The Edge

"Intellect comes at a price."

Writer: Rob Nisbet

Format: Audio

Released: June 2016

Series: Companion Chronicles: Second Doctor 1.04

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Edge is the galaxy's scientific hub of experimentation, theoretical breakthroughs and invention – just the sort of place to interest the Doctor and Zoe. However, a secret lies hidden in The Edge laboratories. Jamie instinctively knows that something is wrong, and it doesn't take long for him to be proved right...

Verdict

The Edge was a fantastic conclusion to the first series of Companion Chronicles for the Second Doctor! This boxset has largely been great with the exception of The Integral and with The Mouthless Dead receiving a rare perfect score in this range to kickstart the volume, I was glad that we didn't finish too far behind! I thought it worked really well to have this as essentially a Jamie story and Frazer Hines did a lovely job in the narration. His take on Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor continues to be just magnificent and he really is a huge asset to Big Finish in being able to recreate this era with a genuine feel. The trio of the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe is quite revered after what we saw during Season 6 and the dynamic that comes with the contrasting intelligence levels of Jamie and Zoe is often so much fun. That was evident here with the tests and the fascinating with the laboratories on offer at The Edge. It really did have a feeling akin to The Krotons with how the Doctor and Zoe were being tested and I thought we were going to get another gag about Zoe getting a superior score than the Time Lord. Alas, she was still quicker than him which I thought was great! The introduction to The Edge through Sebastian's little tour worked well and I thought it was a brilliant setting. I do like a good asteroid and the nebula that it was within also didn't come without a story. I liked the shift in Sebastian's character once Provost Curtis was introduced and the sudden impact in which his command to kill the waiter was carried out was excellent. Jamie seeing that and realising that he was the next target was very good and I thought it quite humorous that he knocked over some boxes which gave up his hiding place. There was a good level of tension throughout this audio and the excitement that came with the build to the cliffhanger was tremendous. I thought the cliffhanger itself was superb with Jamie seemingly falling to his death off a stupendously large cliff-face, but the resolution was actually logical as he amusingly clamoured mid-air to get the gravity boots off to allow him to float to safety. I enjoyed the depiction of the nebula and its scale was interesting considering the amounts of Acumen that were present there. It was the most prized material in the galaxy (boy, we've heard that one before!) and Curtis had his very own monopoly hidden in another dimension which was a fun twist. His place as being the galaxy's most intelligent man was good and I thoroughly enjoyed his need and desire for something new. What more could somebody with all knowledge want? The way he thought he was toying with Jamie in an effort to learn something new from someone he deemed dull was fantastic and I loved how our resident Scot was determined to help the Doctor and Zoe be free of Curtis's forced employ. Curtis being surprised that when the situation shifted, Jamie still tried to save him worked very well and the excitement that came at the conclusion along with some great background music made for a thrilling end! Jamie's threatening of pulling the dimension stabiliser after Zoe explained the TARDIS's at the start of the adventure was wonderful and a very clever way to bring things full circle. His going through in pulling the stabiliser to be rid of the source of Acumen for Curtis and the quake that followed and the dash to safety added to the thrill. The music really added to this sequence given it was in audio format and I loved how Jamie was the hero. He even knew that the Acumen was a form of intelligence and his somewhat knowledge gap in that department allowed him to get a feeling for the atmosphere. Overall, a fantastic audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10