The Eighth Doctor Adventures Series 2 Episode 8 - Vengeance Of Morbius

Surely Nick Briggs, the ‘RTD of Big Finish’, could not keep up the amazing quality that the previous part of this ‘finale’ served up? Well unlike his television counterparts, he delivered an even better story and a gripping end to series two of the Eighth Doctor Adventures.

‘Vengeance of Morbius’ picks up immediately from where ‘Sisters of the Flame left’ off. Fans of the classic series will of course know who and what Morbius is. But for those who are new to the classic series and/or have never seen ‘The Brain of Morbius’, I would urge you to check it out, as the DVD has just been released. Of course the timing of this audio has got nothing to do with that, honest!

With the Doctor and Lucie facing the dilemma of being separated into particles – thanks to ‘The Sisterhood of Karn’, or ‘David Tennant’s fan club’ as I like to call them, things look bleak for the universe. Meanwhile Straxus and the winner of this months ‘underused character award’, Rosto, are trapped on the ship, as Morbius groupie and part-time richest man in the universe, Zarodnix, moves in….

I’ll go on record as saying this and its previous part, is among the best stuff Big Finish has done. Everything about this audio was just incredible. From the writing by the much-maligned Nick Briggs, the music, which was just superb and stitched each scene together perfectly, the acting, as always, was top notch. Morbius was superbly brought back to life by Samuel West and manic Zarodnix (Kenneth Colley) wasn’t too bad either!

But yet again, I find myself praising Sheridan Smith’s staggering portrayal of Lucie Miller. She just blew her other performances out of the water in this story! She just seems so at ease in the audio world and fits in with McGann’s Doctor perfectly. McGann himself has been constantly upstaged by Sheridan’s performances. Her strong willed, witty and compassionate character is already one of my favourite companions and judging by everybody else’s reactions, they more-or-less agree!

It was an interesting idea in bringing back Morbius and the Sisterhood. In fact the last two series of the 8th Doctor adventures have seen the revival of many of the classic monsters. Thankfully there have been no Daleks or Cybermen this year and I think the series has benefited from that. I just hope that they can introduce a few more original ideas to the mix for next year.

5/5

Next Time: It’s a long wait until next year! If only I had a TARDIS……

The Eighth Doctor Adventures Series 2 Episode 7 - Sisters of the Flame

"The richest man in the galaxy has just bought a backwards planet with no obvious mineral wealth in the outer reaches of the universe. An obscure mystical sect has been revived after centuries of neglect. A new race of aliens are hunting for prey. Why?

As the Doctor and Lucie attempt to discover the answer, it becomes clear that someone is attempting to resurrect the past - and they need a Time Lord to help them achieve it."

Well that's much better! After being slightly disappointed with last month’s offering, we reach part one of this year’s ‘finale’ and its brilliant!

Okay, it’s only the first part and part two could end up an absolute mess but everything about this story seemed to just fit into place rather nicely. Nick Briggs has easily justified his position at Big Finish after being criticized by fans, for the fact that he was ‘doing everything’.

For Tom Baker fans, the episode is pretty easy to figure out from the title. ‘The Sisters of The Flame’ refer to the ‘Sisterhood of Karn’, who first appeared in 1976 in the serial ‘The Brain of Morbius’. The Sisterhood are a cult of psychic woman, who have recently been unscrupulously ripped off in ‘The Fires of Pompeii’ (ooh controversial!). In this audio, they are no longer on Karn as a businessman - Zarodnix (Kenneth Colley) is buying up all the planets he can, even those that don’t offer anything. But why?

Meanwhile Lucie makes a new friend in Rosto (Alexander Siddig), a grasshopper-type creature called a Trel, after the Doctor is kidnapped. With The Doctor gone, Lucie has to investigate the mystery and find him. But with Time Lords sniffing around and a certain chant about ‘flames and fires’, will she ever get to the bottom of it?

The story is written very well and is probably the best ‘set up’ story that has come from the 8th Doctor Adventures range. The first parts of ‘Blood of the Daleks’ and ‘Human Resources’ are pretty decent, but they just don’t ‘pull you in’ as much as this first part. Nick Briggs has done a terrific job, just keep away from that mixing desk, eh Nick?

We are treated to more great performances. Sheridan Smith in particular is outstanding and this just tops everything she done so far, for me anyway! I can’t really wait for the second part, which is why I’m holding back on the top mark. I think these two-parters should be released on a double CD, rather than two single ones. Maybe it’s the month wait and the extra £££’s that the fans will have to pay? Oh well, hopefully the quality will keep for the next instalment!

4.5/5

Next Time: It’s the final audio of the year, as body-less Timelord Morbius returns. If he doesn’t then Big Finish should be done under the Trade Descriptions Act for naming the story ‘Vengeance of Moribus’!