Random Ghosts

"Time doesn't like it when you interfere with it."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: June 2014

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 1.03

Featuring: Benny, Ace

Synopsis

Welcome to the Forbidden World. This world has a secret. The problem is that no-one can remember what it is. Time is broken here. Those trapped here must live the same day over and over – forming alliances, lying to each other, trying to escape. Welcome to the Forbidden World.

Verdict

Random Ghosts was an outstanding audio adventure to continue the first series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! This really was sensational from start to finish and just furthers the quality of this boxset. It really is a superb series so far and the way the finale has been set up is just brilliant. I loved the continuity we had from Good Night, Sweet Ladies with Benny en route to finding Ace despite the warning received from her fellow companion and the way everything is tying back to the end of The Revolution and the series as a whole is really impressive. I'm a huge fan. I thought the unique format of this audio was sensational with the time jump and how we weren't always experiencing the audio in the chronological order of events. It was really intriguing and how everything eventually came to circle around and become clear was fantastic. It must have been rather difficult to write but thankfully the end result here was magnificent. It was almost something like Sleep No More with how the cameras recorded everything, except there was a whole time factor slipped in as well which just enhanced the experience. I was looking forward to the meeting between Benny and Ace and whilst I remain none the wiser regarding their run together with the Seventh Doctor in the New Adventures novels, I had listened to them together in the likes of The Shadow of the Scourge and I thought they were really good here. It was obvious that there was some baggage and tension between the pair which was excellent, but for the most part Benny still cared for Ace and wanted to find her. Except she didn't want to be found and didn't wholly appreciate that Benny had come looking at the behest of the Doctor's orders. Kilnus was a very good character and I liked the idea of Benny having a relationship. Although my experiences with her are limited, she definitely has a sense of being more realistic and just more oriented to an older audience when it comes to her engagements. The sexual innuendo and activity was clear and did occur and her comments about the cameras always recording were amusing. She didn't like the idea of her privacy being watched! His hitting on both Benny and Ace at the different points in which they arrived and were experiencing the day said all that was required for his character. The whole concept of the planet recycling the day was great and fascinating but the fact it wasn't quite a time loop was a nice little twist. Everyone getting to see their past recordings stored in the cloud was very good and I loved that Benny was almost flabbergasted that she was in a relationship based on video recordings. Foster and his documentary was fantastic and I thought the little snippet of that was terrific. He was a great character throughout. Varna was another intriguing character and her believing that the ghost planet was her home was really good! Her theory on the planet and how they were caught between planes of existence and differing realities trying to take hold was marvellous. I loved the idea of the planet being time locked and the forbidden world concept being explained as the universe trying to rid itself of a planet was superb. I was a big fan of everything going on in this story, and the reveal that the planet was actually Skaro was sublime. The use of that famed Classic Dalek music effect was just perfect and it has set things up ever so well for the finale! Overall, a wonderful listen.

Rating: 10/10