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

“THE ROOF OF THE WORLD: HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND A LACK OF MOMENTUM”

The Roof of the World takes the Fifth Doctor, Peri, and Erimem to the Himalayas in 1917, where an ongoing expedition carries dark undertones, and a malevolent force lurks in the mountains. Written by Adrian Rigelsford—whose behind-the-scenes drama overshadows his one and only Doctor Who contribution—this audio play attempts to blend historical intrigue with a psychological character study. While it builds tension early on and provides fascinating insights into Erimem’s character, it ultimately struggles to maintain momentum, falling into the trap of being more of an introspective, dialogue-heavy piece than an engaging adventure.

THE DOCTOR, ERIMEM, AND PERI – A STRONG TARDIS TEAM

One of the biggest strengths of The Roof of the World is the dynamic between its core TARDIS team. The Fifth Doctor, as always, is a calm and thoughtful presence, but this story really belongs to his companions. Erimem, the ancient Egyptian princess still adjusting to life as a time traveller, takes centre stage, while Peri’s role as both her mentor and friend continues to develop in a meaningful way.

The bond between Peri and Erimem has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of this era of Big Finish audios, and The Roof of the World does a great job of continuing that. Peri’s ongoing effort to teach Erimem English through literature not only adds a personal touch but also plays into the climax of the story in a satisfying way. Erimem, meanwhile, is the first to hear the strange, whispery voices that foreshadow the lurking danger, adding to the creeping sense of unease. However, while this early tension is promising, the story fails to capitalise on it in a way that truly grips the listener.

A PROMISING SETTING WASTED

The premise—a mysterious force manipulating an expedition in the Himalayas—sounds like a setup brimming with potential. The Tibetan setting, with its snow-covered mountains and the spiritual undertones of its history, should make for a rich backdrop. Unfortunately, the story does very little with it.

Unlike The Abominable Snowmen, which used its Tibetan setting to great effect by weaving local myths and the looming presence of the Great Intelligence into the narrative, The Roof of the World treats its location as little more than window dressing. While the sound design does help create an immersive atmosphere, the setting is ultimately underutilised, leaving much of the adventure feeling as though it could have taken place anywhere.

Instead of exploring the mountains or engaging with the local culture, much of the story consists of long conversations and philosophical debates, which—while interesting—cause the pacing to suffer.

ERIMEM’S STRANGE JOURNEY

This is very much an Erimem-centric story, with much of the focus placed on her experience of existing in a strange afterlife-like state. She sees visions of both her past and present, unable to interact with the people she cares about while also witnessing a version of events where she was never part of the Doctor’s travels. The concept is intriguing, and the script uses it to explore Erimem’s sense of identity and belonging.

One of the standout moments comes in Part Two, when Peri, overwhelmed by the situation, lashes out at Erimem for failing to help her and the Doctor. It’s a striking emotional beat, highlighting the stress of their predicament and Peri’s deep investment in their friendship. Later, the Fifth Doctor and Erimem share another poignant discussion that adds further depth to her character.

While these moments are effective, they come at the expense of plot development. Too much time is spent on introspection, and by the time the Doctor, Lord Mortimer Davey, and Williams set out to mount an expedition to help Erimem, it feels like too little, too late.

A SLOW AND SUBDUED THREAT

The villain of The Roof of the World is one of its more curious elements. The whispery, disembodied voice, combined with the eerie setting, gives strong Abominable Snowmen and Great Intelligence vibes. All signs point to that classic entity being behind the events of the story—but in a surprising twist, the villain is revealed to be something else entirely: the Great Ones, a similar kind of divine force.

While the concept of an ancient, godlike presence manipulating events is interesting, the execution is somewhat lacking. The villain operates mostly through telepathic projection, manipulating characters into doubting the Doctor or leaving Erimem behind. This creates a low level of tension but never truly escalates into anything gripping. Even in Part Four, when Erimem is physically controlled by a dark cloud and the others work desperately to bring her back, the stakes never feel particularly high.

