Cryptobiosis

"A captain never abandons his ship."

Writer: Elliot Thorpe
Format: Audio
Released: December 2005
Series: Subscriber Exclusive 03

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

There's a ship out there, on the ocean.

She's called Lankester and every year she sails from Madagascar to New Orleans and back again. Every year. Without exception. Regular as clockwork.

Her schedule is never behind. Her cargo is always fresh.

This strip, she has passengers. The passengers have baggage.

And the baggage might just be enough to sink her...

Verdict

Cryptobiosis was a very good little audio adventure! It was great to once again be doing a story of the audio format and I must say that I do like these little Subscriber Exclusive stories that accompany the Big Finish Main Range of audios as the length of these adventures can sometimes be preferable. That preference was felt today as after researching for an essay on American women on the Home Front during World War I, I was very much looking for some relaxation and what better way than a Doctor Who audio? I was delighted to find that this hour-long story was next up in my Main Range run through and it was nice to have a break from the essay research. This was a historical of a different kind and I really did enjoy the 1901 setting on the Lankester. Placing an entire story on a ship could have its restrictions but I think the shortened format definitely helped in preventing that become an issue here. The pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Peri is one of my all time favourites and it was wonderful to be doing a story featuring the pair once again after quite a lengthy time since my last outing with them. Colin Baker was as brilliant as ever portraying the softer version of the Doctor's sixth incarnation and Peri works wonderfully alongside him when the story is set later in the Sixth Doctor's timeline. The concept of the mermaid appearing in a Doctor Who adventure is surprisingly one I don't think I have come across before which is terrific as after almost 1,000 blog entries, Doctor Who still manages to conjure up an incredible range of tales. Amy was a fantastic character and I liked how the truth about her was revealed. The Doctor knew there was something unique about her but I don't think even he suspected her of being a Mermaid! Peri shared an extremely emotional moment with Amy which probably turned out to be the highlight of the story as she was absolutely outraged at the fact Amy was left to die. The revelation about her daughter gave Peri something to fight for and she was determined not to let the Merbaby fall into the hands of De Requin. He was a sadistic villain and his plans to place every Mer-Creature into some kind of zoo just to make himself rich really was an evil plan. All he cared about was himself and money and would happily kill to ensure that it would happen. Nereus though was not going to let that happen. He had already lost his daughter in Amy and he was not about to let his granddaughter and the rest of his species follow suit. The Doctor would be on hand to help with that and although he was not thrilled with the Merman's killing earlier on in the story, he knew that De Requin had to be stopped. The mention of the Vortisaur was a nice foreshadowing of events to come for the Doctor in Storm Warning and I also thought that Captain Callany was quite a humorous character. His method of talking privately with the Doctor didn't make much sense but I guess it achieved its purpose. He was probably the most useless ship captain I have ever come across, though that might be a bit harsh. I really liked the fate of De Requin with the Mer-Creatures hoping to turn the tables on him and actually make him the sort of zoo exhibit he was so thirsty to profit out of. Peri hoping to save those who had jumped off the Lankester was admirable but I understood the Merman's reluctance. Overall though, a very good audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10