The Story of Extinction

"The planet sounded full of life, but not the right kind."

Writer: Ian Atkins

Format: Audio

Released: June 2016

Series: Companion Chronicles: Second Doctor 2.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Victoria 

Synopsis

Civilisations rise and fall – and few planets have seen this happen more often than Amyrndaa. The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria join a survey team to find out why on the planet where everything is suited to creating life, nothing lives for long...

Verdict

The Story of Extinction was a really good Companion Chronicles audio to continue the second volume of the range from the Second Doctor! I do really enjoy the trio of the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria and it seems a while since I have done anything with this TARDIS team so it was a real breath of fresh air to revisit them. It was really great to have both Deborah Watling and Frazer Hines reprising their roles although the format of the narration and dialogue seemed a little weird with them bouncing back and forth rather than having extended scenes together. One highlight of the audio for me though ironically did involve the pair and that was Victoria teaching Jamie to read. I thought that was absolutely brilliant and a really nice moment between companions. These two share such a unique relationship when it comes to companions and both of them being from the past makes that connection even better. The moment where Jamie had to admit to Victoria that he couldn't read and understand the words written on the page was admirable as that must have taken a lot of courage. He also seemed genuinely impressed that Victoria could understand what was on the parchment and that was also a terrific moment. Jamie really did have a number of highlights and the moment he was reading the word diagnostics and froze between syllables to explain how despite all of his travels in the universe, he could still meet a Welshman meaning Dai an agnostic. Tremendous stuff that really did have me laughing. That really is so simple but it's Jamie at his best. The idea behind this audio with the power of the written word was very good and I liked how the monster was held in the stories of Amyrndaa. That really did show how powerful stories were and the situation that was happening across the planet was quite disturbing and intriguing at the same time. People were dying left, right and centre on a planet where everything was thriving for life. It just didn't add up and that made it a really interesting situation. It of course grasped the Doctor's attention and the situation specifically at Gorin Base was very good. I thought the cliffhanger was a little uninspiring and didn't seem overly threatening, but the Doctor being found with the parchment on his face and apparently dead would have been better served in my opinion. Celsi was a fantastic chcracter and I really enjoyed her relationship with the Doctor. Her inability to understand how she wasn't known to the newcomers was great and I liked her mentioning of being a face. The importance of numbers and how being looked upon contributed to one's stature in society was excellent and something I really enjoyed. The ending of the plot seemed a little strange and quick with the warning going out across Amyrndaa, but I did very much like the Doctor explaining how there weren't actually any monsters and it was all in the stories. The pictograms were superb and I really liked the power in the stories being so much that a village starved themselves instead of confronting what was supposedly in the woods. The highlight of the conclusion for me though was in the letter Victoria had from Jamie written after her departure in Fury From the Deep. I loved that and it was wonderful to think that Jamie had managed to learn how to read and write and produce the letter. A lovely way to end things. Overall, a really good audio!

Rating: 8/10