The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa have arrived in ancient Arabia when they pick up a distress call from a Gantha ship. Soon, the Doctor is trapped in the Sultan's dungeons. As he tries to escape, Nyssa pleads with the Sultan for his release. The Sultan is amused by her stories and decides she should mimic Scheherazade. He decides that she and the Doctor will survive as long as he is entertained.
1001 Nights By: Emma Beeby
The Doctor and Nyssa arrive on a prison asteroid at the edge of the universe. They find a prisoner being continuously tortured in an electric chair. The Doctor decides that he must be freed, but doesn't take his crimes into account.
This is a very typical Doctor Who story. The Doctor rushes in without thinking and winds up in over his head. It has some comical moments and the usual Doctor Who banter. It just doesn't do anything too surprising, impressive or new. It's not bad, it's just okay. 6/10
My Brother's Keeper By: George Rennie
In 1892 Norwood, England at the home of Elizabeth Spinnaker. She and her butler, Mr. Hill, care for an insane woman and await the arrival of a Doctor. He soon arrives and must deal with the interplanetary menace locked in the woman.
The seconds story is a cute exorcism tale. Yeah, you heard me: cute. It has some callbacks to Jane Eyre and of course The Exorcist. The Victorian lovers could annoy some people, but they were so over the top I thought they were funny. The Doctor does his thing, but it comes off as a bit more clever than the first tale. I rather enjoyed it. This is my favorite of the lot. 7/10
The Interplanetarian By: Jonathan Barnes
The Doctor and Nyssa arrive on a "dark and stormy night" to a tavern on some seaside cliffs. When they enter, they discover the natives have a curious method of currency. They tell stories to pay for things. Unfortunately, unscrupulous plagiarists abound.
This story has a very interesting concept and they do some neat things with it. They don't really go as far with the idea of creativity as a commodity as I'd like. The plot is relatively standard, but fun. Props for the throwing in the title where I didn't expect it though. 7/10
Smuggling Tales By: Catherine Harvey
The last story concludes the frame narrative.
The frame story starts off very typical and gets bizarre very quickly as both Nyssa and the Doctor deal with two different sultans. The telling of stories actually factors nicely into the plot and it even has a Middle Eastern flavored villain. There are definitely some cool ideas, but the ultimate conclusion is a bit unsatisfying. I wish the frame story had gotten more development. Overall, this a good listen, but nothing spectacular.
7/10
Get it here from Big Finish!
No comments:
Post a Comment