The Raincloud Man

"Sometimes the stakes are just too high."

Writer: Eddie Robson
Format: Audio
Released: December 2008
Series: Main Range 116

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis

Having just defeated the Krotons, the Sixth Doctor is treating Charley to a hearty English breakfast, when an intriguing mystery suddenly presents itself. And to solve it, they must plunge back into the criminal underbelly of Manchester, where an old friend is up to her neck in alien trouble.

But what seemed like a mere mystery ends up being a life or death struggle at the centre of an interplanetary war in which the stakes are so high, the Doctor or Charley must gamble and lose their identity. And throughout, the lone figure of the Raincloud Man may hold the key to success or failure.

Verdict

The Raincloud Man was a somewhat decent audio adventure, but it was sadly comfortably the worst story of the Sixth Doctor and Charley's run together. I was glad to see DI Menzies return after an impressive debut in The Condemned and going back to her along with the Manchester setting was really good continuity in the era. It was great to be back with the Sixth Doctor and Charley and whilst the mystery surrounding their out of sync relationship really came into fruition at the story's conclusion, I found it intriguing that Kelsa knew immediately that Charley was essentially a walking paradox. That came very suddenly and I was excited for where the adventure might go from there, but then he ended up dying and things petered out from there in a big way. If it wasn't for the familiarity of Menzies and her relationship with both the Doctor and Charley, I really don't think this would have scored as high as it did. This one had good elements, but on the whole it was largely a mixed bag at best which was a real shame and it didn't quite meet the high standards set with this pairing. The whole premise of the story centring on tracking down where a coin from 2012 came from was a bit shoddy and just didn't end up being that exciting. Finding out that Carmen was actually a time travelling gambler who had a thing for casinos was very intriguing, but then it turned out that she didn't even know that was who or what she was! I didn't like that revelation much at all and I think it would have been much better if she was scheming. It would have suited the concept so much better in my opinion. Brooks was a semi-decent character but when it came to the war between the Tabbalac and the Cyrox, I just didn't care. That's a bit harsh and callous, but I wasn't a fan of the actors and there just wasn't enough background information to get me fully invested. Lish did turn out to be a good character though and he was clearly the standout of the guest cast. The casino turning out to actually be hopping around was fun, but again it didn't have the same impact with Carmen not having her memory. Lish being the one who knew all about Kesla's death was good, with the moment that Charley was arrested being terrific. That brought a very new dynamic to her relationship with Menzies. The idea behind the Raincloud Man felt a bit flat to me though considering it was the story's title. It was intriguing for there to be a possibility of increasing bad luck for punters, but it came too late for me. Ideally, I would have preferred a more centred focus on the casino and using time travel to con punters. That would have worked so much better in my opinion. The best moment of the audio came towards the end with Charley having to put her memories of her relationship with the Doctor on the line in a game of what was essentially Top Trumps between the Doctor and Brooks. Why they were valued wasn't really told which was a shame, but her having to toy with giving those up and not tell the Doctor the truth of her past and his future was excellent. The scene in the TARDIS to close with the Doctor telling Charley that he doesn't believe her anymore and the weirdness of what was going on with her was why Menzies was rejected as a fellow companion. I can't wait to see where things go from here, but for now this wasn't the greatest audio.

Rating: 6/10