The Bad Penny

"An anomaly can become a paradox."

Writer: Dan Starkey

Format: Audio

Released: May 2018

Series: FDA 7.06

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis

In the 1970s, hotelier Ron Tulip is having a difficult time. Many of his customers seem to be absconding without payment. The few who remain complain of strange noises and terrible sleep. And to top it all he's just been summoned to the VIP suite... which is something of a problem as he didn't even realise the hotel had one.

When turbulence in time takes the TARDIS off course, the Doctor and Leela find themselves visiting the same establishment and in the middle of a temporal paradox and a terrible plan.

Because that's the thing about the Cross-Keys hotel.

You can check in... but you can never leave.

Verdict

The Bad Penny was another very good audio to continue my listening of the second half of the seventh series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures! This was another very solid standalone adventure and it actually felt a little similar to the previous episode of The Shadow of London in that where we were wasn't all that it seemed. There was a tense atmosphere throughout which worked really well and I enjoyed how the stage was set with the opening scene of the hotel guest being locked inside his own hotel room amid darkness before leaving in a huff. That was pretty understandable! I don't think I'd have been wanting to stick around if that happened to me that's for sure. I liked the time paradoxical nature of the episode and that starting with the TARDIS getting grabbed at the epicentre of a tear in time was terrific. Unfortunately for Leela, her visit to the Great Exhibition would have to wait but I found it amusing that she wasn't really bothered by that. She had to question what made it great which was lovely and she's just such a wonderful companion who I am enjoying more and more as I explore her adventures on Gallifrey and with the Fourth Doctor. The Cross Keys hotel worked well as the overlapping setting and whilst a hotel isn't a unique setting for Doctor Who, it definitely has a lot of potential as there are so many horror stories that go around several of them on a global scale. Tulip was a good character serving as the hotel's owner and his relationship with Edwin was quite amusing. He was in charge of showing people around the hotel but he wasn't all there and didn't always go ahead with Tulip's plans which brought a smile. The Doctor's comments about playing the fool when discussing musical instruments was outstanding and I loved how you could hear the silent offence of the Doctor and Leela when they were referred to as clientele that weren't wanted after Edwin blurted out that several rooms were vacant. The mystery of the VIP room that Tulip didn't even know he had was excellent and the mysterious occupant showing Tulip his bright future was intriguing to say the least. The out of sync mirror was also brilliant and the Doctor slowly conversing with himself was great stuff. Deborah as the hotel surveyor made for a really good character and I loved the fact that she was from 2003. Time jumping all around the hotel was brilliant and I thought it filling up with a large number of guests from all walks of time over a two-century period was magnificent. I was a big fan of that and hearing the Doctor struggle for room was good. Deborah explaining how the Doctor had showed her the way posing as a caretaker was interesting because he hadn't as far as we were concerned, but then that did happen in a timey-wimey fashion which was fun. The revelation that the man in the VIP room was actually Lord Tulip, a 50-year senior of the Tulip we had got to know already. The blending of timelines here was fantastic and the older Tulip not knowing of the Doctor was evident of that. The Hadean monster acting as his business partner was decent but I wasn't overly fussed on the character as a whole, but that doesn't mean I disliked him either! It was just a little too similar to the creature of the previous episode. Leela's comment to one of the hotel guests from across time about not knowing Michelle or her hen had me in hysterics. Wonderful stuff. Ronald not trusting his future Lord self was very good and although the conclusion was quite quick with the different versions touching each other to spark an explosion that also conveniently sterilised the tear. Overall, a very decent listen!

Rating: 8/10