Silver Lining

"That's humans for you, never did manage the art of logic."

Writer: Colin Brake

Format: Audio

Released: 

Series: Bernice Summerfield Special Release 01

Featuring: Bernice

Synopsis 

Verdict 

Silver Lining is an excellent half hour of Doctor Who drama. Despite it being Doctor-less, as is the intention in the Bernice Summerfield range, it was really good and has definitely paved the way for me to look to do more adventures and series' in this range in the future! As in Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code, I really admired the enthusiasm Benny had for her archaeology and adventuring. I was intrigued at how normal a life she'd led since departing the TARDIS. It was very interesting news to discover that Bernice is a mother! I do look forward to seeing the many spinoff series she stars in pan out. I'm really looking forward to a lot of adventures and the chance for a companion to really become big in the Whoniverse, and I like the fact that it's one who didn't appear on television. But back to this cleverly titled story and I really liked the plot and it's similarities to The Tomb of the Cybermen. A cave, metalic doors hidden into moutains (or equivalent) and a unique intelligence test. Plus the would-be accomplice turning out to want to use the Cybermen or their technology for their own use. I really liked the scenes with the door opening attempts and the brilliance of Bernice shone through as she found the correct, analogue, sequence of notes on the keyboard. Just why or how the Cybermen had implanted a keyboard into their entrance I wasn't sure, but I love the absurdity! Lynton was a tremendous character and for a while with its short format, and the Cybermen yet to appear, I was beginning to wonder just what direction things were going in. But then he turned and revealed all. He was just using Bernice to break into the Cyber pit and take things for himself. He wanted the Cyber-Plague to unleash for his own devilish schemes but the revelation that the plague itself was on the outside of the canister rather than inside was brilliant! So scheming of the Cybermen yet utterly fantastic. Their plan was for the capturer of the plague to exit the pit with the can and unleash the disease on all. Bernice questioned my wondering, how would that help conversion? Nevertheless, the Cybermen have been known to partake in strange methods and reasoning so I could easily let it slide here. What mattered was the Cybermen were upto no good yet again and were planning on unleashing a contact-spreading disease. So they needed to be stop. The arrival of the Cybermen wasn't as emphatic as it could have been but I found the design, or rather voice, of this version of the silver rodents of peculiar interest. They didn't sound too ruthless or aggressive even if their agenda seemed to say otherwise. I loved how Bernice quickly friended a Cyberman to prevent the explosives from going off, or rather let her escape before the pit became an inferno. I thought it wwe awesome how she climbed on and up a Cybermen! When has that been done before? Excellent scenes. The climax in which Benny leaves the Cyberman for dead in escaping herself was very good and as I mentioned in a recent blog of Island of Horror, without the Doctor the major villains need to be defeated somewhat climatically and again that was terrifically portrayed here. Overall, despite its short length, this was an outstanding little audio! 

Rating: 9/10