The Rise of the New Humans

"Impossible? A pointless word."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: March 2018

Series: Third Doctor Adventures 4.01

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

When a man dies after falling from the top floor of a multi-storey car park, the Doctor and Jo wonder why it should be of interest to UNIT. Then they see the protuberances on the man's back... As he fell, he tried to grow wings. 

Looking into the man's past leads the Doctor and Jo to a remote private hospital where the staff aren't as helpful as they could be, and the Chief Administrator is unavailable to meet with them.

Breaking into some restricted wards, the Doctor notes the presence of alien and futuristic technology. The whole thing bears the unmistakable hallmarks of one of his own people's interference, one of his old foes. Except not perhaps the one he might have imagined.

The Monk is back. And this time his meddling may have gone too far.

Verdict

The Rise of the New Humans was an excellent story to kick off the fourth series of Third Doctor Adventures! I have become a massive fan of this range and Tim Treloar really has done an incredible job of giving life to the third incarnation of the Doctor for Big Finish. He is so effortlessly like Jon Pertwee and the chemistry he shares with Katy Manning as Jo Grant is just tremendous. They're such a strong pairing and it's so lovely that we can get more adventures with the Third Doctor and Jo. I thought this was really fun and felt like it would more than fit into the era. The suggestion of the Master's presence was a wonderful part one cliffhanger as the facility with its technology out of time and victims growing the likes of wings and gills suggested his involvement, but alas it was a much different renegade the Time Lord! The Monk is a big favourite of mine when it comes to villains and I've loved him ever since I first watched The Time Meddler. I think it's hilarious that the name of the Monk has stuck and having him mention that he really didn't go by that name was glorious. It's so silly yet brilliant, and here he was simply going as the Chief Administrator. The hospital worked well and the patients it was working on were very interesting indeed. The entire basis of a suicide victim actually trying to grow wings as he jumped from the top of a multi-storey was extraordinary and I loved Jo's reaction to that ridiculousness. The Doctor commenting that there had also been a drowning victim who had tried to grow gills was fascinating and we had quite the basis for the adventure! I liked the idea of new humans and trying to cure everything is a brave and bold aim, especially with the method of adapting to new environments and ecosystems almost instantly. That was of course far beyond the technology of the 1970s, but that was precisely what Dr Kurdi was up to. She was seemingly excelling although she disregarded the victims as failed experiments which didn't go down well with the Doctor. It was a strong speech from him on the need for death and disease, and how the desire for perfectionism is not all it's made out to be. Fear was needed for progression and if Kurdi succeeded, then what would be left to accomplish? It was an admirable statement, but I wouldn't mind immortality myself! Of course, the space and population issue is a big one with no easy fix but that didn't put Kurdi off! Jo getting infected was well done and I liked that it was the push required for the Doctor to find the cure. He did so in pretty quick time which sparked a comment where he could ridicule Kurdi and how he was much cleverer than she was. That was fun pomposity. Charlie was a strong character and the virus going so far as to literally make him wind was unexpected, but that fitting in with the conclusion and getting the cure airborne and into the hospital vents worked very well. It was brilliant that the virus had a psychic element with almost a hive mind, and Jo wanting to kill the Doctor whilst knowing who she was sparked fear for her. The Monk escaping but the Doctor damaging his temporal buffers was amusing with the Monk calling the Doctor the meddler! It was almost as fun as the Monk saying the Master's jacket smelt of Ogrons. Overall, a terrific audio!

Rating: 9/10