The Unbound Universe: The Emporium at the End

"You've found a way to monetise the apocalypse."

Writer: Emma Reeves

Format: Audio

Released: August 2016

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 3.04

Featuring: Unbound Doctor, Bernice

Synopsis 

The Last Song has been sung, and the final days of the universe have begun. Everyone flees to the gateway – to find that The Emporium At The End is having a closing down sale.

Verdict 

The Emporium at the End was a really strong story to conclude The Unbound Universe third series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! Whilst this is the end of the series it is far from the end of Bernice’s time in the Unbound Universe and that’s quite exciting as I definitely feel like there’s more to come from the alternate universe and Benny being there alongside the Unbound version of the Doctor. She’s a lot of fun and even here just hearing a companion getting drunk at the end of the universe was quite brilliant. It’s uncanny to hear a companion acting like that and I think the closest we get would be Ace. There really is something about the Seventh Doctor! I’m still not entirely sure the chemistry between Benny and the Unbound Doctor has clicked but I’m not sure that ought to have happened just yet. There was a nice moment at the end here where the Doctor was quite sorry for her hopes getting up at the gateway but did promise he would get her back to her universe one day. She seemed content enough with just surviving. The introduction of the Unbound sonic screwdriver here was a lot of fun and I did find myself laughing when the Doctor commented earlier in the episode that he ought to have invented something to open doors. And alas here it was! It was nice that Benny was the one able to give it to him and I wonder if it will become a common device used in the next series and beyond. After a little glimpse in The Library in the Body, the Unbound Master arrived in sublime fashion here with a disguise that was hardly distinguished. He was almost gloating about who he was in the form of the Manager here. I must admit I wasn’t a big fan initially of the Doctor not remembering who he was despite the familiarity, but it all came to be explained as the story went on. The universe was ending and the Emporium was the only possible place of salvation. It was based at the gateway and incredibly lottery tickets offered a way out and into another universe. Of course, it wouldn’t quite work out that way but the very concept of monetising the end of the universe was brilliant. Credits were used to buy the lottery tickets but I can’t say I blamed anyone for using up their whole credit balance considering there would soon be nothing left to spend it on. Who wouldn’t give themselves the best possible chance of getting to the other universe? The return of the sisterhood here was brilliant and brought things nicely full circle for the series. The Mother Superior was tremendous and I really hope we haven’t heard the last of her. The incantation of numbers was delightful and I think that really is a fun idea. The power of memories at the end of the universe was really strong stuff and I liked that the Doctor explained their value with them being time compressed. People selling them and essentially who they were was a bit of a shock, but even the Doctor had done so and that’s why he couldn’t remember the Master. He couldn’t remember that together they had set up the emporium and it had partly cost him who he was. The Master using Benny with her being the anchor between two universes was really good stuff and her inebriated state made her vulnerable. Her story with Forz and being able to initiate the reunion was really nicely done. I thought the ending was good in having the Doctor emerge to explain what was happening and demonstrate that the gateway would actually just atomise any who passed through. The sisters actually throwing him was very good! But I wasn’t a fan of the lack of explanation regarding the smoke and mirrors used by the Master to fake the end of the universe. Even for him that needed some clarification as it would take a huge ordeal! Overall though, still a really good audio to conclude the series!

Rating: 8/10