PLOTLINE

When the TARDIS lands on Orkney in the near future, the Doctor and Amy arrive to find a large demonstration in progress over the construction of new electricity pylons. The Doctor tries to break things up peacefully - but suddenly the road splits open without warning and swallows police, security guards and protestors alike. Separated from the Doctor, Amy takes charge of transporting the wounded to hospital - but the rescue mission becomes a terrifying ride as the pylons come to life and begin to walk and the road rears up, erupting with boiling tarmac.

The Doctor, meanwhile, has even more than metal monsters and rebellious roads to deal with. Who is sucking the life out of the power company's employees - and just what is lurking inside the Astra-Gen headquarters?

COMMENT

Stephen Cole returns to the DOCTOR WHO universe with the first BBC AUDIO featuring the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), DOCTOR WHO - THE RUNAWAY TRAIN read by Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams from SERIES 5).

This is another "audio exclusive" from BBC AUDIO and, overall, it is an exciting, electrifying (literally) and character-driven single-disc Earth-based adventure suitable for primary school (pre-teens) Time Lords, even if some of the "science facts" could be quite confusing (thank heavens for WIKIPEDIA).

The story is DOCTOR WHO standard; an alien arrives, infiltrates our planet and attempts to colonise it but it is adoption of those subliminal everyday things that we all take for granted as we go about our daily business. I have a feeling that Cole was driving through the English countryside with a copy of HG Wells' THE WAR OF THE WORLD (or even David Fisher's CLASSIC SERIES novel, DOCTOR WHO - THE STONES OF BLOOD - 1978) on the passenger seat and thought, "Oh, those pylons could be alive with all that electricity running across them" and then unblinkingly tapped out the story at his keyboard.

The pace of drama is relentless, splitting up the Doctor and "Pond" from the second scene only to bring them together in a climatic resolution. The format of "base-under-siege" is expanded upon (it becomes the Orkney, northern Scotland in the near future) and the (unimpressive) alien - known as CasCailleach created from PAH (Polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons) - is, once again, a lost alien seeking a new home. However, it is the creative use of the steel-framed giants (no, the cybermen don't blaze a trail across the landscape) of the National Power Grid conduits that provide the deliverance of evil on behalf of the aliens.

The steel work rose up into the air to slam down another 30 metres away. "It's walking", Fay breathed, "That's a pylon walking." It was like some vast featureless robot. An empty framework that was somehow was larger than life. Slowly it stomped toward the coach.

A legion of seemingly fragile metal structures become terrifying menacing, along with volatile road bitumen and inexplicable crevices that appears in the ground. For the Doctor it's just another day at the office (read: TARDIS).

The aliens are creating a vast titular "ring of steel" those creating a vast electric circuit to power am irreversible transformation of Earth's atmosphere (converting the abundant Nitrogen and Oxygen) into a breeding planet for colonisation. Well, that's the plan but the Doctor and Amy has other plans.

"Come on, Pond, don't dawdle," shouted the Doctor. And with a smile Amy ran after him.

Darvill's reading is, at times, forced and stilted, yet his characterisation of the Scottish lass, Amy, is wonderfully charming though his Doctor is less impressive if not dull.

For the first release under the Eleventh Doctor banner, DOCTOR WHO - THE RING OF STEEL is a perfect entry level for younger fans that have not yet discovered the delights of audio books.

After this exclusive adventure from BBC AUDIO, they will be clambering for the next release, DOCTOR WHO - THE RUNAWAY TRAIN ready by Matt Smith himself.

Can't wait.