The Shadow of the Scourge

I had a fun time with the Shadow of the Scourge. I do love this line of early main range audios that feature literary Doctor Who characters.

This is a really fun edition of that. I love the setting featuring a couple of conference rooms at a hotel, the Doctor trying to manipulate the situation to save the Earth, and how seamlessly it felt to have him working with Ace and Benny. I also really liked Ace's bonkers (and extremely harmful) plan to deafen herself. It's the kind of thing that pushes against realism but the fun of the scene and the dialogue, coupled with Benny's reaction, really sold me on the moment. The monsters were decent too, as there was a good sense of struggle in the Doctor going up against these beings.

What is weaker about Shadow of the Scourge is how much time our protagonists spend apart. This is mitigated by the strength of writer Paul Cornell's side characters, who are all pretty memorable, but it still is a shame when audio stories with Benny and the Doctor are comparatively rare. They are fun together and it does leave me wanting to check out some of the novels where she is a companion.

My second or third listen. I love this one. I think it’s really nice as a little taster of Seven, Ace, and Benny from the VNAs, giving you a look at their character arcs, and it still managed to keep me on edge even knowing what goes down. It's got body-horror bug aliens, and good character work, and the day is saved by the power of self respect, it's a really satisfying listen and one I will probably come back to again in the future. I will always love a story where somebody has to give a big desperate speech about hope and love to save the day, especially when theyre less of an expert at it than the Doctor, and the Determined Monologuing in this one is just perfect.

my high point is absolutely the Doctor and Benny’s mind-journey where she rips into him and he faces the facts about his behavior and how it effects his friends. It really feels like the whole situation was just an inevitability of all his scheming…

The audio (and cover image) quality is definitely Not Good but I think it’s charming. It's the audio drama equivalent of cheap-o plywood sets and papier mache monsters to me. 9/10 for this one. peace and love on planet earth.

✅84% = Great! = Mildly recommended!

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

This time: Bennie joins Seven and Ace as scary monsters invade your ears.

The 13th Main Range release sees Big Finish tackle the Virgin New Adventures continuity for the very first time. The story is set between the novels All-Consuming Fire and First Frontier.

This story mixes an interesting hotel setting with a cross-knit convention, a time experiment, and a Planet of the Spiders-esque cult trying to summon the titular Scourge. And there's dead bodies coming back to life as well, because why not? This is a memorable and exotic mix that quickly turns scary and tense.

As we follow the three separate events through the three main characters and begin piecing everything together, the narrative slowly builds tension.

By the second half, we realise that the Doctor has made a terrible mistake as the monsters get the upper hand (this is where Paul Cornell delivers one of the most effective Big Finish cliffhangers as the Doctor's painful transformation into a critter begins).

Part 4 develops the story into something even stranger as the Doctor finds a way to take control of the situation.

All the cliffhangers are fantastic; they make you want to continue listening!

Sylvester McCoy brings out his manipulative Seven here, as evidenced by the cliffhanger in Part 1, where we learn that the Doctor has called the Scourge to Earth for some reason. McCoy delivers an exceptional performance, particularly when he is under the influence of the Scourge.

In this story, Bernice Sunmerfield, a companion from the Virgin New Adventures novels, seamlessly integrates with Seven and Ace. Listening to this one doesn't require you to be familiar with her. Lisa Bowerman is great in the role, and Cornell seems intent on giving her the upper hand over Seven’s usual companion Ace.

Speaking of Ace, she feels like herself here and takes good charge in the second half once the Doctor is out of action. Both companions are given clear roles to play int ehs eiocn dahflö, which gives them more value.

The guest characters aren't very interesting.

The Scourge are well-established monsters and more than simply murderous aliens. They effectively gain the upper hand and entrap the Doctor, which makes them very formidable.

The sound design and music here successfully build an uneasy and tense atmosphere. The chanting is unnerving, and the monster voices are scary, not to mention the effective, gross sound design capturing the transformations that occur throughout this story.

While Part 1 is a slow build-up establishing the setting and characters, Part 2 unleashes full chaos once the Scourge arrives. Part 3 then slows things down a bit as the narrative stops moving before the big finale in the concluding part.

Cornell effectively moves the story from something that feels grounded to something much more high-concept and bizarre. This is the type of story that fits this Doctor very well.

 

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RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

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This story has one of my least favourite Big Finish covers. It looks fan-made rather than official!

 

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

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Paul Cornell delivers a tense and creepy Doctor Who adventure, with a delightfully manipulative Doctor and well-established monsters, but a slightly confusing second half.