Jamie Revell
Here, Big Finish takes the unusual step of jumping back into their own chronology to add additional stories between those already released. This is common enough for most Doctors, since the needs of internal chronology take a back seat to whichever companion is required for a given tale, but hasn't been for the Eighth Doctor. Here, though, are four new stories featuring Lucie Miller, set at some point during the original run of the Eighth Doctor Adventures line. Despite the title, they feature the Doctor as much, if not more, than Lucie and the first three are largely (although not entirely) standalone.
• The Dalek Trap – The first episode has the unusual device of having the Doctor be effectively incapacitated for almost the entire story. This, of course, places Lucie front-stage, leaving her as the primary character to try and deal with the situation they find themselves in – marooned on an isolated planetoid that is also home to a crashed Dalek spacecraft. The Daleks are also behaving oddly and its initially unclear to what extent they are responsible for what's happening or are just taking advantage of something else. Seeing Lucie so crucial to the plot is good, especially for the opening episode of a series with her name in the title although arguably she isn't really stretched, and the alien setting doesn't make much of her distinction from other companions. 3 stars.
• The Revolution Game – In many respects, despite the lack of returning monsters, this is a more traditional story, with the Doctor up against corporate greed on an arid colony world. There are a few twists along the way, largely concerning the native life on the planet, which there is rather more to than it first appears. Aside from helping to investigate the central mystery, Lucie's main role here is getting to take part in a local roller derby, something that's less effective on audio than it would be with visuals – a voice-over from a sports commentator would have helped here, although in fairness the details aren't a major part of the plot. 3.5 stars.
• The House on the Edge of Chaos – Unusually, there is no story set in Earth's past in this collection, but this is the closest it gets. It's set on a human colony world where things have been set up to mirror the social structure (and, apparently, the costumes and décor) of early 20th century England – a sort of Downton Abbey in space. Albeit one with a mysterious force preventing anyone from leaving the vast house, which now seems to be leaking inside and killing people. It's a well-done story, with some thought having gone into how such a society could function, with a good mix of investigative and action elements... although the resolution does, in the end, feel a little abrupt. That Lucie is instantly identified by the housekeeper as being upper-class material and treated as such from then on is also an amusing change for the character. 4.5 stars.
• Island of the Fendahl – This tale set in the present day is to my mind, a more successful sequel to TV story Image of the Fendahl than Big Finish's previous attempt to do so as part of their Torchwood series. It has a distinct feel of Folk Horror, the genre that the original TV story was emulating, creating an entirely new story that fits with the atmosphere of the original – of which some knowledge is required, since there are a number of connections. There several twists along the way, leading to an effective finale that ties some apparently disparate threads together. 4.5 stars.
Here, Big Finish takes the unusual step of jumping back into their own chronology to add additional stories between those already released. This is common enough for most Doctors, since the needs of internal chronology take a back seat to whichever companion is required for a given tale, but hasn't been for the Eighth Doctor. Here, though, are four new stories featuring Lucie Miller, set at some point during the original run of the Eighth Doctor Adventures line. Despite the title, they feature the Doctor as much, if not more, than Lucie and the first three are largely (although not entirely) standalone.
• The Dalek Trap – The first episode has the unusual device of having the Doctor be effectively incapacitated for almost the entire story. This, of course, places Lucie front-stage, leaving her as the primary character to try and deal with the situation they find themselves in – marooned on an isolated planetoid that is also home to a crashed Dalek spacecraft. The Daleks are also behaving oddly and its initially unclear to what extent they are responsible for what's happening or are just taking advantage of something else. Seeing Lucie so crucial to the plot is good, especially for the opening episode of a series with her name in the title although arguably she isn't really stretched, and the alien setting doesn't make much of her distinction from other companions. 3 stars.
• The Revolution Game – In many respects, despite the lack of returning monsters, this is a more traditional story, with the Doctor up against corporate greed on an arid colony world. There are a few twists along the way, largely concerning the native life on the planet, which there is rather more to than it first appears. Aside from helping to investigate the central mystery, Lucie's main role here is getting to take part in a local roller derby, something that's less effective on audio than it would be with visuals – a voice-over from a sports commentator would have helped here, although in fairness the details aren't a major part of the plot. 3.5 stars.
• The House on the Edge of Chaos – Unusually, there is no story set in Earth's past in this collection, but this is the closest it gets. It's set on a human colony world where things have been set up to mirror the social structure (and, apparently, the costumes and décor) of early 20th century England – a sort of Downton Abbey in space. Albeit one with a mysterious force preventing anyone from leaving the vast house, which now seems to be leaking inside and killing people. It's a well-done story, with some thought having gone into how such a society could function, with a good mix of investigative and action elements... although the resolution does, in the end, feel a little abrupt. That Lucie is instantly identified by the housekeeper as being upper-class material and treated as such from then on is also an amusing change for the character. 4.5 stars.
• Island of the Fendahl – This tale set in the present day is to my mind, a more successful sequel to TV story Image of the Fendahl than Big Finish's previous attempt to do so as part of their Torchwood series. It has a distinct feel of Folk Horror, the genre that the original TV story was emulating, creating an entirely new story that fits with the atmosphere of the original – of which some knowledge is required, since there are a number of connections. There several twists along the way, leading to an effective finale that ties some apparently disparate threads together. 4.5 stars.