The slow pacing and lack of urgency make the climax feel underwhelming, and while the resolution ties back nicely to Erimem’s ongoing arc, it doesn’t deliver the kind of excitement one might expect from an adventure set in such a dramatic location.

GUEST CAST AND FINAL THOUGHTS

Edward de Souza, best known in Doctor Who circles as Marc Cory from Mission to the Unknown, lends a commanding presence as Lord Mortimer Davey. His aristocratic voice adds some gravitas to the proceedings, and his reaction to the TARDIS—insisting that it must be some elaborate trick involving mirrors—is an amusing highlight. However, much like the rest of the guest cast, he isn’t given much to do beyond being part of the expedition’s struggle against the Great Ones.

Overall, The Roof of the World is an audio that prioritises character exploration over action. While this approach allows for some fantastic moments between Erimem, Peri, and the Doctor, it comes at the cost of pacing, tension, and plot development. The Himalayan setting is barely utilised, the villain’s presence is underwhelming, and much of the adventure feels like a series of philosophical conversations rather than an engaging mystery.

For those invested in Erimem’s journey, there’s plenty of material here to appreciate. But for those looking for an exciting adventure in the snow-covered peaks of Tibet, this one might feel a little too slow and introspective.

📝VERDICT: 6/10

While The Roof of the World does a great job of developing Erimem’s character and deepening her relationship with Peri, it struggles as an adventure. The Himalayan setting is wasted, the plot loses steam after a strong start, and the villain lacks presence. The audio leans too heavily on long conversations at the expense of pacing and excitement, making it a slow and often uneventful listen.

It’s funny how, as fans, we tend to label stories in our heads. Often these labels rear their heads in online discussions where people defend or attack various stories based, not on a considered opinion of what’s under discussion, but on gut feelings, half-remembered scenes and our emotional reaction to the story. Very often, this isn’t fair to the story and if fans took a step back a lot of arguments online could probably be avoided.

I’d labelled The Roof of the World as ‘dull and frustrating’ in my head. I remembered it as a story where not a lot happened and it’s ‘monster’ was ill-defined – almost obtusely.

As I’ve found time and again during this marathon (so much so, you think I’d have learned by now), returning to stories I’ve mentally dismissed often yields happier experiences than I expect. The Roof the World is another of these.

The Doctor, Peri and Erimem pitch up in Tibet in 1917 and head off for a cricket match. It’s the height of the Raj and I’m not sure we meet a single native as the guest cast is populated by British gentry, journalists and dead Pharaohs. It feels a universe removed from the 1917 we left Indiana Jones surviving. The Great War seems a distant event which is having no impact on the lives of these explorers and their desire to conquer the mountains of Tibet. After a few months absorbing the horrors of the First World War, it’s seems very odd – almost disrespectful – to stop here for a spot of cricket.

The cricket, though, is soon forgotten as a dark cloud descends on the hotel where everyone is staying. The cloud seems alive, kills people and seems to have a strange relationship with Erimem. The end of episode 1 cliffhanger leads into an unusual episode 2 which finds us solely in the company of Erimem – supposedly dead. This episode allows Davison and Bryant, in particular, to flex their acting muscles. Erimem is presented with situations where the Doctor and Peri taunt her, scold her, die in horrible ways and generally push her towards accepting the deal the entity in the cloud wants her to take.

The start of episode 3 reveals that all of episode 2 has occured in the few moments of the episode 1 cliffhanger and we find ourselves back in the midst of the action with the Doctor trying to ascertain what the cloud is and what it wants.

