Excelis Rises

"Dead men tell no tales."

Writer: David A. McIntee

Format: Audio

Released: April 2002

Series: Excelis 02

Featuring: Sixth Doctor

Synopsis

A thousand years after his first visit to the planet Artaris, the Sixth Doctor returns. As the city of Excelis spreads her Empire throughout the globe, death follows a mysterious Relic through the halls of the Imperial Museum.

As the Doctor helps there Curator and the local authorities with this mystery, he finds himself crossing paths with a familiar face from Excelis' history – but no-one lives for a thousand years, do they?

Verdict

Excelis Rises was an excellent audio to continue the Excelis saga! I thought this was a brilliant story and a fine continuation of events started in Excelis Decays. This was a much different Excelis than what the Fifth Doctor visited and considering that these events occurred a millennium after them, that's no great surprise. I really enjoyed the new take on Excelis and the planet Artaris as a whole. It was still recognisable but they had experienced a number of technological advancements and revolutions since the time of Grayvorn. I thought the return of the warlord in the form of the Reeve was fun stuff and I loved how he existed as one with the Mother Superior. The Relic was obviously having an impact and had been for a thousand years, so much so that the Reeve had not slept. That would take its toll mentally and having that combined with the internal presence of the Mother Superior was really good stuff. I loved how the events at the end of Decays had now grown into folklore as a myth. It seems that after the tussle and fall, there were no bodies found and only the handbag Relic in the swamps below. Having the Sisters be the ones to find that was good and I enjoyed how Grayvorn was said to only return at a time of Excelis and its greatest need. Is that perhaps foreshadowing the finale of this saga? I enjoyed the politics of Excelis now and the Curator in particular was a very fun character. The arrival of the TARDIS had raised a lot of questions in the Imperial Museum as there was no feasible way it could have gotten in, and Grayvorn recognised it as the TARDIS it was but wasn't fully clued up on its significance. That didn't last too long though and he soon realised that despite appearances, he was face to face with the same man of a millennium prior. Despite having some form of immortality, Grayvorn wanted to know all about the Doctor's ability to live as long and transform his shape. He got the wrong end of the stick though and didn't grasp the natural ability of regeneration, and believed it was by a much more scientific process that he wished to obtain. That was a good realisation and it's good to present supposed immortals as still wanting more in life. The Inquisitor was a good character and was a timely title given the Doctor referencing the trouble he'd been in recently during The Trial of a Time Lord. The focus on the burglary attempt was great and it was fun to hear the Reeve try and justify his investigation as harmless and not more than met the eye. Except the Curator already knew the truth about him. Speaking to the spirits after death through the Relic to reveal that it was the Reeve who committed the murder was good, and I thought the conclusion was fitting as he literally went into the beyond. I was glad that not much was made of the silliness of the artefact being a handbag, but it was nice to acknowledge it would have been considerably more fashionable and in better condition a millennium before. The lack of narration for this adventure was also beneficial I think and just allowed Colin Baker to shine as the Sixth Doctor. Overall, this was a really strong audio and sets us up nicely to conclude the saga! 

Rating: 9/10