The Rising Night

"A creature from the stars here to feed on you and your cattle."

Writer: Scott Hancock

Format: Audio

Released: July 2009

Series: NSA Audio 04

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

The TARDIS arrives in an 18th Century village in the Yorkshire Moors, where livestock has been vanishing from the farmland and strange lights have been seen in the skies. Something is very wrong here, and he soon becomes involved in a nightmarish adventure, in which he is helped by a young local woman named Charity. Who is feeding on the blood of the locals, and where will the carnage stop...?

Verdict

The Rising Night was a good little New Series Adventures audio! Well, I say little but this one clocked in at close to two hours and twenty minutes which was surely a little long by the time things were completed. It was a good change to have someone like Michelle Ryan as the narrator and I found the release date's proximity to Planet of the Dead very intriguing. I think I'd have appreciated this a lot if I was listening to these kind of stories back during broadcast and the little foreshadowing of events to come for the Doctor and how things were going to come quicker than he expected was good to lead into The End of Time. I'm a big fan of cross continuity across different formats and that was also evidenced with a great little reference to The Eyeless with the Doctor on his way back from Arcopolis. The little things like that are things I really appreciate as it just makes everything feel more connected and genuine. I thought Ryan as narrator was mostly strong but for some reason, and I'm really not sure why, I couldn't find myself getting to grips fully with her style. I didn't think she was bad or anything and she was certainly engaging, but there was just something missing. Maybe it would have helped if Christina de Souza featured? I was almost half expecting that with how often we got little teases of the Doctor recognising a woman. However, that companion role was saved for Charity who was terrific. She could definitely be someone I would see joining the Doctor on his travels, but he was clearly still reeling from the events of Journey's End as mentioned with erasing Donna's memories. There would be no new companion for now. I thought the setting of Thornton Rising was pretty strong and the eery atmosphere that was created provided a sense of an enigmatic feel. I do think more use could have been made of the eighteenth century setting, but for the whole it was a good place and time to explore for the Doctor. The humour of his arrival and being caught almost immediately was good and for some reason that seems to bring a comedic value when he's travelling solo. The emergence of the Baobhan Sith was strong and I must say I find the image on the cover artwork particularly striking! It really does grab the attention. The feeding on the livestock and cattle within the village was good and whilst basic, I quite like how real that feels. For an eighteenth century village that would be a very big problem! Ryan's take on the Tenth Doctor was admirable and whilst she didn't try much in terms of an impression, I think the writing helped her in injecting that speed and energetic feel that David Tennant brought to the role. Charity being taken over was good and I liked the Doctor appealing to her. I thought the Doctor's efforts to return to the TARDIS were fun, but I did feel that once the threat was defeated in relatively simple terms with the iron overload and a particularly random feeling use of horseshoes, things dragged on with the monologue. We didn't need so much speech from Charity and the likes reflecting on the adventure. We'd just experienced it! It was all very fresh so that felt like filling time which doesn't equate considering how long the story was. Still, for the whole this was an entertaining story and I think my favourite thing about it was the chilled feeling. It was eery and that felt exactly right. Overall, a strong listen if not a little long and a somewhat questionable resolution. 

Rating: 7/10