Gardens of the Dead

"It is a conjuring trick, and nothing more."

Writer: Jenny T. Colgan

Format: Audio

Released: January 2016

Series: Short Trips 6.01

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

Turlough has joined the TARDIS – the snake in the orchard – and is trying, with limited success, to gain the others' trust.

Bet when they land in the Gardens of the Dead, the whole tea, – Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough – will have to join forces and fight together to keep the Doctor safe. And discover what is behind the very last door in the TARDIS.

Verdict

Gardens of the Dead was an excellent little Short Trips audio! This was a real treat and gem of an audio adventure and certainly one I would recommend to any Doctor Who fans! The price of £2.99 really is a steal for a story like this, and if I remember correctly I think I paid even less than that as part of a sale. So in my eyes this was certainly money very well spent. I thought the placement of the adventure within the Black Guardian trilogy of Season 20 was terrific and gave us a rare and brand new outing with the quartet of the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough which was a lot of fun. This one seemed to come straight after the events of Mawdryn Undead which I very much liked and there was definitely a feeling of tension amongst the TARDIS team. That is somewhat rare so provided a very nice dynamic. The Australian humour between Turloguh and Tegan was great fun and you could just hear that it was going to aggravate the Doctor. The placement of this adventure was magnificent partly because of Turlough still hearing the voices in his head and being under the mission orchestrated by the Black Guardian. That was incorporated into the adventure fantastically well with Turlough having at least one opportunity to kill the Doctor as requested. The idea of the Doctor fixing the guidance system of the TARDIS was good and the reactions that garnered from his companions was terrific. They weren't going to believe that! Turlough using the controls of the TARDIS to prove a point against Tegan was an unexpected and interesting moment as well! Nyssa's apparent possession was good and I thought the idea behind the Gardens of the Dead was outstanding! It was what it says on then tin in regards of it giving physical representation to those you had lost. It did this through a psychic feel of dust which was good and I liked that its purpose was comfort. So when a death occurred that didn't quite meet the peaceful remit! Nyssa seeing an amalgamated form of the Master and her father Tremas was excellent and I really did feel sorry for her that her memories had been stamped upon meaning she saw the two together and struggled to separate them in her mind. That must be torment! The dusty figure who died seemingly being the Doctor was a good temporary moment of panic and the explanation of there being a parasite was fantastic. I thought it worked well to have it immobilised by water and Turlough ending up saving the Doctor after dragging him through nearly every room in the TARDIS was terrific exploration! I am always in favour of delving deep into the depths of the TARDIS so I enjoyed that element very much. Turlough toying with his mission and the mental presence of the Black Guardian was brilliant and I really liked how he enjoyed the feeling of being trusted by his fellow companions. His finding of a replica of the Gardens of the Dead inside the TARDIS was an intriguing development and harked back nicely to a point earlier in the audio with the Doctor not wanting to see those he had lost. The companions somewhat begrudgingly getting along and agreeing to trust Turlough at the end was good and hearing his thoughts post-Planet of Fire about Nyssa and the events of Terminus that followed was wonderful. Overall, a fantastic listen!

Rating: 9/10