2 episodes: Dream Home, Home Truths. Running Time: Approx. 68 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Jean Marsh, Niall MacGregor.
THE PLOT:
Rational, respectable Robert (Niall MacGregor) travels across the water to the isle of Ely to visit a deserted house, a house that has been the subject of whispers and rumors. He comes to talk to its proprietress, Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh), and to hear her story.
Sara's story is also of a house: a home that she comes to with the Doctor and Steven. The house runs on psychic energy. Basic mechanisms, from doors to water faucets, respond not to physical manipulation but to thought. If you want a door to open or the water to turn on, thinking it will make it happen. A fascinating curiosity - until the trio comes across the corpses of the young couple who lived here.
Sara inspects the scene with her investigator's eye. There's no sign of a struggle, no sign of any violence at all. She observes that it's as if the two were alive right up to the moment of their deaths. An anxious Steven wants to leave. The Doctor thinks they should at least inform the local constabulary before moving on. And Sara, presented with a crime scene, wants to do her old job and solve the mystery.
But they aren't alone in this house - and the danger increases every moment they stay!
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: Sara sees him in two ways: as an aging authority figure with wisdom and resources she can't comprehend, yet also as a kindred spirit who is as eager as she is to solve the mystery of the dead couple. He doesn't allow his own interest to override his judgment, however. Once he realizes that they are in danger, he is willing to leave - at least, until circumstances dictate otherwise.
Sara Kingdom: She is driven by her own regret at shooting her brother rather than hearing him out. She loved being a security agent, a job she viewed as bringing order to chaos, and she resents that corrupt politics tarnished that. Presented with an old-fashioned murder mystery, a part of her delights in getting to use her skills, even as she chides herself for finding joy in the deaths of two people. Jean Marsh is splendid, convincingly presenting both an older and younger Sara in the frame vs. the main narrative.
Steven: The Doctor and Sara are intrigued by the dead bodies, but Steven is just disturbed by them. The instant he thinks there's danger, he begins prodding the others to simply leave. Outside of that, and some amusing business as he struggles with the mechanism of a psychic water faucet, he's mostly the "extra character" of the main trio.
Robert: The man in the frame story, rescued from the storm to hear Sara's story. It's evident early on that he's not here by accident. He addresses her as "Miss Kingdom" before she introduces herself, and he reveals that he paid well to be brought here in this weather. We learn steadily more about him as the story progresses. Suffice to say, he's a counterpart to the Sara of the past, a man who values truth and has no time for superstition. Niall MacGregor is good, and Robert gets a more prominent role than most of the range's "frame story" voices.
THOUGHTS:
Home Truths mixes a haunted house story with a locked room mystery. It works well as both, the creepy elements and the mechanics of the mystery feeding each other, the eeriness lending atmosphere to the mystery. Writer Simon Guerrier plays fair with the plot, providing enough clues that I was able to guess what was behind the deaths by the end of Episode One. Even after I knew where it was going, the story remained strong enough to hold my attention.
Part One is a slow build. This is appropriate to both of the genres being invoked, and everything that happens during this initial phase is needed: The house and its mechanisms are explored, the mystery is introduced, and plot points are carefully set up to pay off in Part Two. Descriptions are effective and, combined with excellent (and restrained) sound design, the atmosphere carries the narrative to a strong cliffhanger. Still, I suspect some listeners may grow restless.
I think the second episode is the better of the two, with all the devices of the plot so carefully set up by Part One finally paying off. The sense of danger increases, and the pace picks up as the regulars work to resolve the mystery while escaping from the house that's now become their cage. Ideas about careless thoughts, regrets, and judgment weave into the main narrative in ways that make them not just interesting but urgent, and the story's climax has some real tension.
This is a more internalized story than most Companion Chronicles. By this point, the range had already become less a range of "enhanced talking books" and more of a hybrid between audio book and play, but Home Truths tilts more toward narration than action. This suits the nature of the story, and it helps to make the bookends with Robert a stronger part of the narrative. It also suits Jean Marsh's strengths, with the emphasis on Sara's inner turmoil allowing Marsh to bring stronger emotion to bear than her brief televised tenure had time for.
OVERALL:
I've mentioned before that The Companion Chronicles may be my favorite Big Finish range, and Home Truths is one of the better of its releases. Jean Marsh gives an excellent performance, and the production enhances the story while remaining simple enough to avoid distracting from the actors and emotional content.
It may require a bit of patience from some listeners, but I think the end result is well worth that initial effort.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Set between: Episodes 7 and 8 of The Daleks' Master Plan
Next Story: The Drowned World (not yet reviewed)
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