The Mind's Eye

"Do not joke about the Doctor."

Writer: Colin Brake
Format: Audio
Released: November 2007
Series: Main Range 102

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Peri, Erimem

Synopsis

This is a warning to all space farers. You must keep away from this planet. It's hostile, repeat, hostile.

On a planet with no name, the Doctor finds himself confronted by a faulty memory and some killer plants.

In a distant galaxy, Erimem leads a troubled empire.

Back on Earth, Peri tells her son about the good old days when she used to travel with a man called The Doctor.

Verdict

The Mind's Eye was a great audio adventure and I believe it sees the end of the format of releases being one three-part story and one one-part story. Hurrah! I haven't been a fan of this experiment in style but I'm glad that it seems to be going out with a bang as this was a very good little adventure. I actually thought that the three-part format worked perfectly and I was actually struggling to think how this would work if it was extended. The length was actually perfect which was a nice surprise. It started off very intriguingly and it had the Doctor, Peri and Erimem all in unfamiliar surroundings with none of them seemingly close to the other. The Doctor had apparently forgotten who he was. Peri had her own family. Erimem was a queen. It was quite a contrast to the truth and I was a big fan of how long it was before we realised that they were all in a dream. It was never certain that what they were experiencing was not real and I thought that was very good. Peter Davison gave another assured performance as the Fifth Doctor and I have to say I think he works better with this pair of companions than any number of those earlier in his incarnation. There's just something about this trio that clicks so I was sad to hear that Erimem is thinking of going home. I do hope that it is just a passing thought and she has no true intention of leaving the TARDIS. With regards to that, it seems I will get my answer in the next story in which she features which is something at least. I thought it was great how the Doctor entered Erimem's dream and saw that she was now Queen of New Cairo. His reaction to that was brilliant. The emotional torment Peri underwent when the Doctor was desperately trying to get her out of dreaming was excellent and the thought of being told that your husband and child aren't real is quite incomprehensible. I just can't imagine how she must have been feeling so her attitude in the TARDIS at the conclusion seemed perfectly warranted. Hayton was a fantastic character and quite a sadistic professor. Owen Teale played him perfectly and his experimentation with the Jekylls and Kyropites were ghastly. The continued use of the word tendrils seemed chilling to me and the concept of them being wrapped around you as you were dreaming was quite horrifying! Takol was also a very good character and I found it quite interesting how, with her being the major, she was called sir and not madam. The conclusion was well done and I thought the overall pace of the story was very good with a lot of suspense and action. Overall, a very good audio! 

Rating: 8/10