Survival of the Fittest

"I can hear the dead."

Writer: Jonathan Clements

Format: Audio

Released: February 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 131

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Klein 

Synopsis

On a distant world, the Doctor and Klein discover that the insect-like race that they have come to know as the Vrill have been all but wiped out by the mysterious and terrifying Winterlack. Discovering the true nature of the Winterlack, Klein is cast out of the Vrill nest into the jungle beyond. There, she is forced to confront the Winterlack threat alone.

In the Vrill nest, the Doctor desperately searches for a way to save the Vrill from extinction. But the odds are against him, and time is running out...

Verdict

Survival of the Fittest was a great audio adventure to continue my journey through the Monthly Adventures! Although this was part of the same release that included Klein's Story, this was very much a different entity and it was clear that some considerable time had passed since those events took place. They were a testing time for the Doctor and Klein with the latter realising she had been tricked by the former's alternate future self into erasing the entire timeline that she knew which saw the Reich in full control, and I really liked how that wasn't forgotten about. Before we actually got to the nitty gritty of the personal story behind the two lead characters, we had a good and very unique tale. The Vrill were a decent little species and I really liked the idea of them communicating via smell. How that mixed with the TARDIS translation circuits was fantastic and certainly challenging, and I just enjoyed the concept of the TARDIS translation featuring so prominently in a Classic era tale. The relationship between the Doctor and Klein seemed amicable at first and I was intrigued to see how the title would fit into her ideology and beliefs. She was almost laughing at the fact that there still remained facists in the Doctor's apparently perfect future for humanity. Her reaction to Steffen gloating about the master race was a magnificent moment and probably the highlight of the entire story in all honesty. It was moving. Finding out that the nest had been infiltrated for greed wasn't exactly a surprise, but the unique qualities of the Vrill made for an intriguing listen. I particularly liked how they believed everything they heard as that is just so much fun and Klein falling victim to that by proclaiming she was the dreaded Winterlack was very good. Of course, the Winterlack was their name for humanity and the scavenges for the nutrients of the Vrill and particular the part that created their new Authority as a wonder drug was good, and just greedy. Jackson alongside Steffen was a good character and I liked how he was taking the escape mission in his stride. The Doctor naming two of the Vrill as Rose and Lily was a nice touch and I thought they were a very good paring. I wasn't a massive fan of the cliffhangers in the story which isn't a huge negative, but they definitely could have been improved. A lot more jeopardy was required. The Doctor not revealing to Klein that he'd actually lost the TARDIS key was good and the fact she found it made for a superb ending to the story and a great cliffhanger finish to lead us into the next story. The Doctor was taking in his stride pretending to be part of the GeoPolice after his initial reservations and his acceptance of a bribe was out of character, but he was doing everything he could to get the mercenaries off the planet to save the Vrill. His striking of a bargain to ensure the Vrill had one nutrient left to create a new Authority was very good and his manipulation of logic to make them think he could grant a new Authority was very good. The issue of Klein's taking the TARDIS was incredible because not only had she been watching and learning and set off into history to do with it as she pleased, but the translation was also gone between humanity and the Vrill. It was an exciting ending full of possibilities and danger, and the Doctor being part of the escape and orbit was very real and normal, something he's not entirely used to. Overall, a very good audio!

Rating: 8/10