!”

If someone told me there was a prequel to ‘The Ark’ that turned out to be genuinely amazing, I would’ve laughed in their face! But that’s shockingly what one of the most adored BigFinish writers gave us today.

‘The Kingdom of the Blind’ follows a simple premise – an enslaved race being liberated – but Jac Rayner’s execution elevates it. This entire episode is dark and disturbing, as you realise just how many people have had their tongues brutally cut out by the Monoids. There’s an excellent twist towards the conclusion that flips your perspective on the Monoids and Halyvon too.

It’s also worth mentioning that this episode featured two excellent performances from BigFinish regulars; Caroline Morris (Erimem) as 26, and Paul Clayton (Mr Colchester) as 44. Highly recommend this one.