The Lions of Trafalgar

"If your friends are important to you, walk away now."

Writer: Jason Arnopp

Format: Audio

Released: August 2011

Series: Short Trips 4.05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis 

Panic ensues when stone lions come to life in nineteenth century London... and the Doctor is stuck on the top of Nelson's column.

Verdict 

The Lions of Trafalgar was a really good Short Trips audio adventure! I’m always a little sceptical when it comes to blogging stories from the first four series in particular of this range, but this was a really enjoyable seventeen minutes or so! I think it did help that we had Peter Davison as the narrator and he was certainly on top form. It was really nice to hear him take on the roles of Nyssa and Tegan too, with his accent for the latter particularly amusing. It was decent somehow despite not having much of a good quality Australian accident. It was pretty good as well that Nyssa and Tegan actually got to experience some of the sights of London whilst the Doctor was left to sort out the intriguing problem of the lions on Trafalgar Square. I thought the title was excellent and whilst it was a little strange for aliens to be impersonating the lions before they’d even been built on Trafalgar Square, it was quite fascinating at the same time! I liked that the Doctor was the one taking the initiative as he rightly should, but it wasn’t without warning from his companions. All three were surprised that they could see the lions whereas the locals of London couldn’t see the lions. Perception filters only being effective on those from the time was fun and quite convenient for the TARDIS trio here! Tegan recalling the events of Logopolis was rather humorous as she recalled the last time the Doctor climbed something tall, but he was a little more in control when it came to Nelson’s Column. Just having a specific location in the always familiar London setting was welcomed and exploring Trafalgar Square before the famous lions were installed was great stuff. Samuel and Thomas as those being inhabited by the Sevakrill was good and I really enjoyed how sternly the Doctor warned the alien entity about inhabiting them rather than consuming them. He obviously wasn’t thrilled that they’d done that, but at least they weren’t dead. The indication from the Doctor of what the consequences would be regarding that was excellent and a somewhat rare moment of darkness from the Fifth Doctor. I thought his conversing with the Sevakrill was really good and I liked the sound effects of the alien. They did sound daunting and it’s a shame that the format and length of the story didn’t allow for an extended encounter. What we did get was really strong and as expected very fast paced, and it only felt partially rushed in places. I thought the simplicity of the Doctor appealing to both Samuel and Thomas to build a bridge in their minds and throw out the Sevakrill was terrific and a fine way to expel them out into the open. The fact the Sevakrill talked in unison through them both wasn’t going to be the greatest disguise as it was! That was quite amusing. The humour was taken to another level at the end though with the Doctor setting the perception filter to expire at the time the lions were due to be installed, which would obviously cause some confusion to the architects at the time! But the Doctor was hoping to save them some time and work by just having them unveil the works that were already there! Overall, a really solid listen.

Rating: 8/10