Shadow of the Sun

"There is danger in this ship's quiet."

Writer: Robert Valentine

Format: Audio

Released: May 2020

Series: FDA Special

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela, K9

Synopsis

After an accident, the TARDIS lands on a luxury star-liner. Leaving their ship to repair itself, the Doctor, Leela and K9 find themselves facing a great terror: mingling at a cocktail party. 

Something seems awry behind the pleasantries, however. Guests are going missing, and equipment is breaking down. When the Doctor investigates further he discovers that the star-liner is literally on course for disaster. 

But no-one seems surprised by this information, still less troubled. What's going on? And can the Doctor and his friends save everyone... when nobody wants to be saved?

Verdict

Shadow of the Sun was a fantastic audio adventure to serve as a lovely little bonus within the Fourth Doctor Adventures! It seems such a long time ago now when this audio release was announced as having been recorded entirely from the actors' homes and it sounded really interesting so I'm glad to have finally picked it up and listened as it's a real delight. Of course, at the time of release home recording was something of a novelty but it has very much now become the norm which is a big shame. However, you really couldn't tell that this was performed in isolation or over Zoom as everything flowed well and I thought all of the actors bounced off each other really well. The premise of the story was something I liken to The End of the World except they were on a moving ship rather than stationary Platform One. The beginning with Professor Nicely being forced out of the airlock set a dark tone but thanks to the Autopilot we had quite an upbeat feeling. I'm a big fan of the cause of evil sounding cheery as it's rather unsettling and that works well. I loved the arrival of the Fourth Doctor, Leela and K9 and the former trying to get his companion to mingle was terrific. Leela was on point here as per usual in the companion role and I think she works so well alongside K9. Her recalling the events of The Face of Evil and explaining why she travels with the Doctor was delightful and I liked how out of place she felt at the party. The Doctor's relationship with Lady Malina was really good and I thought she was a great character as a whole. Zorn was also a very good character and I liked the twist with all indications pointing to him being the culprit behind the actions of the Autopilot, only for it to actually be Hix. Admittedly, I didn't see that coming so I quite enjoyed being taken by surprise. The threat of a collision with the Sun was pretty damning and it also had elements of 42 given the close proximity shared to our Solar System's central star. I enjoy the idea of exploring close to the Sun because obviously it's impossible in reality so any interpretations are most welcomed in my view. I really liked the concept of Heliotopia because of how ludicrous it was and that resulting in nearly all of the ship's crew not accepting sanctuary aboard the TARDIS was an incredible way to end the audio. His himself even apparently turning to their religion by the end was testament to the power of the Helios Society, but as we heard that was all in vain. It really is quite something for the Doctor to have to leave by the end of the story and leave all those refusing to be saved to their deaths at the hands of vaporisation. All those screams! It was incredible stuff. I thought the pace of the adventure was fantastic and I have to give credit as well to the background music. It was excellent throughout and really helped with the flow of the story. Impressive. The Doctor causing mild panic at the party when he was revealing the truth behind the ship's route path was very good and exactly what you'd expect of the fourth incarnation. A little more from K9 could have been good, but his realisation that the escape doors could be opened manually was an important contribution. As a whole, I thought this was a brilliant little audio and a much welcomed bonus! 

Rating: 9/10