Death Among the Stars

"It's too late for me. I'm already dead."

Writer: Steve Lyons
Format: Audio
Released: September 2017
Series: NSA 30

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

At Kennedy Space Centre, in 2060, the Doctor meets Amber Lewis. Both are there to observe the launch of Earth's very first off-world colony ship, as it heads for Jupiter's sixth moon. But to everyone's surprise it seems that somebody has reached Europa before them. The figure is oddly familiar to the Doctor and Amber in particular...

So begins the adventure of a lifetime for Amber, as she journeys in the TARDIS to set foot on a distant moon. Events take a bizarre turn when she and the Doctor apparently witness celebrity figures wandering freely on the rocky surface. A sinister presence lurks behind the apparitions, and Amber is about to fall into its clutches.

An alien base, a stranded abductee and a group of sinister 'Icemen' all add up to trouble for the Doctor. Can he rescue his new friend and avert disaster on humanity's new frontier?

Verdict

Death Among the Stars was a very good little audio adventure! It has been quite some time since I've managed to do an original audio from the BBC and I have to say I was really happy with what I listened to. These types of stories can sometimes be a tad difficult to listen to with it being just one actor narrating and performing the story and it is definitely more of an audiobook than an audio drama that we'd associate with Big Finish, but Nicola Bryant did a wonderful job here. It was quite interesting to hear how different she sounded when she wasn't playing Peri and I liked her Scottishness when it came to evoking the Twelfth Doctor. I thought the writing of this incarnation of the Doctor was pretty decent throughout and I liked how he was at the Space Centre in 2060 but wasn't overly happy that he wasn't actually on the rocket heading for Europa. The concept of mankind's first foray into space settlement was fantastic and it really provided an excellent basis for the story. Of course, it turned out that there was somebody already on Europa as picked out by the probe and she was very familiar. Amber was a lovely character and she filled the companion void really well. I liked how Bryant was able to play her and with her being American, it definitely made her job easier! She wasn't a typical guest character by being a little older at the age of 43 and I thought that was a good step to make. Beck was a very unique character and having been on Europa for 43 years without human contact must have been a tumultuous time. However, he did have the ability, or at least gained, to make the Icemen into anyone he wanted to. That certainly could bring the ability to have a lot of fun. I can't imagine what I would do if I could just conjure up anyone right in front of me! I couldn't help but think of all of the missing Doctor Who episodes from the archives when it was mentioned that every TV broadcast dating back to Kennedy's assassination was available and I had a severe sense of envy. Beck was quite mad, as you would expect, but the revelation that he wasn't actually Beck at all was unexpected excellence. I really didn't see it coming but seeing his reaction to the Doctor showing him the internet search of his name and the story of him being abducted was striking. I really liked it. The self destruct button being searched for at the audio's conclusion was quite saddening but I thought it was great that Amber got to step foot on Europa and see the wonders of the TARDIS. She was a hugely likeable character. Overall, a great audio!

Rating: 8/10