Death on the Mile

"I was attacked by huge green aliens in my kitchen."

Writer: Donald McLeary
Format: Audio
Released: August 2018
Series: Lady Christina 1.04

Featuring: Lady Christina

Synopsis

Lady Christina has been offered a job; the heist of a lifetime. She simply has to break into Edinburgh Castle.

At the same time, UNIT are investigating alien activity at the Military Tattoo. And where there's treasure and treachery, there are also Slitheen...

Verdict

Death on the Mile was a great conclusion to the Lady Christina spinoff series! I have really enjoyed this boxset and I do hope that it is not the last of her adventures with Big Finish. Michelle Ryan has been a joy to listen to in this lead role and I loved that things finished with another familiar enemy in the Doctor Who universe. It started well with Elaine calling Jackie regarding her husband's change in attitude and personality with him just consistently being nice. Given the front cover of the CD, us listeners obviously knew the reasoning behind it. The Edinburgh setting was magnificent and it's a fantastic city and one of my all-time favourite places I have visited following a surprise anniversary gift for a trip there last year. I thought the concept of a treasure hunt for Christina was perfect and so much fun. The history of the Seven Years War being told was good and I liked the idea of a war chest of George II's being lost, until now. Sam Bishop from UNIT returning alongside Christina was a lot of fun and it was nice for them to continue building their relationship that has developed over the series. The Military Tattoo parade to go along with the Edinburgh setting was good and with Christina tasked with breaking into Edinburgh Castle, her efforts of trying to bluff her way in were a lot of fun. Edinburgh Castle is an imposing attraction and works really well for this kind of adventure. The use of the alien truth venom to discover her way of entry through the council bin collection was terrific. Once she had acquired a bin lorry, her attempt to get into the grounds was great as she was caught by Biggsy who noticed she wasn't actually a 62-year-old called Derek. The violence she resorted to in order to gain entry was rather amusing. Sam being caught by Handley was a good moment and I liked how a large number of the cast we had already been introduced to turned out to all be part of the Slitheen family. Christina's entry into the anteroom was good and I liked how the map didn't correlate with what she could see. The treasure actually laying beneath the foundations of Edinburgh Castle was a good issue to provide Christina with and the way Edward, revealing himself as also being a Slitheen, was able to provide the firework distraction was very good. Coupling that with the revelation that the whole theft was a Slitheen rouse was great and I liked how they utilised Christina's matter displacement device. The meeting again between Christina and Sam was good natured and I liked how the latter referenced UNIT's involvement in Aliens of London/World War Three when it came to knowing that the Slitheen were behind events. Also, their zipper was showing! Sam's description of the Slitheen was impressive and made them out to be horrific mercenaries, if not going slightly over the top but it definitely gave them a lot of credence. This section of the Slitheen family was a different side to those we saw battle the Ninth Doctor. These had been hiding and were building theirs means of getting off the planet. The one thing about the Slitheen that's amusing is how easily they can be defeated, as evidenced here with three of them being knocked off in one go by some pickled onions. That led to the Slitheen excellerating their plans and liquefying the rock beneath Edinburgh Castle, which sat upon a no longer dormant volcano. There was a lot going on and the action packed bus journey to retrieve the treasure was really good. The similarities and references to Portrait of a Lady were fantastic and it was rather amusing to have some vinegar from Jackie's dinner setup knock off another two of the family to leave just Sir Edward. I thought he could have showed more compassion towards his lost family members in all honesty. One of the first tourist sites I visited on my trip to Edinburgh last year was the Wallace Monument, so the image of it being turned into a rocket taking off at the hands of the Slitheen was quite something! As was the crash into Arthur's Seat! That was a tough climb and doing it on our travel day after arriving into the city was unique to say the least, so Christina plugging the hole of the volcano with Edinburgh Castle itself was quite the image! I love a story that takes place in a familiar surrounding. I thought it was fun to find that the treasure was actually just the first printed money and now worthless. I kind of expected something along those lines but that didn't take anything away. Christina managing to escape from Sam again was a wonderful way to end and I like the idea of her going to Iceland and meddling with some Metebelis crystals. What could go wrong? I do hope we get to hear that story one day. Overall, a very good end to the series!

Rating: 8/10