House of Cards

"The Game of Life is my centrepiece attraction."

Writer: Steve Lyons
Format: Audio
Released: February 2013
Series: Companion Chronicles 7.08

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie

Synopsis

The TARDIS has landed in a futuristic space casino, where the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie find fun, games... and monsters everywhere. There are vicious robot dogs, snake-headed gangsters from the Sidewinder Syndicate and a mysterious masked women called Hope.

In this place, time travellers are to be tracked down and arrested. Yet, as events spiral out of control, time may be Polly's only ally...

Verdict

House of Cards was an extremely enjoyable audio adventure! This was packed full of action, fun and a brilliant plot! This story was rather 'Doctor-lite' but that didn't take anything away from it all. Anneke Wills, along with Frazier Hines, put in a majestic performance. She not only revisited her days in the TARDIS as Polly, but her impersonation of Ben was fantastic! Jamie's role was limited compared to that of Polly, but Hines was again excellent - but I expected nothing less. He always puts in a great performance as Jamie. I really liked the setting of a futuristic casino and the Sidewinder Syndicate were slithering and superb. Their voices were like robotic snake slurps and that was really good, it added a cautiousness to them and it was obvious that other species wanted to avoid them. The robotic dogs were interesting and there was a humorous moment with Jamie pulling out an eye from one of the 'metal beasties.' I thought the mystery behind Hope, who turned out to be the actual time travelling culprit hidden in a mask was excellent. But Polly was undoubtedly the stand out character and the things she went through were just sensational! Taken by the Sidewinder Syndicate to the boss, Fortune, she was in trouble. And with the eeriness of Fortune she was very uncomfortable. Faced with the horrific dilemma at the cliffhanger, having to press a button at random which would either save Ben and kill a cowboy she'd recently been acquainted with. In a clever resolution, Polly instead pressed the button of a time dangle and travelled back in time to her recent past and it wonderfully tied everything up. She prevented Ben from borrowing chips on the casino which lead him to being part of the Game of Life. I also loved the reference by Polly in referring to an action of the Doctor, of course in his second incarnation, 'like the old Doctor used to do.' A nice touch to William Hartnell's Doctor. I also loved the Marco Polo reference! Overall, this audio was lots of fun with a great plot and wonderful impersonations of Ben and the Doctor by the amazing Anneke Wills.

Rating: 9/10