Kingdom of Silver

"We truly live in a Silver Age."

Writer: James Swallow

Format: Audio

Released: September 2008

Series: Main Range 112a

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor arrives on Tasak in search of refreshment, armed with nothing more than a kettle. But this is a time of crisis for a civilisation about to enter an industrial age.

Mindful that a devastating war is only recently over, the wise and revered Magus Riga will do almost anything to save his people from the follies of the past. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the planet Tasak is host to ancient powers buried deep and long forgotten. Can visitors from another world avert disaster or will their intervention drag this innocent world into the Orion War?

Verdict

Kingdom of Silver was a very good story to continue my listening of the Main Range of Big Finish audio adventures! I am a little frustrated that the persistence of releases comprising of a three-part and one-part story continues as I don't think that format helps anything at all, and it also makes it difficult when it comes to finding artwork and a synopsis for the one-parter! Whilst I'm on little negatives, I have been quite surprised that we have had so many stories in a row now where the Seventh Doctor is travelling alone and I'm not sure if Sophie Aldred or Bonnie Langford were unavailable in 2008, but the lack of companion is becoming quite noticeable now. I think an Ace or Mel would have worked really well here where Temeter and Sara were concerned. I thought the Doctor's relationships with both of them was terrific throughout and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor performance. If pressed on which is my least favourite incarnation, I always think of the seventh and it's a shame but he just doesn't always work for me but I loved him here! It was fantastic to have him battling the Cybermen and there was a lot of familiarity with the Orion War dating back to Sword of Orion which was great given that the Cybermen also featured in that adventure. The little homages to The Tomb of the Cybermen were splendid and I liked that there was finally some recognition that Telos wasn't the only planet where the Cybermen had gone into hibernation. There were thousands and now the Doctor had come across another one in the form of Tasak. I loved that the planet's whole civilisation was based upon the presence of the Cybermen and the mythology that stemmed from their arrival. The explanation of all that was a brilliant scene and the worry was evident in the Doctor's voice and tone. The Cybermen could break out and that would spell doom for all. They could not be woken up, but obviously that was exactly what was happening. I thought the cliffhanger to part one was a little predictable wit the arrival of a Cybermen, but I did like the uniqueness of it actually being thought of as a statue. That was a fresh take which is usually a positive. Where I felt this adventure could have benefitted was with some more backstory on the guest cast and I think a fourth part would really have helped and would almost certainly have cemented this story as an even better one. I think there needed to be a tad more clarity and involvement concerning the Heart and how pivotal that was, as I always felt like I was waiting for some further details that never came. I'm being harsh there though as I did really like the audio a lot. I'm a big fan of the Cybermen and getting the Seventh Doctor to encounter a design reminiscent of The Invasion is really good and the beauty of audio. Nicholas Briggs did a splendid job voicing them and I would love to get them in a more prominent villainous role as it has been a little while now. The ending was predictable with the explosion and sacrifice, but I still enjoyed it and I think it worked really well. Overall, a great audio!

Rating: 8/10