Doctor Who: Destiny Of The Doctor: Shockwave by James Swallow (CD review).

  When Ace ends up on Tarsus Six which was about to be destroyed by a Shockwave, she goes along with the Doctor as he blags passage on an escaping spaceship, the Obscura. While the residents of Tarsus Six are desperate to leave, the mysterious and suicidal Senders are ready to embrace the Shockwave, believing they will be transformed by it. Ace is our constant observer and her feelings colour the narrative.

As usual, the Doctor’s motives are obscure and not shared with his travelling companion and Ace has a Quantum Leap moment as she tries to establish just what they are doing there. When Ace helps a doubting Sender aboard, she sets in train a series of events that could have consequences even beyond their current dilemma.

This is the seventh episode of the ‘Destiny Of The Doctor’ series, specially commissioned for the 50th Anniversary and we have Sophie Aldred narrating this enhanced audio book with her version of the Seventh Doctor. He’s quite Scottish in this, although this never became a talking point or even noticed unlike the Ninth, who felt he had to justify his northern accent. Ian Brooker joins Sophie playing the part of Captain OhOne of the spaceship Obscura.

Written by James Swallow, ‘Shockwave’ is a nice big instalment with some massive special effects and awe-inspiring moments. As the Doctor says the universe is a place of infinite possibilities and there’s nothing wrong with some upscaling of the tale to remind us of those glorious episodes where the universe taps the Doctor and us on the shoulders and says ‘Oi, you’.

As we move inexorably to the final episodes, I realise that after the 11th episode I’m going to have to listen to them all in order again. I’m happy to celebrate the 50th Anniversary that way.

Sue Davies

July 2013

(pub: Big Finish. 1 CD 60 minute story. Price: CD: £10.20 (UK), Download: £ 3.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-47131-173-4)

cast: Sophie Aldred and Ian Brooker

check out website: www.bigfinish.com