Faith Stealer

"As he neglects, so shall he dislodge." 

Writer: Graham Duff 

Format: Audio

Released: September 2004

Series: Main Range 61

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis 

When the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz find their journey through the Interzone interrupted by a nightmarish vision, they are surprised to find the Kro'ka offering the perfect solution.

The Multihaven, a vast array of religions and faiths housed in one harmonious community, appears to offer the perfect sanctuary in which to convalesce. But under the guidance of the charismatic Laan Carder, one religion seems to be gathering disciples at an alarming rate.

With the Doctor and Charley catching glimpses of an old friend and C'rizz on the receiving end of some unorthodox religious practices, their belief, hope and faith are about to be tested to the limit.

Verdict 

Faith Stealer was a pretty decent audio adventure and saw a pretty quick return to the Divergent Universe story arc involving the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'rizz. I'm still not sure what to make of the run of stories so far as I just don't think the writers are making enough of use of having a story arc in a completely different universe! Scherzo tackled that problem very well but since then it has just felt like any old planet in the normal universe that we're used to and I really was expecting something different from the stories. C'rizz has failed to make a huge impact as companion but that's not the character nor actor's fault as it just seems that in most stories the Doctor and Charley are plenty. I'm enjoying the dynamic of having him as companion but even the Doctor and Charley themselves pointed out that we don't know much about him at all. I thought that was going to get further explored with the dream flashbacks to The Creed of the Kromon, but that wasn't to be. In saying that, it was completely fine because it held a central role in the plot of the story. C'rizz having to relive the moment he killed his wife must have an awful experience and it's only natural that he feels guilty about it. But as the Doctor tried to reassure him, he did the right thing by killing her out of compassion. I've mentioned in previous blogs that concern stories about religion that I'm an atheist so the story title didn't take to my fancy much at all. I'm a firm non-believer in any religion because there is just absolutely no evidence of any god. I think it's laughable and it sickens me how much death has been caused by religion. It's a disgrace. Religion is just a great big story and if people question that then they should try and prove to me that it's not. They can't. So I don't need to prove that a God doesn't exist. Anyway, enough about ranting on religion. I'm here to talk about a Doctor Who story. The plot was decent enough but I found it lacking an oomph factor. There wasn't really anything exciting going on which meant that we just had a solid story. There's nothing wrong with that and I know not every story is going to be great but if you threw in a major enemy or villain to this story then I think it had the capabilities to be superb. Laan Carder served as a good enough enemy but he was just lacking in aggression. I did enjoy the concept of the Miraculite to accompany Carder though that has to be said. I really thought this story was going to provide great things after the incredible cliffhanger at the end of The Twilight Kingdom but it wasn't even bloody mentioned! That's just absurd to me. The Doctor explicitly stated that he hoped, or rather expected, to find Rassilon in this universe at the end of that mini-season. So in kicking off the second mini-season in the Divergent Universe I thought that was going to be the focal point. Instead, it was the same old search for the TARDIS through the Interzones. It's getting rather tedious now I must admit. Something good better happen in the next story in this arc or I'm going to get very critical! I do hope things come good because individually the stories, excluding The Natural History of Fear, have been good so far and it's just the arc that I have major problems with. The Bordinan was a good character and she was one of the standouts alongside Jebdal in my opinion. I particularly loved the religion about serendipity and those scenes injected a much needed use of humour. The cliffhanger to part one was nothing short of outstanding but I thought the story didn't push on from there as it should have. Paul McGann gave another assured performance as the Eighth Doctor and I must mention how brilliant is that Big Finish continued the story of this fantastic incarnation of the Doctor through the audio format. It would've been a travesty if The Movie was his only contribution to Doctor Who prior to The Night of the Doctor. Overall though, a decent enough story but it was lacking some action. However, it was poor in terms of advancing the story arc. 

Rating: 7/10