The Land Of The Dead é considerado por muitos o segundo pior áudio das saudosas 50 primeiras Main Ranges perdendo somente para Nekromanteia (é claro). Diferente de muitos ouvintes eu até consegui tirar alguns pequenos proveitos desse áudio, mas não tão significativos a ponto de atingir uma mais avaliação alta – O Doutor e Nyssa chegam a uma localização isolada no Alaska, inicialmente os viajantes tem um contra tempo bem esquisito com um pássaro/criatura gigante bem bizarra o que inevitavelmente causa uma enorme estranheza. Em seguida, a procura de um local para ficarem os dois tripulantes encontram uma casa onde mora um grupo de pessoas, no centro temos um milionário chamado Shaun Brett que construiu uma enorme mansão usando pedaços da paisagem externa servindo até mesmo como uma espécie de santuário para seu falecido pai (sim...medonho). Mas à frente investigando esse projeto, o Doutor descobre criaturas soterradas esqueléticas que ganham vida e começam a perseguir os personagens. Por mais esquisitíssimo que seja o roteiro os conceitos de Stephen Cole, é possível enxergar e captar vários elementos promissores, a história poderia sim seguir caminhos bem interessantes – Mas o maior pecado de The Land Of The Dead está na forma como tudo é muito mal reproduzido, ao começar pelas repetidas situações de perseguições dos personagens fugindo das criaturas, acontece tantas vezes ficando algo cansativo de acompanhar. Um outro erro crucial são os efeitos sonoros das ações das criaturas esqueléticas, o ouvinte fica num total escuro sem entender nada do que está acontecendo na cena, apenas ouvimos barulhos alguns gritos e destruições e fica por isso mesmo. Um outro deslize é o personagem Gaborik que é nitidamente uma perspectiva britânica/europeia dos povos indígenas, sendo retratado como tolo supersticioso da maneira mais clichê e estereotipada possível. O que estava simples, mesmo sendo desinteressante, se perde todo com suas explicações mal explicadas e piradas (apenas aceita e questione, vai ser melhor para você haha). Shaun Brett se revela um maluco obcecado por uma lore envolvendo seus antepassados bem esquisita, ele chega até falar de uma terra prometida, perfeita (sei lá rsrs) onde existiu uma civilização antes dos humanos, nesse momento eu tomei um leve e rápido susto, mas ao lembrei que essa história é situada no Alaska e não na Antártica me acalmou, o que me faz pensar que Stephen Cole estava a HABLAR haha da teoria da terra oca kkkkk felizmente não é sobre isso. Os desfechos finais são um total desastre, vários conceitos jogados com o Doutor tirando informações do nada... NYSSA: "Ah Doutor o DNA é de dinossauros mesmos" DOUTOR: "Sim isso mesmo, esses dinossauros vêm antes dos dinossauros que vocês conhecem e blá blá..." tipo??? Os poucos proveitos: Olha os conceitos em torno dos dinossauros e da exploração animal, deixam o áudio interessante em vários pontos da trama, a Nyssa chega até a citar os eventos de Earthshock e tals... Mas infelizmente isso nunca atinge o verdadeiro potencial que tem, em vez disso, prefere inclinar sua história a um pega pega. Talvez meu destaque maior seja a Monica, que sim existe todo um boato que a BIG FINISH não conseguiu fechar um acordo com a Janet Fielding (atriz da Tegan) na época para também estar no enredo do áudio e Monica seria uma personificação da companion. Mesmo com isso, eu gostei muito da personagem ela tem uma ótima dinâmica com o Peter Davison, dinâmica na qual deixou o áudio menos tedioso. Em resumo, de fato The Land Of The Dead é uma história bem fraca propicio a receber avaliações baixos pela forma como suas ideias foram muito mal reproduzidas na pratica.

The Land of the Dead - 5.5/10

This story gives an adventure that for me was my first experience of big finish being that little bit more brutal that Doctor Who would ever be.

I enjoyed this stories concepts a lot more than the actual story I think, and the main concept that intrigued me was definitely the Permians. The idea of these creatures being around before the dinosaurs is a very fun thought - and then on top of that the fact that they are bone creatures is fascinating to me, the audio does a great job of giving these creatures presence.

As much as its a tiny part of this story I always adore when these stories fit nicely into the continuity.

The actual plot itself works for the run time but is ultimately quite forgettable overall, i'm also not the biggest fan of the dynamic that happens between the natives and the 'White man'.

The characters were all fine but Monica is a character I genuinely really enjoyed, I think she was probably the fill in for Tegan but  she carved her own personality out by the end of the story.

Overall The Land of the Dead gets a 5.5/10 because like I say I do enjoy some of the concepts here but the story falls a bit flat by the end of it in my opinion.

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time.

