Creatures of Beauty

"It's all a point of perspective..."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: May 2003

Series: Main Range 44

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis 

A planetary ecological disaster... An incurable, disfiguring, genetic disease... Aliens, in breach of galactic law...

Nyssa, under arrest... The TARDIS, inoperable... The Doctor, facing interrogation...

Another situation of fire peril is unfolding for the Doctor and his companion. However, what if it is not clear who is right and who is wrong? Who is ugly and who is beautiful?

Where does the story begin, and where does it end?

Sometimes, it is all a matter of perspective.

Verdict 

Creatures of Beauty was a very good story and certainly gave us a most unique perspective on a Doctor Who story. Nicholas Briggs presenting the four part audio adventure out of narrative is something I'd never have even thought about but with Flip Flop not too far away in my Main Range run, maybe this was dipping the toes in the water? If you'd have told me beforehand how this story would go, I wouldn't think it would work with having the arrival of the TARDIS occurring in the part after they leave, but it did work very well to my pleasant surprise. I have been quite critical of Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in the past but here I thought he was actually very good and this was actually one of his best audio performances. Nyssa was delicately delightful as per usual but in this unfamiliar pairing that we never saw on television, apart from briefly at the start of Arc of Infinity, there seems to be a little something missing. Tegan, perhaps? The setting of Veln worked well and I really liked the aggressive nature of Gilbrook. He really was your typical outer space chief security officer. He wasn't pleased at all with Brodlik's interrogation of Nyssa which was good and I liked his smug arrogance. Brodlik did have an alterior motive and wasn't being truthful to his higher in command but that was all for the Trakenite's benefit. Gilbrook just refused to believe that there could be other aliens than Koteem. That must have frustrated the Doctor, having so little imagination. Lady Forleon was a good character also and I liked how the muddled narrative effected how we perceived her. I imagine it would have been quite different if the story was presented to us chronologically. I enjoyed the reference to The Land of the Dead, a story which really does seem a lifetime ago but a good one of that. It feels like a long time since I listened to my last Main Range audio story, Doctor Who and the Pirates, but with a rare free night from university work I just couldn't resist listening to a Classic full cast adventure! Hopefully I can fit in a few more over the course of the year, probably on weekends, but I'm just glad that along with Little Doctors I've reached my aim of two stories outside of Series 9 for the week. I imagine as time goes on though that will become increasingly difficult. The story of how the Veln came to be disfigured was very interesting and the alternative narrative certainly delayed that being explained to the listener. I found humour in the fact the Veln admitted how ugly they were, especially when compared with the Koteem. They certainly didn't get along with the dyestrial pollution! I really liked the relationship between the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa here and with just the two of them together we really do get to see them blossom as a pair and actually become closer without having to battle over Tegan and Adric. That would change again though. My future audios (as in ones I haven't listened to) knowledge isn't the best, probably because I'm 161 stories behind, but I am intrigued to known how long we'll get just Fifth Doctor and Nyssa stories in the Main Range. I'm not complaining but the more there are the bigger that gap after Time-Flight becomes. As long as it's done right I have no complaints. Overall though, this story was very good. It had a more than decent plot, most intriguing presentation with the out of sync narrative and a great resolution - even if it came when it wasn't expected! A brave and audacious format but one that worked. I look forward to seeing what Nicholas Briggs has in store for us next. 

Rating: 8/10