Scaredy Cat

"In the beginning there was... what?"

Writer: Will Schindler

Format: Audio

Released: October 2005

Series: Main Range 75

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis

"Yaranaa - it means literally, 'the soul of the vengeful' - those whose lives have been cut short early and died with empty hearts."

Millennia ago, the people of the planet Caludaar pledged never to set foot on their sister planet Endarra. But what secrets does the planet hold? There are laws even the Doctor won't break. And while C'rizz learns that some tragedies can't be averted, Charley must decide who the enemy actually is.

For death walks on Endarra, and this time she won't be denied. 

Verdict

Scaredy Cat was a very good little audio adventure and I do use little as the correct term as this story was only 73 minutes long which for a Big Finish audio in the Main Range is quite strange it has to be said. I can only recall Scherzo as being anywhere near as short of a story and if my memory serves me correctly I think that was around the 90 minutes mark. It was interesting to be listening to a story that was so short split into four parts and I think it almost did seem a little too quick. Maybe that was down to my listening to it on yet another train journey but I'm not so sure that was the case. At the time of writing, I'm still on the train and I've also done some university reading in between finishing the audio and blogging it (and this journey is a short one for me!) which is quite strange but I am a little saddened that I just can't find it in me to do a novel. Well, I guess I've just got to accept that during my second year of university the only books I'll be reading will be to do with my degree. I guess that's not entirely a bad thing and I can try and push on with these audios in the meantime. I was glad to be listening to another Eighth Doctor audio in this range after the excellent Terror Firma and I'm really enjoying that this TARDIS trio can just have an isolated story now and not be concerned with the happenings of the Divergent Universe. I think we get to know characters best that way and whilst they're all now very familiar, all three main characters are still relatively new. Each part being around 17 minutes long meant that there was quite a fast pace which, in a story that didn't include a whole lot of action, was very interesting indeed. I thought Paul McGann gave a brilliant performance as the Eighth Doctor and the novelty of being able to listen to stories with this incarnation has not worn off, and I'm not sure that it ever will. Everything we get from Big Finish with this Doctor is absolutely a bonus and I'm just delighted to be able to listen to them. Charley and C'rizz both had pretty solid stories with the latter probably overshadowing the former for arguably the first time. Towards the end, the way he tried to tell Flood that the pair were similar because they were both killers was really quite unexpected. There was a good reference to The Creed of the Kromon and that was earlier followed by two fantastic references. The Doctor being questioned about the nature of evil was good but his answer was truly great. He made superb references to Genesis of the Daleks and Spare Parts in describing the Daleks and Cybermen and the power behind his words was excellent. I also liked his comments about how he's spent most of his travels seeking out evil and defeating it, although I think the TARDIS has helped him out a bit there. The cliffhangers were nothing special to be honest and I think that's to be expected in a story devoid of action. They're not so important in an audio though as the listener would usually listen in one sitting. C'rizz wanting to see a planet that was newly formed was quite a bizarre request I must say but what he described Charley noticed was the Garden of Eden. The Doctor didn't quite take him there but the destination was probably more intriguing. The story behind the planets of Caludaar and Endarra was very good and I liked how tradition had been upheld for millennia as a result of a deadly war. Endarra being the prominent setting was a little surprising but I did like how we travelled back over four million years into the planet's history for the Doctor to try and gain some sort of advantageous knowledge for what was going on. The nursery rhyme theme was excellent and I liked how children's laughter was used as a means of fear. I've never found it scary but I am aware of people who are. Flood was a good villain and I liked how completely deranged and mad he was. His control over the planet came as a surprise though but the planet itself would soon fight back and overpower him. The concept behind Galayana was mightily intriguing which is always a good thing and I liked how she appeared, all be it in different forms, at both ends of the wide-stretching timescale that this story took place. She was almost the conscience of the planet and Flood was no match for her. She just continued with her childish laughter when the threat was gone and that really was terrific. Arken and Bronik were great characters and the latter's death did take me by surprise I must admit. I also thought Charley and Niah shared a wonderful relationship. The Doctor didn't have a great deal to do for the resolution which made a change but the climax still managed to be exciting. Overall, a very good and solid story that probably would have been even better with an extension of time.

Rating: 8/10