The Scapegoat

"Something truly terrifying is coming your way."

Writer: Pat Mills
Format: Audio
Released: July 2009
Series: EDA 3.05

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Lucie

Synopsis

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to the Theatre des Baroque!

Oh, but if you think you've seen and heard all that Paris by night has to offer... the exotic sights of Le Moulin Rouge, perhaps, or the horror tricks of Le Grand Guignol... if you think nothing could cause your mouth to dry and your heart to pound... you're wrong.

Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs – not forgetting our honoured guests from the Gestapo – tonight, it is my privilege to present you to the star of the Theatre des Baroque! A man who has died on stage nearly ten thousand times! The Most Assassinated Man in the World... Max Paul!

And joining him, in a playlet we call 'The Executioner's Son' – from Blackpool, England: the enchanting Lucie Miller!

Ah, la belle Lucie. She's got no idea what she's let herself in for. Heh. Should you feel faint, or nauseous – never fear. Tonight, we have a Doctor in the house!

Just pray he lasts 'til the interval...

Verdict

The Scapegoat was a very good story to continue along the third series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures! I really enjoyed this one which was a solid audio from start to finish. I was hooked immediately from the setting of Paris during the Nazi occupation and whilst it didn't perhaps go in the direction I was expecting based on that, the reaction of Lucie when she realised that was where the TARDIS had landed was excellent. Could there be anything more daunting in history than the Nazis? From there I was expecting a Nazi story as I hadn't read the synopsis for the adventure prior to listening, but had I done so I definitely would not have thought that was where this was going! I loved the image of the TARDIS being a carousel and whilst it turned out that it wasn't actually the doing of the chameleon circuit being functioning once again, it was a lovely thought and an amusing scenario. What I really liked was that there seemed no way in, so if Lucie couldn't get in then she was going to get on! That was marvellous and just a lot of fun. I thought this was a strong pairing for the Eighth Doctor and Lucie together with their relationship blossoming really well. They weren't split apart for too long which I think was beneficial. The play of The Executioner's Son going ahead with Lucie actually starring was quite spectacular and I loved some of her improvisations that were getting a lot of laughs from the crowd. Max Paul was a very interesting character and the idea of him being the Most Assassinated Man in the World was terrific! They really weren't lying either as when Lucie saw him have his head cut off, that was precisely what had occurred. Learning how that was done retrospectively was really intriguing with Mother Baroque actually using a Quantic Reanimator to heal his body and essentially send that part of the body, for example in the case of the beheading at the hands of Madame Guillotine, back in time retrospectively to a time when it was attached. That was so unique and just something brilliant to play with. The cliffhanger was great with Max Paul's scars of over 10,000 deaths coming back to manifest. That would be quite the image and I doubt there would be any part of him without scarring. As we learned more about the Baroques, the story didn't quite reach the exceptional heights I had hoped for as the unique feel slightly diminished, but as my rating reflects this still remained a very good adventure. The Scapegoat aspect of their background and the analogy that was made with the Doctor pretty much being a scapegoat of his own people was good and something to think about. Things turned out to be really entertaining and the use of the play being performed in front of the theatre audience was really good. I do though wish we could have gone with the Doctor as he was reading up on the Baroques to learn about them and what their endgame was. Alas, that was entirely necessary but I think it would have just added to the story that little bit more. The ending was good with the Doctor revealing to the Baroques that their planet was okay now, but I still can't quite wrap my head around their reverting to goat-like states! The noises of them as the animal was just disturbing! That worked in its favour of course. One little aspect I wasn't sure I liked was the Doctor leaving quantic technology in the hands of the Nazis, surely he wouldn't be so confident that it wouldn't get utilised? The quantogram use on the TARDIS ending was good but certainly a lot of fun whilst it was around. The end conversation between the Doctor and Lucie was excellent with her recalling the events of Orbis and wondering if he ever regretted that or longed to go back. That was good continuity and I'm intrigued to see where the series might finish from here. Overall, a great audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10