Comparando com os outros Doutores (6°, 7° e 8° Doutor) infelizmente o 5° Doutor teve um certo azar com sua sequência inicial de áudios, recebendo baixas avaliações ou regulares por um número bem significativo de fãs e ouvintes. Essa é uma história muito mais lucido e organizada no que se diz de estrutura, conceitos e reprodução de ideias ainda mais fazendo uma comparação ao seu anterior o The Land Of The Dead, mas ainda sofre notáveis deslizes. A primeira metade é algo que me fez acreditar que o escritor Andrew Cartmel teve seu primeiro contato com histórias do gênero terror e spooky house, um dia antes de escrever o roteiro de Winter For The Adept – É algo que beira ao ridículo, simplesmente Nyssa e o Doutor trancados em uma casa com personagens aleatórios presenciando “”atividades paranormais”’ das mais bestas e mal elaboradas possíveis do tipo: “Veja! A mesa se moveu sozinha!” “Oh meu deus, quem é que está tocando o piano?”
Além de estar longe de ser algo assustador e surpreendente, alguns personagens tem um sotaque francês caricato bem ridículo podendo considerar até mesmo como algo preconceituoso. Felizmente o áudio melhora muito em sua segunda parte, apresentando de fato conceitos bem interessantes que mescla com algo alienígena, espíritos e fantasmas, muitos de seus personagens crescem de forma assustadora, mistérios e suspeitas são levantadas apresentando um quebra cabeça instigante a história. Mas que cai por terra em sua conclusão bem estalar de dedos e confusa, a revelação por trás do perigo dos “”fantasmas”” é um pouco exagerada, por fim tudo se resultando na forma mais padrão possível de encerrar uma história de Doctor Who... claro, com UMA EXPLOSÃO! kkkkk (como diria meu amigo d3ner haha). Alguns de seus pontos positivos estão na atmosfera e criação de mundo, de fato muito imersivo - É muito estranho ouvir a India Fisher como uma outra personagem que não seja. Em inúmeras vezes você remete a companion do 8° Doutor. Alison é uma personagem doce que depois se torna um mistério trazendo alguns trechos obscuros para ela, eu fiquei com uma sensação que ela era uma farsa, se passava de boazinha mais no fundo tinha todo um plano cabuloso maligno. E a Miss Tremayne trazia um tom mais medonho a trama com sua fé obcecada e cega. Os personagens dos professores são meio nulos no começo, mas depois eles crescem na trama. Em resumo, embora Andrew Cartmel tenha feito escolhas que ao me ver fizeram a qualidade cair de forma significativa, ainda sim Winter For The Adept consegue ser uma boa história... um áudio ok, apenas.

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“Winter for the Adept: A Haunting Mystery in the Swiss Alps”

Winter for the Adept offers a compelling setup with its atmospheric setting and eerie premise, even if the story doesn’t fully deliver on its initial promise. Set in a remote Swiss boarding school in 1963, the tale is rooted in a Gothic mystery tradition that leans into themes of isolation, strange occurrences, and suspicion.

The story begins uniquely with Alison narrating, which helps establish the school and its students before Nyssa's arrival. Watching Nyssa work independently, investigating the school’s alleged spirits, is refreshing and highlights her resourcefulness. Sarah Sutton handles the increased focus on Nyssa with aplomb, bringing depth and curiosity to her character.

The atmosphere is palpable, with strong sound design and writing evoking an intimate yet chilling environment reminiscent of Land of the Dead. The haunted house feel that takes over once the Doctor arrives adds a layer of tension, as accusations fly among the characters while they’re trapped inside.

However, the story's explanation for the strange events—telepathic powers and extra-dimensional forces—feels a bit underwhelming. The shift from a potentially unique spin on a supernatural mystery to a more standard Doctor Who explanation robs the narrative of some of its intrigue. The telepathic elements create an eerie atmosphere but don’t quite mesh with the rest of the story’s tone.

India Fisher’s early role as Peril is a fascinating footnote, though her performance is somewhat distracting for listeners familiar with her iconic portrayal of Charley Pollard. Sally Faulkner and Peter Jurasik add strong performances, with Faulkner bringing authority and Jurasik lending an air of mystery.

The pacing is steady, with strange events peppered throughout to maintain tension, but it doesn’t remain consistently engaging. The final part, while faster-paced, feels overly drawn out, and the climax lacks the impact needed to close the story on a high note. Additionally, the sound design falters in these later parts, which detracts from the immersive experience.

📝Verdict: 6/10

As Andrew Cartmel’s first Big Finish script, Winter for the Adept is notable for its rare pairing of Nyssa and the Fifth Doctor under his pen. The setting and atmosphere are its strongest elements, but the story struggles to maintain focus and feels uneven in its execution. While not without its flaws, this audio drama offers an intriguing, atmospheric experience that fans of Gothic mysteries and Nyssa-centric tales may find worth exploring.

19.02.2022

Meh. Perfectly listenable and perfectly forgettable. The villains are very campy and simplistic, which didn't work for me this time. The reveal felt more like a rugpull than a payoff.
Peter Davison's got a really nice and smooth voice. It's remarkable how at the start of his era I felt his was the blandest yet.
Also Doctor casually commits another genocide. Out of principle I will give it 0/5, because I don't see what else this story is about.

MR 010: Winter for the Adept

Well I did say for the Fifth and Seventh Doctors to get their act together. And it seems they did. This one is quite good. I also have been known to say that Doctor Who can be dropped into any story and it can work. This is a great example of that. This is a straight up ghost story. There's a psychic, a telekinetic, poltergeist activity, and a REAL ghost.

An evil alien from another dimension has been opening up a portal for an invasion fleet with the use of human psychics and a human ghost. Yes. That's the summary. And it's not super important.

The important thing is that the atmosphere is quite well done here. The haunting music, the sound effects of things moving about, the piano playing on its own. It sounds like a haunted house. And what a great setting for a haunted house too: a super expensive finishing school in the middle of the Swiss Alps in a blizzard. Totally isolated. A lot of it reminded me of Luigi's Mansion because that was one of my favorite games as a kid.

This story also features India Fisher in a pre-Charley role, which was wild. Her voice is so recognizeable that I was thrown off for a second. This is also probably the first time I've ever had Nyssa in a story and felt like she had a personality. She's actually on the Doctor's ass. Constantly berating him for accidentally teleporting her here and being sarcastic about his failures.

I'm also, hopefully, kind of starting to understand the appeal of the Fifth Doctor as well. He mumbles a lot, he's very easy to push around, he seems very unsure of himself, and he stutters a lot. Maybe that's the appeal? He's someone you want to protect? Regardless, this was a very fun story. Definitely the best Fifth Doctor story so far and the best non-Sixth Doctor story so far easily.

i really enjoyed how everything pieced together. the villain felt a little bit empty tbh but the mystery and some of the conclusion was quite intriguing/unexpected ! love 5/nyssa solo, they are a great pairing.