Prisoner of the Sun

"The only cell that can hold you is one you create for yourself."

Writer: Eddie Robson

Format: Audio

Released: January 2011

Series: EDA 4.08

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

Six years after being captured by the galaxy-spanning organisation known only as The Consensus, the Doctor lives inside a hi-tech complex at the heart of an unstable sun, condemned to an eternity maintaining its systems. A moment's carelessness could cause the star to collapse – and the deaths of billions.

Watched over by liquid guards, the Mercurials, the Doctor's only company at the heart of the sun is his assistant 'Daphne' – the latest in a line of android helpers. But rebels have their eyes on the sun, and its lonely controller – and are prepared to risk even a galactic cataclysm to secure the Doctor's release...

Verdict

Prisoner of the Sun was another very good audio adventure to continue the fourth series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! We're well and truly into the final stretch now in what is the longest of the four series for the eighth incarnation of the Doctor so far, and whilst this did have a tendency to feel like a filler episode it was still a great listen! There really isn't anything wrong with a standalone story like this one and with how it ended there was still a decent amount of series arc continuation. That being hinted at for the start of the story with Lucie apparently killing the Doctor was great. He was a prisoner and it appeared that his companion had killed him, except he wouldn't die so easily as Gliss the Mercurial was eager to point out. I thought the concept behind that liquefied race was very intriguing, as was the Doctor constructing his own robotic companion! Adorning it with the voice of Lucie was fun and provided a different take on Sheridan Smith's role in the episode. The Doctor christened her Daphne as she was the fourth of her kind with the previous all having names starting with earlier letters in the alphabet. The Consensus were a good organisation to figurehead the enemies for the story and the Doctor being imprisoned is always enjoyable, even though it was for six years! The sun project was fascinating and their desire for a weapon out of the solar star was certainly ambitious. The Doctor being the one to ensure the systems were in place to prevent the sun going nova and weaponised and saving 2 billion people on the planets below was good and quite the predicament to place him in if we're being honest! The rebels arriving to try and save the Doctor was good after hearing of his story six years ago and doing battle against the Consensus, but some of them were actually out to ensure the Doctor stayed imprisoned. He was revered as a martyr and a hero and it needed to stay that way for inspirational purposes. Jelena hoping to see that through was great stuff and I thought she was a good character, contrasting well with Hagan who was honoured to meet the Time Lord. The fun that came with the Doctor revealing he'd had the ability to escape all along was excellent and I think Paul McGann actually delivered brilliantly without a formal companion. He was really engaging. The action packed scenes made for a tense adventure and the description of the base being a prison of responsibility was excellent stuff. The responsibility of two billion lives would not have weighed easily on the Doctor's shoulders. The Mercurials getting a better offer and preventing the repairs was a good twist and I loved the idea of the whole solar weapon project being a fake to keep the Doctor imprisoned. My quote was very good. The Consensus initiating the self destruct remotely provided excitement and Daphne being the failsafe higher authority was a good backdoor card, if not a little convenient. Chloe's arrival in the TARDIS after the staged killing was good, but her reprogramming by the revels and then trying to kill the Doctor got a tad overkill in trying to follow just who was on who's side. The double trick was good but probably a step too far for big impact, but the Doctor's calmness at the countdown and his confidence was just a sheer delight. He was way ahead of the game. The ending with the distress call from the real Lucie Miller was good and I look forward to the pair being reunited once again! Overall, a very good audio!

Rating: 8/10