The Fall of the House of Pollard

"We are all but forgotten."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: May 2014

Series: Charlotte Pollard 1.03

Featuring: Charley

Synopsis

On the night the R101 airship went down, Louisa Pollard lost a husband as well as a daughter. Lord Richard Pollard has been a reclusive shadow of his former self ever since, unable to face the loss of his dear Charlotte.

With their fortunes in a downward spiral and the country estate up for sale, the Pollards retreat to their London townhouse, cared for by their one remaining servant, Mrs Warren. When psychic medium Michael Dee claims to bring a message from Charlotte, a desperate Louisa overcomes her scepticism in the hopes it will bring closure for Richard.

But as they try to make contact with Charlotte, no one can imagine what is about to cross over into their world from beyond the veil...

Verdict

The Fall of the House of Pollard was an excellent audio to continue along the first series of Charlotte Pollard's very own spinoff! This was definitely the best of the series so far and I thought it was wonderful to take Charley back home long after the events of Storm Warning. The way this story linked with a number of Charley's adventures with the Eighth Doctor was terrific and I really liked the emotion that came with her being reunited with her family, six years after her supposed death from their perspective but presumably so much longer for Charley. I really liked how Michael Dee was used as a spiritualist to actually try and summon Charley and him actually stating that she was stuck between dimensions was really intriguing as we knew that would be the truth. Charley's ability to use desire to help her find the destination she wanted through the prolixity was excellent and the initial reactions when Charley was back home were fantastic. It couldn't possibly be her, could it? Getting a full introduction to the Pollard family was brilliant and I thought the writing of Charley around her family was noticeably different which I thought was impressive and definitely the right move. The way it was also incorporated into the era of the 1930s was superb with the Moma and Papa titles was great too. I liked the introduction to house Pollard prior to Charley's arrival and the links with The Chimes of Midnight and Seasons of Fear when it came to the family believing there was a chance she was still alive were very well done. Richard had audibly not dealt well by the likelihood that his daughter had perished on the R101, but I admired that he never gave up hope that she was still alive. It was interesting to hear Charley referred to as Lottie by her family as that just isn't what we are used to. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship she had with her mother and hearing Louisa get a full adventure after brief glimpses in a few different Monthly Adventures with the Eighth Doctor and Charley. The highlight of the audio had to be the way Louisa slapped her daughter square after accepting that she was in fact her daughter after a heartfelt embrace and look into the eyes. Tremendous stuff and that definitely felt like it was of the era. I really enjoyed how long it was left until any Viyran involvement through Violet and I also like to think that this name was a subtle hint of her true identity and intentions. Her efforts to rid Michael's memories of Charley was a powerful moment as the traces just weren't being eradicated and that meant a full cleanse which actually cost him his life. I thought the ending was brilliant and I liked how Charley took the arrival of the Viyrans with inevitable acceptance because it was only a matter of time before they'd end up there. Her having to battle with the prospect of death or going back into Viyran captivity was good but she had already made that decision in The Lamentation Cipher. Charley possessing that and still not knowing what it was that made her so important was good and I'm looking forward to this hopefully getting fully explored in the finale. Things have been set up well here and with the three episodes so far, and I do hope that it ends well for Charley. She has gone through a lot since The Girl Who Never Was and her still thinking that the Doctor is dead, and not knowing any better, must be quite hard along with everything that then occurred with the Sixth Doctor and her departure with the Viyrans. It was lovely for her to be united with family again, but it was taken away too quickly. Overall, an excellent listen!

Rating: 9/10