It transpires that the cloud is a manifestation of the Old Ones. Back on my first listen this was an aspect which frustrated me. The background of the Old Ones is never really explored or explained and it’s odd that Adrian Riglesford, the writer (yes, that Adrian Riglesford of the notorious factual error-ridden books from the 90s and The Dark Dimension), doesn’t tie them in with the Great Old Ones which have, for quite a few years, been established and developed in the Doctor Who expanded universe (The Great Intelligence, the Animus, Fenric etc, and tying them in with each other as well as with HP Lovecraft’s writings). These Old Ones, what we are told of them, seem to have a very similar modus operandi and it makes for an odd feeling of them not being the same, whilst being very similar. I imagine for those not steeped in Who lore, particularly that explored in the New and Missing Adventures, that this isn’t a problem but it seems odd for Riglesford – who was an active Doctor Who writer in the 90s – to not even hint at a connection with his creation. That said, TARDIS wiki, links this story in with all the other ‘Great Old Ones’ as there’s nothing particularly contradictory about making these the same.

The Doctor and Peri go on a mission to rescue Erimem with the aid of General Bruce, an explorer, and his personal assistant/correspondent John Matthews (played by Big Finish favourite and alumni of Young Sherlock Holmes, Alan Cox). Matthews makes a good addition to the team and has some great interplay with Peri. There’s also the almost traditional 5th Doctor trope of showing the locals the inside of the TARDIS. All this gives the last couple of episodes some fun scenes and despite my recollections from my first listen, I found myself rather enjoying it.

Historically, as I say, this is a weird one because it feels so removed from the events in Europe so far depicted in Young Indiana Jones and the smattering of Doctor Who stories such as The Weeping Angel of Mons and The Great War. It’s a far gentler visit to this period of Earth history and gives an odd perspective that not everywhere in the world was consumed by the ‘world war’. There is a reference to Bruce receiving permission to travel through war zones but that is about it.

The Roof of the World isn’t as bad as I remember it. It isn’t going to be a Big Finish classic but there’s strong stuff for the regulars to do and the guest cast integrate well. The ‘monster’ is a little frustrating but overall this works well on building a bit of Erimem’s background (although it does rely, again, on the oft used trope in this era of audios where the possibility of Erimem leaving happens almost every story).

The Monthly Adventures #059 - “The Roof of the World" by Adrian Rigelsford

The TARDIS team of the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem is not one I often hear talked about. And that’s no surprise really, placed in a small, one episode gap and up against such popular characters as Charley and Evelyn, this trio of adventurers never really stood a chance; couple that with the fact that their list of episodes is, on the whole, far weaker than their fellow Main Range companions and it seems the lost pharaoh was doomed from the start. I find this a terrible shame because the idea of a young woman running from an ancient throne to travel around the universe with an 80s Baltimorean and a space wizard with a penchant for cricket sounds great but these three were never really the focus. However, every once in a while, Erimem got put in the spotlight. Ancient gods are returning from the grave and the young pharaoh is at the root of it all, so without further ado, lets visit The Roof of the World.

On a trip to a remote cricket match in Tibet, the Doctor and Peri lose Erimem to an ancient and malevolent power that’s all too familiar with her. But what lies in the White Pyramid? And how does it know of Erimem of Thebes?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

I like Erimem, I really do, but even I can agree she’s the weakest of the original fifty’s recurring companions. Very little direction and a confused personality, paired with a sometimes decent, sometimes irritating performance from the most-definitely-not-Egyptian Caroline Morris, make Erimem often a weak link and I find that an entire story focused on her would have to do some heavy lifting to work. And boy does The Roof of the World try; for all intents and purposes, I like what Rigelsford does here. I think Part 2, purely focusing on Erimem being dragged through a series of traumatic hallucinations, was a really interesting way to build the story and a nice structural experiment but the choices surrounding Erimem in the first place I find strange. All the possibilities from having a pharaoh travel in the TARDIS are squandered by a bizarre sense of naivety that doesn’t really work. Honestly, I find Erimem to often be a lesser Leela - trying to learn of a time and place that is not her own but without the range that made Leela so enthralling. It also didn’t help that I’m often disappointed by Caroline Morris’ vocal performance, especially when she’s doing her possessed lines (what was the direction there, Kermit with a smoking addiction?).

