The Steel Cascade

"Doom didn't have time for disappointment."

Writer: Darren Jones

Format: Audio

Released: August 2023

Series: Four From Doom's Day 01

Featuring: Ian, Barbara, Doom

Synopsis

Hired assassin Doom is on a mission to save her own life before Death catches up with her. If she can find the Doctor they might be able to help her – but where in Space and Time are they?

These four missions take Doom to a Mediterranean cruise ship in 1966, the planet Mars in the distant past, San Francisco in 1999, and finally desolate planet in a dying solar system. Along the way she meets former TARDIS travellers Ian and Barbara, the mighty Ice Warriors, and Brian the Ood. 

But when a mysterious stranger with silver hair and sunglasses turns up, will he be Doom's salvation?

Verdict

The Steel Cascade was a tremendous story to kick off the Four From Doom’s Day contribution to the Doom’s Day sixtieth anniversary saga from BBC Audio! The latest batch of releases has actually snuck up on me and I only ordered this alongside the novel Extraction Point a few days ago but I’m now feeling fully into gear with the story and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s so refreshing to have a continuing arc across the different formats and I’m loving that this particular episode gave us the first proper appearance from Sooz Kempner in the range. She’s obviously the face of Doom and whilst this isn’t a fully performed story with her filling the role of narrator, it’s nice for her to be featured and prominent. I must say, she did a phenomenal job. For whatever reason, her casting seems to have caused a little bit of a stir amongst fandom and whilst I fully appreciate that her appearance as Doom is less than convincing as the universe’s greatest assassin, she definitely deserves a chance. I’m excited for the Big Finish contribution in the range where I think she’ll really be able to dig her teeth into the role, but this was a fine starting point to almost test the waters. Doom’s mission taking her to 1966 was delightful and actually having her encounter Ian and Barbara was wonderful! I’m a massive fan of the original companion pair and meeting up with them not too long after their departure in The Chase was a delight. Ian had some success with bonds which meant he’d come into some money and they were enjoying a luxury cruise around the globe. That was lovely to just hear them enjoying themselves. Credit must go to Kempner as well because her take on Barbara was astoundingly accurate. The mannerisms were absolutely spot on which I must admit I wasn’t expecting. It was so well done and really added a genuine feel to the story. It was authentic in blending the Classic era with the modern. Just having Ian and Barbara talking about their days in the TARDIS was lovely and I liked how they both missed Vicki, Susan and even the Doctor. With the previous novel establishing that the version of the Doctor that Doom requires is the incarnation that Ian and Barbara travelled with, I thought it was a slightly missed opportunity to not mention the appearance of him. Doom had gotten close, but not close enough. Barbara revelled in being a part of Doom’s mission which was fun and it was great to hear her dive back into that world. Doom’s missing focusing on politics in the backdrop of the Cold War was brilliant and a strong use of the 1966 setting. Tapping into the local era is always good in my book. I thought the Red Gorgon code name was good and the Steel Cascade not being what she initially figured was a decent twist towards the end. I was a little sceptical prior to listening about having a story encompassing a single hour only lasting for thirty or so minutes, but the pace was actually really strong! It’s short admittedly, but it absolutely flew by which was so much fun. Doom had surprisingly strong chemistry with both Ian and Barbara which I loved because I wasn’t sure how they’d mesh. But they were superb and made quite the team! I really enjoyed the action at the end and even after Doom’s mission seemed compete, she would stay behind to make sure things were safe. The assassination elements of the story weren’t prominent and that was more than fine, as the story for me was all about Ian and Barbara. Doom learning of their travels in the TARDIS was magnificent and I liked that she took a liking to them and was genuinely interested in the stories! The finish to lead into the next instalment was good as we now head to Mars. Overall, a brilliant story!

Rating: 9/10