Animal

"Your blood is not pure."

Writer: Andrew Cartmel

Format: Audio

Released: June 2011

Series: Lost Stories 2.05

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Raine

Synopsis 

Margrave University in 2001, and Raine Creevy is enjoying her first trip into the future.

For the Doctor, there are mysteries to solve: what are the alien creatures imprisoned in the science labs? And what are the true motives of the student Scobie and his followers?

Wit enemies on all sides, the Doctor teams up with his old friend Brigadier Bambera and the forces of UNIT in a battle for the future of the whole world.

Verdict  

Animal was a really strong Lost Stories audio! It has been such a long time since I blogged the first two stories of Thin Ice and Crime of the Century in this loose quartet of adventures that may have acted as Season 27 on screen, but at least I’m better late than never! I can’t quite believe it has been nine and seven years respectively since listening to those aforementioned stories, but I didn’t feel adversely impacted thankfully as I remembered Raine’s backstory very well as she made a very big impact with the Doctor being there at her birth and then joining as companion years later. It was a fine introduction and we also got a really strong return here in the form of Brigadier Bambera. She makes a strong return after appearing in Battlefield, but surely she would have known who Ace was? That was a little odd but it was fun for their arrival at the university in 2001 to have UNIT greet them there. In typical Seventh Doctor fashion, he’d planned ahead and Bambera was there already with fake guises and documents for Ace and Raine to go undercover and investigate. That was a fun beginning and brining Raine to the near future of 2001 was good too. The benefit of the release date was utilised well as obviously we now know exactly what 2001 was like, something that wouldn’t be possible in 1990 if this was broadcast as a televised adventure. The comments on the music were fun and so typical of people listening to the sounds not of their own time. I thought the social circles that were recruiting Ace and Raine were fun and the characters of Scobie and Willa were really strong. The former in particular was rather deranged and his discussion with Ace about being a herbivore was borderline hilarious. She had just ordered a beef burger but had to return it much to her chagrin which was amusing. She was most definitely a carnivore! Willa was more in the know and knew that Ace and Raine already knew each other despite what they were feigning. She wasn’t a saboteur and was very concerned about Scobie as well. His scientific studies were fascinating and the fact he had a massive satellite on the outside of his halls was quite the image! I didn’t get any of that at university, although mine was very much focused on humanities and arts so who knows? The Numlocks were a decent enemy and their makeup as scientists requiring an iron supplement beyond the stars was rather unique. They sounded less than threatening and I actually preferred the plant like communication earlier in the story. Their plan for pure blood consumption was decent though! It put so many in danger after they’d signed up for something they didn’t have full knowledge of putting themselves in grave danger. It’s weird, but I felt like the main plot was actually secondary to my enjoyment of the story and it was just fun to have Ace and Raine undercover. The relationship between the Doctor and Bambera was presented well but it was never going to recapture the glory of the Doctor and the original Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. It was still lovely to see her back and provided good continuity. I thought the build to the conclusion was well done and I thought the pace throughout was excellent. The Numlock weren’t revealed too early and it just flowed along very nicely. The way the Numlock were dealt with felt a little underwhelming, but the fate of Scobie at the hands of UNIT was amusing. The disappointment felt of the Doctor returning the alien threat home was understandable. Raine looking up her father on the internet and finding him dead would have been a big shock so it’s no surprise she opted to chill out for a little while before returning to her TARDIS travels. Overall, a great audio!

Rating: 8/10