Starborn

"We are the last people to understand ourselves."

Writer: Jacqueline Raynor

Format: Audio

Released: April 2014

Series: Companion Chronicles 8.09

Featuring: First Doctor, Vicki

Synopsis 

On a visit to early 20th century Earth, Vicki receives a warning - if she leaves in the TARDIS, then she will die. Unable to join her friends, Vicki is given an audience by a psychic called Violet, who contacts voices beyond this mortal plain. And one of those voices is Vicki herself, who reveals what will happen at the ship's next landing place- and what terrible fate awaits...

Verdict 

Starborn was a wonderful audio adventure! I was always confident that would be the case with Jacqueline Raynor writing, she's a favourite of mine as I'm sure I've mentioned in a past entry and here she got to give us an excellent little adventure with the First Doctor and Vicki. Now it's true that Ian and Barbara were referenced but I don't think they actually appeared hence the lack of them in the 'featuring' bracket. During the TV run I always loved the relationship between the Doctor and Vicki and here I liked how it was still set in the early days of Vicki's arrival on the TARDIS. That meant she was still getting to grips with her new surroundings and friends and that dynamic is fantastic. After Susan's departure in The Dalek Invasion of Earth the Doctor really made an effort to make Vicki comfortable and that's seen here. But the story was also about Vicki, as the range depicts, and her encounter with the nameless Waneshe spirit claiming to be her from the death. That concept is quite frightening and I loved how the dead spirit tried to prevent an event to stop her own death. An ambitious attempt of survival to say the least! Violet was a good character played by Jacqueline Hill, who I know as Sylvia Noble from the Tenth Doctor era, and I liked the ambiance essence surrounding her. The numerous references to The Romans were much welcomed and at first it seemed this was going to be a kind of loose sequel set immediately after the TARDIS departed the burning city but that wasn't the case which I think is a good thing. But the Waneshe knowing about Maximus was tremendous! Vicki being from the 25th century is good because she's more on the Doctor's level than Ian and Barbara and that can provide humour as was seen here with Vicki not seeing too much difference between Nero's Rome and 1963's London. The reference to The Rescue was nicely put but that soon turned evil as Vicki realised that when you're a time traveller and you visit the far future, everyone you know is dead. A horrific concept but a factual one. Just think what the Doctor has to go through! That scary thought would of course catch up to him in The Name of the Doctor. The way the Waneshe gave away that she wasn't really the dead Vicki was good but perhaps it came a little too early and was a tad obvious. But the idea was clever so it didn't really hurt the quality of anything. The cliffhanger was fantastic, not that I think they're necessary in this range, and Vicki's continued disbelief that she was talking to her dead self was wonderful. She ridiculed the whole seance occasion and I think I'd do exactly the same. The supernatural is a load of baloney in my eyes so I loved how Vicki mocked it all! The climax was very good with the story's tellings coming full circle and the Waneshe revealing how she'd hoped to prevent Vicki from ever going to her planet so she wouldn't die, which probably would have happened anyway with the invasion that came. It was rather selfish! I did like the concept of the starborns and the emotional climax made a great end to a brilliant story. Splendid! 

Rating: 9/10