The Pyralis Effect

"We will illuminate you. We will illuminate you all!"

Writer: George Mann
Format: Audio
Released: October 2009
Series: Companion Chronicles 4.04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II

Synopsis

Long ago, the planet Pavonis IV was saved from certain destruction by the Doctor. Now it is dead, laid waste by environmental catastrophe, but a few survivors and their precious race bank survive on the starship Myriad. Their mission: to scour the universe for the fabled dimensionally transcendental obelisk in which their saviour travels, and persuade him to save their world again.

As the TARDIS arrives, by chance, on the Myriad, the Fourth Doctor and Romana are just in time to see the crew achieve their goal. Or so they think... Death stalks the corridors of the ships, the artificial intelligence CAIN has lost control, and a force is about to be unleashed that threatens the entire galaxy.

Verdict

The Pyralis Effect was a great little Companion Chronicle audio adventure and finally saw me enter a blog of decent length with the Fourth Doctor, read by the beautiful and wonderful Lalla Ward. Romana II is in my top three companions of all time and to hear her return in performed Doctor Who, narrating the story, was spectacular. Lalla did a tremendous job of telling the story and put in all the traits of the Fourth Doctor excellently. I liked the brief bit of banter between the pair and also loved how, just like any incarnation, past or future, the Doctor went wondering off from his companion. I loved the mention of the legend of the Doctor on Pavonis IV, a white haired man with three companions, an obvious and terrific reference to the First Doctor and his companions; Ian, Barbara and either Susan or Vicki. As I'm currently in Vicki's tenure with my TV serials, I like to believe that it is her who was present with the First Doctor. CAIN was a intriguing character and I really liked Romana's interest in him. His persona was frightening yet somehow calm. Suri was also a fantastic character and seemed like there was a lot more to her than what was told which I liked. The cliffhanger was very good and definitely made me want to listen to the next part straight away which I always look for! As the plot unfolded, the exciting climax was good and very enjoyable. A comedic moment at the end, something almost unthinkable - the Doctor had ran out of jelly babies! But overall, a great audio and it was wonderful to have Romana II with her Doctor again. (I had of course seen her meet the Sixth Doctor in The Apocalypse Element). Very good!

Rating: 8/10