The Transit of Venus

"What use is knowledge, if there are no men to share it?"

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner
Format: Audio
Released: January 2009
Series: Companion Chronicles 3.07

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

The year is 1770, and daring explorer Captain James Cook and his crew on the Endeavour are navigating the Pacific Ocean.

Into their midst come strangers: the First Doctor and Ian Chesterton, who are believed to have come from Venus. But the TARDIS is lost to them - along with both Susan and Barbara - and Ian makes an enemy of the ship's chief scientist, Joseph Banks.

Why is Banks acting strangely? Could it be that the travellers are not the only visitors from the stars?

Verdict

The Transit of Venus is a magnificent audio adventure and probably the best Companion Chronicle I have listened to yet. I was really looking forward to William Russell's performance and he certainly did not disappoint providing a wonderful narration and a great trip back to the past in rekindling his days of being Ian Chesterton. I also liked his impersonation of the First Doctor. It wasn't accurate, which is a lot to ask, but all the classic traits of William Hartnell were present. The plot was excellent and I really liked the ship setting at sea. When Ian regained consciousness after being knocked out, I didn't quite understand how the place he remembered was Venus, and that led him to claiming he was from there under grogginess, but other than that the story was sensational. Following on directly from The Sensorites, so a little behind in regards to my TV run, but that was no bother at all. The Doctor was determined to leave Ian and Barbara behind wherever they next landed and he did just that as the climax of the TV adventure showed. But with Ian groggy, we were receiving the story from his perspective and that was brilliant. Barbara was gone, and feared dead. But the Doctor had mysteriously boarded the ship, despite his best wishes, and the only thing he recalled was the TARDIS being thrown overboard! Susan was safely on board, but she couldn't survive on her own with a ship of that magnitude! And the mystery and unknowing whether Barbara was safe was fantastic. I really loved the character of Joseph Banks and how, as we'd later learned from Susan's telepathic doing, was telling of things that hadn't even been created or discovered yet! The length of the story (from the story perspective, not length of the CD) was interesting that it was so long, lasting a considerable amount of weeks. With no TARDIS, Susan or Barbara. The many references to superstition at sea of the 1700s was particularly enjoyable. I also was fond of the numerous references to the TARDIS foursome's adventures of Season One up to the point of The Sensorites. Susan still having some kind of telepathic ability following on from her happenings on the Sense Sphere was brilliant. Jacqueline Rayner, a long time favourite writer of mine, produced a script that had a wonderful plot and certainly the First Season feel! A pleasure to listen to.

Rating: 9/10