"The Land of the Dead: A Promising Start That Loses Its Way"

Part 1 of The Land of the Dead builds tension effectively as the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa arrive in Alaska, slowly becoming entangled in the strange events surrounding Shaun Brett, his ambitious construction project, and his loyal assistant, Tulung. The remote Alaskan setting and eerie atmosphere hold great promise, supported by strong sound design that brings the snowy landscape to life.

Unfortunately, the story falters as it progresses. The initially gripping atmosphere is disrupted by uneven pacing, murky action sequences, and the introduction of reanimated dinosaur skeletons, which feel more silly than menacing. The limited scope of the narrative and the constraints of the audio format leave many ideas underdeveloped.

Stephen Cole attempts to weave in environmentalist and cultural themes, particularly Native American beliefs, but these often come across as heavy-handed. The concept of the Permians—a pre-dinosaur species with advanced evolution—sounds intriguing on paper but fails to translate effectively in execution. The dialogue, especially when describing the Permians, is clunky and detracts from the immersion.

Despite some dramatic tension, the final part never delivers a satisfying payoff. The climax feels rushed and lacks the impact needed to tie up the story's loose ends.

Peter Davison is, as always, a reliable lead, and Sarah Sutton slips back into her role as Nyssa with ease. While not the most dynamic companion, Nyssa works well alongside Five, making for a cohesive TARDIS team.

Shaun Brett stands out as the most compelling villain in the Main Range so far, with a well-explored blend of ambition, emotion, and flaws. Tulung makes for an effective sidekick, though Neril Roberts' accent occasionally feels forced. The rest of the supporting cast, including Andrew Fettes as Gaborik, is largely forgettable and similarly hindered by unconvincing accents.

The Alaskan setting initially shines as a unique and atmospheric backdrop, but the indoor focus of much of the story diminishes its potential. While the sound design helps establish the environment early on, the effect wears thin as the story progresses.

📝Verdict: 6/10

The Land of the Dead starts strong but ultimately fails to capitalise on its potential, leaving an uneven and underwhelming impression.

On the one hand, it's probably not a good idea to write reviews ~6 months after you listened to something.

On the other, there's something to be said for the what moments you can remember from a story after 6 months. Going back to review Whispers of Terror, I could remember how much I enjoyed it, I could remember the plot, the characters, the monster, the setting.

Land of the Dead, I remember absolutely nothing. Hell, going back to read what I said about it at the time on the forum also didn't help, even then I said I couldn't remember much and that it generally just felt a bit meh.

It's a story that just had exactly 0 impact on me.

Well this story was certainly interesting. I notice it's the lowest rated in the MR so far so forgive me for my contrarianism as I say I actually quite enjoyed it and certainly think it was a big improvement over the last two stories. To begin with I just want to say I absolutley love Five and Nyssa as a duo in this. In his TV run Five's TARDIS teams are always chaotic and based around some sort of form of squabbling or conflict, and while that works fantastically, particularly for how Davison plays the role on TV, his dynamic here with Nyssa is a wonderful change of pace. I think it works especially well because both Davison and Sutton's voices have aged quite a bit. Davison still brings the youthful energy but he's also got the manner of an aged professor and Sutton is perfectly playing the role of an inquisitive and intelligent student. It feels like they both appreciate each others knowledge and perspectives a lot and they work together in a functional way that would probably be totally derailed if you were to throw an Adric, Tegan or Turlough into the mix.

The story itself I reckon is fine. It's essentially a BUS, which is a format I love and I do really like the setting of an old house in Alaska. Unfortunately however this story did lose quite a but of steam for me as it went on. The concept of the Permians, skeletal dinosaur-like creatures is pretty cool and if this story had kept to being an atmosphere led BUS as it had been for the first half it would have been awesome. However as you enter the second half, things do get a bit muddled. Things just get needlessly complicated, especially when you start dealing bio-electronic fields and their associated techno babble. It's funny because one worry producers had about having very intelligent companions is that it would confuse viewers too much ass there was no reason to having things explained in basic terms. This is one of the reasons why they got rid of Liz Shaw at the end of S7. I don't happen to agree with this view, although it does come up as an issue here; I don't think this is a fundamental issue with having a very smart companion, I honestly think in this scenario it's just bad writing and poor communication. There's also some weird thing about spiritualism going on here. One of the characters believes this is happening because of some old supernatural superstition and I think the story is trying to execute some sort of theme about the spiritual vs the rational. Thing is though, this theme is so underdeveloped to the point where I don't even know what the story is trying to say. Is it trying to find a middle ground between the two, saying that a balance between them can exist, or is it coming down purely on the rational side? I don't know and this is one of the best examples of how the story here gets needlessly muddled. The side characters are also a bit ehh, none of them make much of an impression with the exception of Monica, who gets some great and lines and, in the absence of Tegan plays off and banters with the Doctor quite well. Overall this story has some elements I really enjoy but sadly a few things that let it down. I'm tempted to give it a 7/10 but I think that's just because of how much I enjoy this Doctor/Companion duo. So I'll give a 6.5/10 and in accordance round down to 3 stars.