Whispers of Terror

"It's what you say that's important, not how loudly you say it. Could be a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury but signifying... nothing."

Writer: Justin Richards
Format: Audio
Released: November 1999
Series: Main Range 03

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

The Doctor and Peri find themselves in the Museum of Aural Antiquities, where every sound is stored for posterity - from the speeches of Visteen Krane to security service wire taps and interrogation tapes. But they also find an intruder, mysterious changed recordings, and a dead body!

Before long, the Doctor realises that there is more going on than a simple break-in or murder. How can he defeat a creature that is made of pure sound?

Verdict

Colin Baker gets his first go as the lone Doctor in an audio here and after his part in The Sirens of Time being by far the best, I had high hopes. And he gave a brilliant performance. The story was good but not quite up to the standard of the previous audio Phantasmagoria. I really liked the idea behind the Museum of Aural Antiquities and the vision I'd created of it from the audio is a good one. I thought the revelation behind Visteen Krane was outstanding and very surprising, in a good way. Hearing Peri return was excellent as I really loved her as companion, particularly during her time with the Sixth Doctor in season 22 so it was wonderful to hear the TARDIS pair united once more. Her part in the audio was great and she was just like she was during her TV run - a great companion. A pretty strong guest cast added well to the story, which somewhat buffered off during part three before a good climax. I particularly liked Gantman and Dent and thought Beth Purnell was a good villain. What she was attempting was good. The overall plot was good and I did like the cliffhangers!

Rating: 8/10