Destination: Nerva

"I could travel in the TARDIS for a billion, billion years and still only scratch the surface of eternity."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs
Format: Audio
Released: January 2012
Series: FDA 1.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis

After saying their goodbyes to Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordan Jago, the Doctor and Leela respond to an alien distress call beamed direct from Victorian England. It is the beginning of a journey that will take them to the newly built Space Dock Nerva... where a long overdue homecoming is expected.

A homecoming that could bring about the end of the human race.

Verdict

Destination: Nerva was a good start to the Fourth Doctor Adventures series of Big Finish audios, but despite it being great I was hoping for better! With Nicholas Briggs writing I was expecting a top, top quality adventure (9 or 10/10) but it wasn't quite that. I don't know why I'm complaining though, the audio was still excellent! I liked how it started off from the end of The Talons of Weng-Chiang and left the Doctor and Leela remaining in Victorian attire. The pairing of them seemed even better here than it did on TV. Leela's lack of knowledge on human affairs and taking almost everything literally provided some wonderful humour. Add to that some clever puns from the Fourth Doctor and the TARDIS pair is just top class. I liked that the Doctor was going to be heading to Space Dock Nerva once again, or as I remember it, the Ark. The references to The Ark in Space and Revenge of the Cybermen were fantastic. The surprise return of the Drudgers who briefly featured in The Sirens of Time was very welcomed. The plot was good, but it could have been better, and I thought Lord Jack Corrigan was a terrific villain. The concept of 'joining' was horrifying but I think it is difficult to fully portray in audio and would be best placed for TV. But hey, it still worked for the most part. Alison was a lovely character, I really liked her throughout. The Drellerans were very good and their role was pretty good! The climax was eventful but I didn't much like how it wasn't clearly explained, although after the Doctor did his best to enlighten Leela, the star of the audio, I was a bit more happy. Overall, a decent start to the new series, but it could have been much better! Still sneaks my maybe generous rating.

Rating: 8/10