Black Dog

"They live in terror of him invading their dreams."

Writer: Dale Smith

Format: Audio

Released: December 2015

Series: Short Trips 5.12

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis

To dream of the Black Dog is to die in terror within the week. The Doctor thinks it nothing but mindless superstition... but then Leela dreams the dream.

Verdict

Black Dog was a decent little Short Trips audio! I must admit that when it came to deciding which audio to listen today, the synopsis for this one intrigued my greatly and became an instant winner after reading it. I have a huge number of Short Trips audios currently downloaded onto the Big Finish app so it's never an easy decision when it comes to deciding which will be the next to blog on my lunch break whilst working from home, and whilst the title of this story didn't exactly interest me the synopsis absolutely did. I thought this story was absolutely right for Leela and the Fourth Doctor and I don't think the Black Dog invading dreams would have worked anywhere nearly as well as it did with any other companion. The only other possible suggestion I would make is that it could work for Tegan if it was set post-Kinda, but Leela's nature and the way she takes things literally along with her tribal background made her brilliant for what this story offered. The concept of the Black Dog itself was good and interesting, but I do think that it was actually better before that idea became an actual character. The very prospect of a dog being a God on an Earth Alliance colony was fun and the Doctor's suggestion that it was actually the colonists who brought the dog with them was very good. Louise Jameson did a good job in the narration as I would expect given her talents and the take provided on the Fourth Doctor was decent enough to not interfere with the flow of the audio. Leela's respect for the Black Dog and what it presented and meant to the colonists was excellent and exactly why she was suitable for this adventure. The moment where she was entering the hotel and didn't want to enter without respect or invitation was fantastic. She really was wonderful. The myth behind the Black Dog centring on a dream was very nicely done and I loved that just as the Doctor was ridiculing what he obviously shunned as fantasy, Leela awoke with the dream having just occurred. Her description of it was good and the acceptance of her fate was decent as well. She didn't seem to ask questions which I liked and I thought the Doctor's reaction to her expected fate was a highlight. He obviously wouldn't accept that she would descend to death and would do everything he could to fight the Black Dog, even if he believed it to be mere superstition. Tackling with what was real and what was not was a good dilemma for the Doctor to be presented with. I must admit that I thought the conclusion was a little anti-climatic with how Leela was able to defeat the Black Dog inside her mind, as I felt some more elaboration or explanation was needed there without the aid of visuals. I think the format and shortness of the story in nature was also a potential contribution there, but it was still a very enjoyable audio as a whole. The monologue at the end by the Doctor and discussion with Leela was a nice way to finish things though. I also liked how the Sevateem were mentioned throughout bringing back links to The Face of Evil which I aways enjoy. Overall, a decent little audio adventure! 

Rating: 7/10