Nevermore

"Everyone has something to hide."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: August 2010

Series: EDA 4.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Tamsin

Synopsis

A bizzarre manifestation in the Control Room forces the TARDIS onto the Plutonian shores of the irradiated world Nevermore, whose sole inhabitant is the war criminal Morella Wendigo – a prisoner of this devastated planet. But the Doctor and his new companion aren't Morella's only visitors. Senior Prosecutor Uglosi fears the arrival of an assassin after the blood of his prize prisoner. An assassin with claws...

There's no escape from Nevermore, whose raven-like robot jailers serve to demonstrate Uglosi's macabre obsession with the works of the 19th century horror write Edgar Allan Poe. An obsession that might yet lead to the premature burial of everyone on the planet's surface – wreathed in the mist they call the Red Death!

Verdict

Nevermore was an excellent audio to continue the fourth series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures! I thought this was a really strong story from start to finish and served as an impressive first venture in the TARDIS for Tamsin as the new companion. I thought she was terrific throughout the audio and she's a marked change from Lucie which brings out a different side in the Doctor which is never a bad thing. I loved the idea of him showing her around the vast TARDIS interior and the likes of the sauna room and even a mile of Margate beach were intriguing rooms to say the least! She was a lot of fun and almost enjoyed playing with him emotionally when it came to the cat in the console room. That was an image in of itself and the Doctor explaining that he had no cat and wanted his new companion to fetch a broom was hilarious. I have a cat myself so that must have just added to my amusement as they really are magnificent animals! Its role in luring the TARDIS to Nevermore was brilliant and I thought the entire concept of the planet turning out to now be a theatrical prison was very good. Morella Wendigo turned out to be an outstanding character and her being imprisoned on the planet she sought to destroy was fantastic. She was a lot of fun and oozed confidence which is always good to hear in a villain. Hearing of her past was great and I liked how she saw past the Doctor's attempt to disguise himself as Uglosi. The real senior prosecutor was another fine character and his fascination with Edgar Allan Poe was strange! I liked the enigmatic atmosphere that brought though and the links back to Mary's Story were a welcomed treat. I thought that was pretty seamless and the literary similarities there were a lot of fun. There's something about a dark story featuring authors that works well and this was another fine example. The Doctor recounting the meeting he had with Poe once in order to save Tamsin from the strange mind of Uglosi was fascinating and I loved the description of the final message in the bottle being tarnished by running ink. That was a sign of the times for sure. The ravens were an interesting element in the adventure and whilst I wasn't a huge fan of their voices, I really liked what they brought to the story and how different they felt. Berenice was a good character and hearing how she was adopted and named after one of Poe's creations told us more about the mad mind of the senior prosecutor. Uglosi was damaged that was for sure and clearly evidenced by his laughter at the conclusion which made him great! I thought the cliffhanger came a little suddenly but that isn't a major issue when it comes to an hour-long adventure. Tamsin being mistaken for a Time Lord worked well and nearly resulted in her thinking she'd been buried to death when the psychotic trauma was being implemented! The ease in which the Doctor ridded himself of that was brilliant. Paul McGann was in fine from as always as the Eighth Doctor. The links this adventure had with Situation Vacant and that mysterious time traveller were intriguing and I was a big fan of the arc continuing immediately. The Doctor ruling out the Master was good and with the clear meddling going on for Uglosi on Corinth, the prime suspect might be clear. The Doctor pondering on that was very good and I look forward to this arc continuing and getting resolved! Overall, this was a brilliant audio.

Rating: 9/10