Portrait of a Lady

"A great warrior of Sontar, reduced to the status of a dog."

Writer: Tim Dawson
Format: Audio
Released: August 2018
Series: Lady Christina 1.03

Featuring: Lady Christina, Sam

Synopsis

When her plot to steal a priceless painting runs into trouble, Christina crashes into an undercover UNIT operation – and Sam Bishop.

Soon, her Number 200 bus is racing from Europe to South America and into the depths of the Pacific, chasing a mysterious and unstoppable foe...

Verdict

Portrait of a Lady was a fantastic audio adventure to continue along the first series of Lady Christina! This was a thoroughly enjoyable story from start to finish and I liked how things began somewhat mysteriously beneath the International Gallery with Leon and Lucy targeting a theft after being given some orbs as a means of entry from the enigmatic El Guapo. The change of the opening theme was interesting with it meeting the theme of the story, but I don't think it was as good as the traditional one we returned to at the end. That's quite funky and suits Christina well. The arrival of a Sontaran in this adventure was delightful as they are right up there when it comes to my favourite enemies and I have been longing to blog a story featuring them! It was quite interesting that Grunt was serving Kamen, an apparent human, as that just didn't seem to be a traditional Sontaran activity. The value of the Perfection painting that was stolen seemed incredibly high which was fun and I enjoyed getting a featured performance from Sam alongside Lady Christina after his cameos in the first two outings. I was surprised that they weren't referenced, particularly the call in It Takes a Thief, but that wasn't a big issue. His impersonation of Juan Paulo was terrific and he certainly had Leon and Lucy fooled. I was loving it when Grunt told of his love for the glory of battle and the voice by the returning Christopher Ryan being so wonderfully resemblant of the modern era's Sontarans was outstanding. I was a huge fan of that uniformity and continuity. Kamen was an intriguing villain and his sights being set on Perfection were very good. Hearing of how he was controlling Grunt made me feel quite sorry for the Sontaran given the brain implant that meant he thought of Kamen as his commander. Christina's late arrival into the audio was emphatic as she attacked the probic vent of the Sontaran before revealing that she was in fact El Guapo! I thought that was magnificent. Perfection being so valuable because of its alien origin was logical and I also loved how Sam could see the value Christina might present to UNIT. If she ever ended up joining the UNIT audios from Big Finish, well that would just be marvellous! Her meeting Kate would be so much fun. Getting some emotion from Christina when she said the only person she'd work for was the Doctor but he rejected her was good and from there things got really fun as she and Sam embarked on a jolly bus outing. They'd headed to a secret secure auction house in the Amazon in Argentina which was certainly unique and with Kamen and Grunt following, an action packed chase ensued which was really entertaining. The use of the bus and the shields failing before embarking underwater was brilliant! It really was so much fun. The reveal of sharks with the same implants that Grunt was under was unexpected and I liked the idea of them guarding something. The arrival of Leslie Plush into proceedings was handled very well and it was clear from the off that she was in charge. She was the keeper of the International Gallery where the initial theft had occurred, but here underwater was her own private gallery away from the grubby hands of the eternal public. I enjoyed that a lot. Plush being so confident in her surroundings that she left Perfection with Christina was good and I was a little taken aback when the painting began to speak! Within was a woman trapped in the canvas in pain and sick of being pursued. She just wanted things to stop and that was quite emotional. Being trapped in a painting must be quite horrific! Sam's encounter with Grunt was excellent and I loved how he mocked Sontaran honour and wanted a traditional fist fight. His appeals led Grunt to realise that he wanted vengeance on Kamen for controlling him and he was able to die with honour like any good Sonataran by taking his forced commander out with him. That was a fitting way to end his adventure. He was Marshall Scraal after all! Christina taunting Plush and questioning whether she had let herself see Perfection was great and it was clear she was a little scared. After some pushing, Perfection was able to be free once Plush opened herself up to it which was a fitting end, but not before some marvellous humour as Christina escaped from Sam on her bus after pickpocketing her keys! Ah, so much fun. Overall, a brilliant audio!

Rating: 9/10