The Selachian Gambit

"You do not give the orders here."

Writer: Steve Lyons

Format: Audio

Released: February 2012

Series: Companion Chronicles 6.08

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie

Synopsis

The Doctor doesn't normally need money, but when the TARDIS is immobilised and a fine has to be paid, a loan from a bank in the sky seems the solution to his problem.

But then the Selachians arrive, and the Doctor and his companions find themselves as hostages in the middle of a heist.

Death seems an absolute certainty. But the Doctor, Jamie, Polly and Ben have outwitted death before...

Verdict

The Selachian Gambit was a really good and fun Companion Chronicles audio adventure! This one was never likely to let us down given the cast of both Anneke Wills and Frazier Hines as they are both tremendous actors and hearing them reprise the roles of Polly and Jamie never ceases to be old. I love their respective impressions of Ben and the Doctor and with them performing together, this genuinely did feel close to the real article of a Second Doctor tale from way back during Season 4! That's a big compliment. Things started humorously with the TARDIS having a force field around it in the form of a parking fine! That's so much fun and the Second Doctor just seemed the perfect incarnation to tackle this issue given his clumsy and buffoon-like nature. He walked around like he owned the place and hearing the earlier claim that he believed he was not subject to the warning signs was magnificent. Hearing him try and bumble his way through the Galacti-Bank's requirements of opening up accounts and queueing from one person to the next was superb stuff. The image in my head of the Doctor's cross face certainly made me smile. I thought this audio did a good job in bringing back the Selachians who I actually recently encountered in my blogging of The Murder Game. I was surprised that there was no reference to that novel, but it was subtly shown that Ben in particular had encountered them before whereas Jamie had not. That did a good job of refreshing the listener as to what exactly the Selachians stood for. Their voices suited my expectations which was good and their efforts to break into a vault and take the weapon within was a good basis for the plot. I loved the development of the vault being impenetrable to brute force and opening it without anything other than the correct code simply opened a doorway into space. That was really nice done and I liked how Tomkins as the bank manger tried explaining that to the brutes intent on breaking their way in. The Selachians taking hostages really did show their evil intent which was good and Polly ending up as one just enhanced that. She was terrific throughout and is such a great companion! I'm a massive fan. Jamie's efforts to tackle the Selachians with his Scottish aggression was really good. The cliffhanger with the bomb threat announced from Ben was decent but considering the potential that presented, it should have made more of an impact in my opinion. Scallon was an interesting character and his efforts to take the Galacti-Bank by force was an unexpected but decent plot move and the revelation by the end that the Selachians had received a tip off, that element of the audio worked pretty well in my eyes. The whole thing being a cover up to claim  insurance was an enjoyable revelation but I don't think I was actually expecting the whole bank to go up in an explosion! The fact that everyone was safe in the pocket universe of the vault was good and the call back to Resistance from Jamie and Ben to ensure they got there in the nick of time was a nice touch, but I did feel that the way the TARDIS was saved and returned safely to the Doctor and his companions was slightly too easy. I should also mention that the glue bombs spaced throughout the audio was very well done and a nice extra touch. Overall, this was still a very strong audio! 

Rating: 8/10