Primeiramente, devo expressar minha decepção ao me deparar com apenas 30 minutos de enredo para cada uma das duas histórias deste lançamento, especialmente após o longo intervalo desde a última aparição de Bernice nos lançamentos da BIG FINISH. Dado o contexto de recomeço após a morte de David Warner, era esperado que The Armageddon Chair estabelecesse uma nova dinâmica para as aventuras da arqueóloga - Na história que abre a box, descobrimos que Bernice agora faz parte de um grupo de exploradores chamado "The Eternity Club", dedicado a explorar, visitar e estudar o universo. Ela está endividada com o clube por não ter pago a mensalidade e aceita a proposta de prestar serviços para quitar parte de sua dívida. James Goss introduz os novos personagens principais dessa linha, incluindo um Sontaran “Starll”, um Draconiano, uma Drahvin chamada “Grizella“ e um robô chamado 312. Cada um deles representa um estereótipo de sua espécie: o Sontaran é um entusiasta de guerras, o Draconiano é excessivamente formal, o robô é o inteligente e a Drahvin é uma ativista fervorosa, algo bem clichê. Após apresentar o Clube e seus personagens, o enredo de The Armageddon Chair se revela bastante trivial, centrado na tentativa de Bernice de se integrar ao seu novo grupo de aventuras. Triumph Of Dravin, por outro lado, é uma história mais problemática. Goss coloca Grizella como líder de uma expedição ao planeta "Paroon", onde Benny frequentemente interrompe para corrigir pronúncias, nomes e fatos históricos. O comportamento exagerado da Drahvin, distorcendo a localização e os fatos, tenta abordar as pressões e expectativas enfrentadas por mulheres em ambientes dominados por homens, contrastando o idealismo de Grizella com o realismo de Benny. No entanto, o áudio desliza feio quando em muitos momentos o mesmo parece que também está transmitindo uma crítica ao ativismo, representando o ato de forma extremista e ignorante, colocando a Drahvin como uma defensora lunática e exagerada de pautas feministas. Sinceramente não consegui entender qual foi o ponto do escritor aqui, ficou algo meio distorcido - Em resumo, The Eternity Club 1 deixa a desejar, digo isso com um grande aperto no coração como um grande fã da Lisa Bowerman. Com histórias de apenas 30 minutos cada, o conteúdo e as aventuras são pouco memoráveis. Embora o áudio tente incorporar elementos cômicos junto a sua trilha sonora "engraçadinha", devo dizer que não funcionou comigo. Olha... não me entenda errado, não é um lançamento ruim, sabe. Pode ser que com você funcione. Mas confesso que não é exagero meu dizer que achei uma perda de tempo.
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The Armageddon Chair • NOTA: 5/10 – FRACO
Triumph Of Dravin • NOTA: 5/10 - FRACO

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

"Triumph of the Drahvin: A Satirical Look at Power and Equality”

Bernice Summerfield steps into a world of gender politics and historical revisionism in a thoughtful, character-driven tale.

A Queen and Her Ideals

The second story in The Eternity Club, Triumph of the Drahvin, shifts focus to the Drahvin queen, offering a deeper exploration of her character and motivations. The queen, displaced from her own society after its shift towards gender equality, clings to her ideal of female superiority. Her worldview is put to the test when she leads an expedition to a female-dominated society, where gender roles are starkly inverted.

This story highlights the queen's personal struggle to reconcile her beliefs with the changing realities of her homeworld, adding layers of complexity to what might otherwise be a caricatured figure.

A Leisurely Unfolding Mystery

The pacing here is notably relaxed, allowing for playful banter among the characters as the worldbuilding unfolds. While the male characters begin to suffer mysterious malfunctions, the narrative keeps its focus on the Drahvin queen’s fascination with this society’s history—a history that glorifies female rule while relegating men to subservience.

Benny’s eventual questioning of the queen’s motives provides the turning point. Her refusal to accept historical manipulation as a means of advancing an agenda, even one with seemingly noble intentions, is a timely reminder of the dangers of rewriting facts to suit personal ideologies.

Themes of Power and Perspective

The story’s satire is clear: it critiques not only the idea of superiority—whether male or female—but also the human (or Drahvin) tendency to twist history for self-justification. By juxtaposing the queen’s idealised view of female dominance with Benny’s voice of reason, the story invites listeners to reflect on the complexities of equality, power, and truth.

Performance and Atmosphere

Lisa Bowerman’s Benny remains the audience’s anchor, effortlessly balancing humour and gravitas as she navigates these thorny issues. The Drahvin queen, as portrayed here, is an intriguing mix of vulnerability and arrogance, making her both relatable and frustrating. The setting—a society with inverted gender dynamics—is brought to life with vivid soundscapes and sharp dialogue.

Verdict: A Thoughtful Satire

Triumph of the Drahvin is an engaging character study wrapped in a satirical exploration of gender politics and historical interpretation. While its pace might feel a bit slow for some listeners, the story’s thematic depth and sharp writing make it a memorable addition to The Eternity Club.

📝Verdict: 69/100

Goss only had one goal while writing this probably. He wanted to address the censorship of history, and making the past come over as better than it was. And while it’s incredibly ‘in-your-face’, and done in the least subtle way I can imagine, I can’t say he didn’t succeed.

What James very smartly does here is play the reversed sexism for laughs. It’s first to be assumed to be another piece of satire, until the listener starts to realize when Benny comments on some things that there’s something else at play. Really cool use of the tone of the boxset to ‘mislead’ the listener.

This is something else of course, but I guess you can say that a similar topic has been handled in Jubilee. Though Jubilee is about not taking fascism seriously and commercializing on it. But one of the major things this story reminds me of is Disney censoring old problematic works, forbidding them from being seen. Wanting to forget they have ever happened to make their history look ‘clean’, which in the end is also for commercial reasons. Both can have parallels drawn to them about altering history because of greed (if you take the altering history part literally I’m sure there’s a ‘cracking’ story in that concept). Instead of taking responsibility and learning from past mistakes, shying away from it, and so risking making the mistake again. This part doesn’t go anywhere, by the way, sorry. Even more, it ends here.

It’s a relatively simple concept in the end, but it’s executed very well, and I do think it’s an important enough message, so I’m seeing through the heavy handedness. Works very well with Bernice too, her being an archeologist, and does nice things for her character. The little part where it’s honestly talking about how difficult it is for woman is nice as well.

This story is definitely going somewhere I am loving this series more please

again very camp, really liking the vibe. the ongoing mystery set-up isn't at the forefront... yet!