2 episodes: The Hole in Space, Messages from the Other Side. Approx. 73 minutes. Written by: Andy Lane. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Carole Ann Ford, Stephen Hancock.
THE PLOT
The TARDIS materializes on the Nevermore, a spaceship run by Rostrum, an artificial plant lifeform that acts as captain and crew. Rostrum's mission is "benchmarking," using singularities to thread space like a needle through cloth, effectively embedding navigation points so that no space traveler need ever worry about getting lost.
The Doctor is appalled. He realizes instantly how dangerous it is to poke holes in the fabric of space/time, revealing that there are other realities, and that these holes might give the creatures that live in those realities a way to enter and wreak havoc.
While the Doctor argues with Rostrum, Susan wanders off and encounters another crew member in the engine room, apparently the ship's First Mate (Stephen Hancock). He prods Susan about her over-reliance on her grandfather. But the longer she stays in his company, the weaker she becomes. When Rostrum insists that there is no crew other than himself, the time travelers realize that this man Susan saw must be an intruder!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: This was the first Companion Chronicle set during Susan's time in the TARDIS, and writer Andy Lane seems to have been determined to capture the irascibility of the early First Doctor. He goes a little overboard, with the first episode overstuffed with the Doctor behaving competitively toward Ian. Susan's narration is filled with asides about how selfish and difficult he is. To an extent, this is a fair piece of the Doctor's character - but this characterization seems more in tune with the Doctor of the first three televised stories than of the Doctor post-Season One! Carole Ann Ford's Doctor is terrific. This is her first Big Finish audio reading, and she already does a superb job of capturing Hartnell's vocal tics, something she would do consistently well in many audio stories to come.
Susan: Doesn't get much involved in the Doctor's conversations with Rostrum, mostly just observing him as she observes the interactions of Ian and Barbara. Her best material comes in the fully-dramatized scenes between her and the First Mate, with their conversations intended to pave the way for her to leave her grandfather. She stands up for herself to him and the others just before the organized search for the First Mate, insisting that she be part of the search... at which point the Doctor realizes for perhaps the first time ever that his granddaughter is becoming an independent young woman, a transformation he's not entirely comfortable with.
Ian/Barbara: Ian responds to the Doctor's jibes by being deliberately competitive, even as he approaches each new situation in an aggressively rational manner. Confronted by concepts he can't understand, such as the fabric of space/time itself, he keeps trying to draw analogies between it and something within his experience, fumbling each attempt. Susan views Barbara as the peacemaker, doing her best to defuse arguments between Ian and the Doctor, and later between the Doctor and Rostrum.
THOUGHTS
Here There Be Monsters kicked off the third "season" of Big Finish's Companion Chronicles range, and also kicked off the range's continuous, year-around run (the first two seasons having been a mere four releases each). It proved to be a good choice for this, rapturously received on initial release and still standing as a well-made, well-structured story, that balances telling a good science fiction story against being a character piece for Susan.
There is no denying this is a well-crafted piece. The script captures the regulars well, even if the First Doctor's worst traits are a bit overdone. New information is revealed at just the right pace to hold attention, and the character material for Susan works wonderfully, fleshing her out as a character well beyond what the television series ever managed to do while at the same time creating context for her departure in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
The idea of the sentient plant, with its tendrils acting as sensors all over the ship, creates a strong mental image. The dead leaves create an interesting hook even before the regulars meet Rostrum and the story begins to unfold. The benchmarking process works well in creating a reason for both the Doctor and the First Mate to be involved. The reason for the benchmarking - aiding navigation - makes sense, and the details of the process make it believable as a potential threat, with an episode-bridging confrontation working both as a dramatic cliffhanger and as a way to raise the stakes.
I would rate this even higher except that I still have the same problem now that I did at the time of first release: That I find myself appreciating it intellectually without ever really connecting with it emotionally. I don't know exactly why this is the case... But while I enjoy the story, it is one that every time I've listened to it holds me at just a bit of a distance.
Still, it's a fine script, impeccably produced and wonderfully performed by Carole Ann Ford. It will never be a personal favorite of mine, but it definitely rates highly among Big Finish's works.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
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