It's all been a bit, well, "samey" up to now.
Paul Magrs' DOCTOR WHO - DEMON QUEST has not lived up to the enthralling, yes, enthralling first batch of audio stories under the HORNETS' NEST banner.
However, fresh from listening to its fourth episode, STARFALL, the DEMON QUEST is truly galloping across the endless expanse of space and the turbulent vortex of time.
In BBC AUDIO's exclusive audio adventure, with CLASSIC SERIES incarnation of the Doctor played garrulously by Tom Baker supported by Richard Franklin as Mike Yates and Susan Jameson as Mrs. Wibbsey, may have it its zenith as the action delivers itself to New York (USA) on 12 July 1972.
The USP ("unique selling point") for this episode is that the narration is provided from the viewpoint of Buddy Hudson, a budding (sorry.) writer and aficionado of the 1930s American "Penny dreadful". It's a refreshing approach and executed superbly with reverence to that period without being nauseous, and it is complimented by a suitably laconic music track and sound effects that transport you to the oppressive and arid streets of summer in the city. The narration format echoes the equally effective episode of QUANTUM LEAP (PLAY IT AGAIN, SEYMOUR) as it parodied a Humphrey Bogart film noir set in the 1950s.
Partially fixed (a missing "special geometer" retrieved), the TARDIS breaks free from the "only time travel" constraint and deposits its occupants in Central Park as it marvels at its own out-of-this-world deliverance - a meteor crash. A scene that is depicted on the cover of the comic book in the Doctor's possession since the village fete's "bring and buy" sale.
With the meteor imbibing Buddy Hudson's girlfriend (Alice Trefusis, and personal assistant to one-time film star, Mimsy Loyne) with alien powers (akin to those of SUPERMAN), the Doctor, with his own life-force being affected by an unknown influence, discovers that today, 12 July 1972, there are no coincidences, especially when he discovers that within the meteor is. well, spoilers.
Doctor (to Mike Yates): It may have slipped your notice, Mr Yates, that I'm not Superman.
Initially, you think that the subplot revolving around the relationship between the human-alien hybrid Alice (now calling herself "Ms Starfall"), her employer (Mimsy) and her boyfriend is purely padding as it generally deviates from the "demon quest" itself, however, skilfully Magrs, like a witty little knitter, secures the loose thread of coincidence and delivers a climax that will - yes, I guarantee it - have you on AMAZON.CO.UK buying the final episode (SEPULCHRE) quicker than you can say "knit one, purl one".
"Villain": My chickens come home to roost.
With Tom Baker absent from the majority of the episode, you think that you'll be short-changed but no as he is there with words of wisdom and doused with his (character's) penchant for mild and seemingly innocent innuendo;
Doctor (to Ms Starfall): Ready when you are, Ms Starfall!
As for his inference that he (in another incarnation) and the odious faded film actress, Loyne, had had a "dance" in 1922 is devilishly fruity if not frivolous.
To date, DOCTOR WHO - DEMONS QUEST - STARFALL is the most enjoyable, superbly polished (in terms of production values) and engaging episode, and with that jaw-dropping cliffhanger the series seems to be heading to finish on an unequivocal high.
I hope so.
The next episode: DEMON QUEST: SEPULCHRE.
