River of Death

"I do not know the ending the almighty has written for me."

Writer: John Peel

Format: Audio

Released: March 2024

Series: BBC Audio 23

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

A visit to the Grand Canyon begins with disaster for the Doctor and Peri, when the TARDIS plunges into a ravine. The travellers' only hope is to descend to the valley on foot and then track the course of the Colorado river. Their perilous journey is fraught with danger, even before they encounter a band of 19th Century explorers led by Major John Wesley Powell. Joining the watery expedition, the Doctor and Peri begin to despair of ever seeing the TARDIS again. As food supplies dwindle, so do the group's options. This is a journey which some of them will never return.

Verdict

River of Death was an entertaining release in the BBC Audio Originals range! I believe this now brings me right up to date in completing every release so far in the range and that's very exciting to say! I was once again listening on Audible thanks to threatening to cancel my free trial resulting in another credit which was a fun little surprise. Two audios for free and a quick cancellation shortly after concluding this adventure meant this was a very happy listener even before completing the story. I do think it perhaps went a little long which probably contributed to losing a mark on my rating, but it was still a good listen. I was struck to find that John Peel was the writer as he's more associated with Dalek stories so to get something completely different from him was most welcomed. I'm a big fan of his work in prose so it was an enjoyable first experience of his writing on audio. The pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Peri are one of my favourites so it was lovely to revisit them here, especially with Nicola Bryant in the narrator role! It really does help having one of the main characters' actor as the narrator. It provides a sense of authenticity in my view and that only aided the listen. She carried the story well. It was intriguing as a fan of Big Finish and the development we've heard of the Sixth Doctor over the years that this episode really did feel like it could slot on somewhere during Season 22 on screen. The Doctor wasn't as grouchy or lacking in compassion as we did see on screen in times, as evidenced by him waiting over Peri after she drifted into sleep shortly after falling into the river, but he wasn't the softer version of the incarnation we hear for Big Finish. It's an interesting depiction of the character which I liked. The offer of the Doctor to his companion to go anywhere in the universe and Peri wanting to visit somewhere on Earth was met with dismay, but when she explained her will to see the Grand Canyon tourist free he actually agreed with the choice. I liked the links back to her trip with her father when she was ten years old, but I do think a little bit too much reliance was placed on Peri's knowledge gained during that visit. I thought the danger of the TARDIS arriving on a cliff edge at the Canyon was great as if the doors were facing the other way it would have been a disaster! The TARDIS actually plummeting into the river was a strong basis for the story and the plot relying on regaining it worked very well. I liked how there was no obvious threat other than the elements, with the lack of food and drink a very real issue. I enjoyed the educational element of the episode as I never knew how Colorado got its name, but finding out about the colours in the river and the Spanish naming it as the colour red was wonderful! That was fascinating and most welcomed. I thought the encounter with the explorers including John Wesley Powell was nicely done and the journey they went on was entertaining. There was a lot of action with even Peri going over board at one point! It did get exciting, but I do think unfortunately this was dwindled by how long the story went. It did seem to unnecessarily drag out towards the end as the explorers split into two camps and went their separate ways. It was decent for the TARDIS to have been picked up along the way as it was clear it wouldn't have passed a certain point in the river, but then we seemed to get a little rushed by the whole tribe and discussion of the gods. The Doctor checking on the fate of their explorers was a nice touch in the TARDIS and it's good to know that they would not perish. Overall, a more than decent audio that was probably just hurt slightly by going too long. A well worthy listen though!

Rating: 7/10