As for story, I’m in two minds about The Roof of the World. It certainly has a lot of potential but I don’t think Rigelsford always capitalises on it. The first part especially is great: the setting is wonderful, Davison is firing on full cylinders and there’s a really good sense of atmosphere. The ominous whisperings and Erimem’s abject terror at “The White Pyramid”, along with the fantastic moment of seeing the Great Old Ones in Williams’ pictures, make this up to be a low-key horror story, built upon some good tension and ambiguity. This continues on through the second part, with the introduction of unknowable Eldritch beings as our villains and the surreal, nightmarish visions Erimem is put through. However, as the story goes on, this becomes less and less the case. It noticeably gets more generic, in the end feeling like any other Doctor Who story. The pace of the third act is nice but there’s very little tension and the choice to give unknowable alien gods personalities and voices removes any existential fear you could pull from them. If The Roof of the World had stuck to its villains being unseen “Great Old Ones”, we could’ve had something fantastic on our hands but they’re discussed without a shred of ambiguity that might leave them feeling like a threat.

In the end, we get to a climax that I find particularly dull. Near tensionless and over too soon, it mostly consists of the Doctor chatting with far too congenial ancient deities and Peri attacking a cloud with liquid nitrogen. It’s far too humdrum for this type of story though it is elevated by some particularly good sound design. I don’t know if it's this story in particular or just a few months break from Big Finish but the soundscape present here is absolutely a highlight of the audio, really helping to visualise some of the more jumbled scenes.

Is there anything particularly special to say about The Roof of the World? It’s one of those stories that tend to blend into the background for me, with nothing that special placing it above its peers. Despite a unique Part 2 and some half-decent character work for a half-decent character, The Roof of the World fails to hold any style that might save it from obscurity, although that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad time.

7/10

Pros:

+ It’s nice to have Erimem fleshed out a little more

+ Part 2 was a brilliant little departure from formula

+ Had a fantastic atmosphere in the first half

+ Unique and interesting setting

+ Incredible sound design

Cons:

- Caroline Morris’ vocal performance wasn’t incredible

- The villains could’ve been far more interesting than they were

- The second half was far more generic than the first

- The climax was somewhat of a damp squib

Diferente das histórias anteriores, The Roof Of The World exigiu muito da minha capacidade de burlar o sono e de minha paciência. Já declarei varias vezes que não sou daqueles que tem sérios problemas com histórias de progressão lenta, obviamente que existe exceções, o que vem ao caso desse áudio. Falando de seu enredo - Sua parte introdutiva entrega uma jornada tranquilizante ao ouvinte imerso a uma ambientação bem leve, calma e atmosférica dando o parecer que estaremos diante de uma história sem muitos alardes - Eis que ao seu fim ficamos chocados com o que ocorre com Erimem e somos levados, inseridos a uma segunda parte em um cenário surreal com intenções de aprofundamento na personagem, há várias revelações malucas que (eu acho que) reescrevem o passado de Erimem especialmente em relação ao seu pai – Assim como outros ouvintes, também não tive a certeza absoluta de que as informações entregues sobre a personagem eram verdadeira ou faziam parte do jogo manipulativo do vilão, mesmo com isso pra mim essa é a parte de mais destaque de The Roof Of The World. Infelizmente seu interessantíssimo conceito que brinca novamente com os Older Gods e sua ótima intenção de dedicar-se a uma só personagem, cai por terra na segunda metade (Parte 3 e 4) do áudio. Vários blocos estacionados e até mesmo uma certa repetição freiam grotescamente ainda mais sua lenta progressão narrativa, tornando seu enredo difícil de ser acompanhar, sendo bem sincero achei o final um pouco meio bagunçado. Novamente me pego incomodado com a Peri que volta apresentar alguns momentos se pagando de chata. Em resumo, infelizmente The Roof Of The World vem sendo a história que menos me empolgou descartando Nekromanteia é claro, convenhamos que essa abominação não pode nem ser chamada de história – Não me entenda errado, está longe de ser ruim ou regular, EU achei apenas um BOM áudio que dá para tirar proveito de algumas de suas coisas apresentadas.

