Shades of Fear: The Blooming Menace

"The power of the Eulalia is absolute."

Writer: James Kettle

Format: Audio

Released: February 2023

Printed in: Ninth Doctor Adventures 8.02

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis 

Toby Entwistle and his bachelor chums in the Fellows Club are falling victim to a plague – of marriage! 

The chaps are all besotted by giant flowers – but Toby's new valet seems to know what's going on. The Doctor could be London's only hope...

Verdict 

The Blooming Menace was another great audio to continue my way through the Shades of Fear series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! It really is incredible that we’ve now had eight boxsets with Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor and I do hope there are more to come. This was another fun solo outing and starting things out at the Fellows’ Club was amusing with its members sounding far too posh. It really was over the top and almost reached the realms of parody, but that was what made it enjoyable really. It didn’t seem like a setting fit for this incarnation of the Doctor in particular and his attire was later addressed as being offensive which was amusing. The derogatory comments about women from the fellows was not though and it really is frightening to think that this was the attitude of society only a century ago. The concept of something taking the single men in London was good and the Doctor arriving at the door of Toby Entwhistle interrupting his bath with rubber ducks was a great moment. He wasn’t being targeted and it soon became clear why, at least to my mind. The mystery behind Professor Bulstrode was good stuff and I absolutely loved that the Doctor claimed to arrive as Toby’s valet, but then looked at him silly when the door knocked and it was heavily implied he should answer it. The Doctor wasn’t having any of that but seemed gleeful at actually getting the job! Poor old Toby didn’t know what he was in for. The Doctor knew that Bulstrode shouldn’t be let in and the babbling way he was talking was very intriguing. The Eulalia plant had taken over him to the point he was hypnotised with infatuation for the plant! She was beautiful apparently. Phil was a brilliant character and it’s almost laughable that she could pass off as a man! In audio format, it was clear immediately that she was actually a woman and the Doctor spotted it straight away as well. The Doctor trying to catch a Eulalia sample was good but it wilted at his very touch and he was genuinely distraught to have brought death to it. The tongue twister of Birkett bringing a sample back from a specific Pacific island was tremendous and when Nanny Lewis revealed he was a botanist things started to add up. The way she revealed her hand in attacking Entwhistle was a terrific moment! Birkett planning on showcasing his new vine to the Royal Society was good and he was perplexed to find that the plant was already all over London. The moment the Doctor tried to call to whatever power was within him was hilarious, because there was no such thing! That was a tad embarrassing. Birkett also acting as a blight to the Eulalia was interesting and I liked that Entwhistle also didn’t fall under its mesmerising spell. The search to find what connected them was a good direction for the adventure. The Eulalia coming together as a collective meaning they could talk was good and I loved the explanation that the Doctor’s emotions could only bring them pain. He was still reeling from the Time War and that explained his touch of death very well. The time of blossoming worked well and I liked that they used the buds to migrate and travel whilst taking the men with them as energy. The moment where Phil revealed herself and was holding Toby was a lovely moment as he didn’t push her away and was rather enjoying the embrace in an apparent admittance of his bisexual orientation. It certainly explained how he held back the Eulalia. Nanny Lewis actually being a Valwa was pretty insignificant but it was good to know there was more to her background. She was using Earth as a recruitment ground and the cuttings were spreading. The Doctor breaking the link between Nanny Lewis and the Vermine was a simple conclusion as the latter migrated. The fact that one of them came back to kill her was excellent as a means of revenge. Phil and Toby’s love was enough for the whole crop to last a life cycle and I’m glad that they ended up together. Overall, a great adventure!

Rating: 8/10