The Demons Within

"Why won't they give her back?"

Writer: Gary Russell

Format: Audio

Released: May 2024

Series: BBC Audio 24

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis

The year is 1860, and a lonely house stands on a craggy rock in Ayrshire, Scotland. Inside, two men brace themselves against rushing winds, wailing voices and loud, crashing noises. Goats with fire-red eyes bleat relentlessly, and a procession of weird figures appear, apparently from all ages of man. 

Among them, strangest of all, is a tall man with spiky brown hair, wearing a blue suit and waving a small silver candle...

When the Doctor and Martha call at the house, they learn about the mysterious portal that lies within, a doorway leading – where?

It's not long before they join the two men in trying to hold back the monstrous demons within.

Verdict

The Demons Within was an excellent BBC Audio original! I was intrigued by this one after reading the preview in the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, so it seemed an obvious choice when it came time for a new Audible free trial. I was fascinated to see that famed Cyber Leader actor David Banks was the narrator and boy oh boy he did not disappoint. He was gripping in telling this story and was absolutely well suited to the role for this type of story. As the cover art suggests, this is a pretty dark adventure and going for an Ayrshire setting is a good place to go. Scotland just feels right for a story at night and in questionable weather. The significance of 1860 as the year for the setting was good too as the coming electricity boom was very much felt. We had two intriguing characters in the form of Forbes and McCullen who had been experimenting so much that they had inadvertently opened a doorway to what they thought was a demonic dimension. They were really great together and I liked how much they were still feeling the impact of having lost the wife of Forbes. Morag had been taken by a demon through the portal so instead of taking their achievements and findings to the Royal Society for some sort of scientific recognition, they continued to experiment in the hope of getting her back. The demons on the other side were strong enemies for the story. They were known as Mesmarters (sp?) and they really did feel demonic, even if the Doctor was adamant they weren't from Hell. The arrival of the Tenth Doctor and Martha was good and I actually liked that Banks didn't try too much to impersonate either. His acting qualities honestly didn't even warrant. I just appreciated his narration which is not always common in a story that's essentially prose for 75+ minutes. But he was so engaging! There was a lot of emotion in the adventure with Forbes riled by losing his wife – and who could blame him? – but for some reason they didn't want the help the Doctor was offering and tried to hide the fact they'd lost Morag. Martha helped nicely to bring them around to accepting the Doctor's help though, and the emotions kept coming. The Doctor was more than prepared to go through to the other side of the portal and shut it down from that side which was pretty admirable. and I liked his confidence to Martha in promising her that he would return. Somehow and someway, he'd find a way back. Except he wouldn't have to in the end in an incredible sacrifice. With the demons partly way through the portal and having a foot here or a head there on either side, the decline of the Doctor's offer was pretty sensational. It really was evil. However, the Doctor suspected it was telling the truth when saying that Morag had been lost on the other side for so long that she couldn't exist back in the normal dimension. She wouldn't survive the trip given her molecular makeup now. So Forbes swiped the device from the Doctor to shut down on the other side and jumped through to be reunited. He blamed himself for losing her all this time and this was his only sense of atonement. It was admirable but really quite sad at the same time. I do hope he got to be reunited with his loved one in the end. McCullen going through on the Doctor's plea to burn the house down was a good conclusion, although I get the sense we might not have heard the end of the Mesmarters if the Doctor's unhappy feeling of unfinished business was anything to go by at the end. Overall though, a terrific audio adventure! 

Rating: 9/10