Trouble in Paradise

"The Devil is waiting to snatch us off the edge of the world."

Writer: Nev Fountain
Format: Audio
Released: June 2013
Series: Destiny of the Doctor 06

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

Responding to a desperate summons from his future self, the Doctor and Peri find themselves on a sailing ship in 1492, where the crewmen are gripped by superstitious fear.

They say the Devils walks among them, stalking and striking them down. Even though they have landed in paradise, they fear that 'El Diablo' himself will drag them over the edge of the world and into the depths of Hell.

When the Doctor and Peri meet the captain of the ship, they both discover that heroes can sometimes behave unheroically. Peri's reaction leads her into deep water, and soon the Doctor fears not only for her life but also for the existence of the ship, the paradise island, and the universe itself...

Verdict

Trouble in Paradise was another very good audio in the Destiny of the Doctor series. I've now surpassed the halfway mark and we got the biggest glimpse yet as to what the 'destiny' that bestows the Doctor could actually involve. With all the cameo appearances of the Eleventh Doctor in the stories thus far, it's obviously something quite big for him to go chasing back through his personal timeline but it's a tremendous idea and I have really enjoyed the subtlety of his appearances thus far. However, that all changed in this adventure as the Eleventh Doctor was delighted to have sent a message back to the Sixth Doctor - the one whose coat he so dearly admired. I thought that was terrific writing and a full meeting between these two incarnations of the Doctor would really be quite wonderful. The Sixth Doctor being sent on a dangerous mission by his future self was a lovely basis and I liked how he wound up meeting Christopher Columbus. One thing I did not expect though was how displeased Peri was to be in his presence. He's obviously renowned for his discovery skills in locating America but the Doctor's companion put up a wonderful fight against why he shouldn't be revered for all he did to the indigenous population and his contributions to slavery. She was exactly right of course and the Doctor didn't know quite what to make of her outburst which was a real delight. I thought the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Peri was decent but the one thing I didn't like about this story was the extent to which Peri stormed off following the Doctor's refusal to help a slave infected with TB because of the effect it would have on history. Surely she would understand that using futuristic science and medicine could have a disastrous effect on evolution? It seemed weird to me and a little uncharacteristic of her. The 15th century setting on board a ship was fantastic and I liked how the Doctor managed to lose both the omniparadox that the Eleventh Doctor required as well as the TARDIS key. To a goat. Neddy provided some humour to the story which is always good and I liked how he was in the TARDIS as the story concluded. The Bovine were a weird bunch and their resemblances to buffalo sounded quite intriguing. Their plan was flawed despite its logic and I liked how the Doctor realised they couldn't see that the Europeans would still wipe them out despite already having furs and meat. The destruction of the time element was good and whilst the ending was a tad abrupt, I thought the story as a whole worked really well. Overall, another very good audio!

Rating: 8/10