Doctor Who: Gods and Monsters

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Doctor Who: Gods and Monsters
Doctor Who: Gods and Monsters

Written By Mike Maddox and Alan Barnes

Published by Big Finish

The conclusion to this latest Seventh Doctor trilogy sees the Time Lord a prisoner of long-time adversary Fenric, trapped in a simulacrum of Asgard with blood sucking Haemovores for company. As Ace, Hex, Lysandra and Sally rush to The Doctor’s rescue, they find themselves pawns in a much larger game.

One of Big Finish’s most ambitious productions, Gods and Monsters pulls in years of audio release back stories, as well as a good chunk of TV continuity from The Curse of Fenric right back to Ace’s introduction to The Doctor. What is pleasing is that the storyline remains clear, well paced, and full of stand out sequences concocted by writers Maddox and Barnes.

While Sylvester McCoy has a larger role here than in the last two releases, his four companions still carry most of the action, with rich character development for each of them. Sally and Lysandra get a thrilling trip into their far future, while Ace and Hex struggle with some harsh home truths. Sophie Aldred in particular gives an outstanding performance, leaving the listener in no doubt that Ace will find it hard to forgive ‘The Professor’ this time.

Against such human drama, the battle between the Elder Gods palls somewhat, though this is frequently enlivened by the interventions of the companions, not least Ace driving a freshly forged tank. An odd run of Queen jokes also ensures that some humour lightens the often dark tone of this story.

On the strength of this trilogy, Sally Morgan and Lysandra Aristedes deserve a spin-off series pronto, and the next installment in the Seventh Doctor and Ace stories can’t come soon enough for fans keen to hear the fallout from the Elder Gods grand plans.

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