MR 059: The Roof of the World

Well I certainly didn't expect to like this one as much as I did. The Doctor takes Peri and Erimem to a big cricket game that's supposed to take place in Tibet at the height of the British Empire. Seems like a silly premise yes? It actually gets to be more interesting than that.

Starting with how Peri goes after the Doctor for liking British Empire sensibilities. He likes the types of guys who sit around and tell slaves what to do while writing a chronicle about how amazing they are. Which is wild. Why is this Doctor like this? Why does he like these people? The British Empire is exactly the type of evil empire that he regularly takes down everywhere else but on Earth. Yet for some reason he not only lets it continue to exist and doesn't try to fight it, he revels in it. It's kind of horrifying to be honest. Peri is absolutely right here, as she usually is.

Regardless, Erimem is the focus here, which is very fun. They meet up with one of the participants in the game, a general who is obsessed with his own image and literally has a chronicler who is fluffing him up as braver and more important than he really is. Erimem gets captured by a scary death cloud and this is where the story really comes to life. Up until this point I thought it was fairly average, but here we start getting character examinations.

The scary death cloud plays into Erimem's fears and insecurities. It shows her father ordering her death because she is a woman and women can't rule. It shows her Peri dying and scolding Erimem for making the TARDIS worse. She accidentally caused an explosion that killed them both. It even shows her the Doctor saying that he never wanted Erimem in the TARDIS in the first place and that neither the Doctor nor Peri ever trusted her.

It's so effective because we really get to deep dive into Erimem for once. We see who she is as a person and what she cares about. She loves her father deeply, seeing him as one of the most important people in her life. She sees him as proping her up, supporting her no matter what. So the cloud destroys that love. She says that she will always have Peri no matter what, but here is Peri hating her and she doesn't want to be there anymore. She trusts the Doctor completely, but here is the Doctor letting her down, hating her, joining with the scary black cloud to release it. The cloud feeds on her fear and insecurity. It needs her to release itself back into the world. And ultimately she agrees to help it so that it will stop tormenting her.

These scenes are absolutely fantastic for all three of our leads. Nicola Bryant and Peter Davison go from being sympathetic to being menacing and hateful in a heartbeat. They're so good and you really feel for Erimem as Caroline Morris shows such a fantastic range of emotion here.

Meanwhile back in reality, the Doctor and Peri try to figure out what this evil cloud is and how to stop it. They figure out how to get into the cloud, but it turns out that Erimem has already been captured. She is the key to allowing it into the world. The cloud is "The Great Old Ones." The "old gods" if you will, in the lovcraftian sense of the phrase. They bring fear, chaos, division, hatred, all the negative emotions as they destroy worlds one at a time. They embody all of humanity's shadows and boogiemen that go bump in the night. A memory of the evil that was once released but was held back by Erimem's father.

Erimem's father captured them inside of Everest, which is, you know, wild, building a pyramid inside of it. Not sure how he accomplished that, but sure. They want to use Erimem to escape because they can play on her fears and insecurities, which they do. Peri and the General manage to freeze the cloud with liquid nitrogen which is enough to help the Doctor and Erimem escape. I like when they allude to this early on when Peri uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the swimming pool in the TARDIS and make a skating rink. ("Just apologize and nod, he likes that sort of thing.")

Freeing Erimem prevents the old gods from coming out and they are trapped in their pyramid once more. She goes through quite a lot of trauma here, being tormented by the old ones, but she still believes in adventure and exploration. She's strong and she wants to keep going despite it all.

While not the best story ever made, it was a decent exploration of Erimem's character. All three of our leads did fantastic jobs of jumping between different emotions and character states. Peri and the Doctor's harshness in the nightmare realm were particularly impactful as was their compassion and desperation to save their friend back in reality. I usually feel like Peri and Erimem are a great TARDIS team, but their potential is squandered. This time, I felt like they were used very well.