Breaking Bubbles

"This is a prisoner ship, and I'm the prisoner."

Writer: LM Myles

Format: Audio

Released: July 2014

Series: Monthly Adventures 188a

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

The Doctor and Peri find themselves in the palatial gardens of the deposes Empress Safira Valtris where nothing is ever quite what it seems.

Verdict

Breaking Bubbles was a decent story to kick off the umbrella title for the 188th release of the same name! I find these four shorter stories a little bit of a waste in the Monthly Adventures range if I'm honest as they certainly don't have the same appeal as a two hour story. There just isn't the depth and time to tell a proper story with a full cast. Granted, on the whole they are better than the Short Trips range because we have more than one voice telling the story and it's fully performed rather than in the form of a narration, but things absolutely fly by without much time to delve deep into the action. This story is a perfect example of that. I found myself very interested in the character of Safira Valtris as the prisoner, and the revelation that this was who she was on the prisoner ship was great fun. She seemed awfully in control considering her status! That was down to her being part of the Imperial Family which was interesting and certainly peaked my interest, but there just wasn't enough time to delve deep into their makeup and everything that had been to see conflict. It almost felt like this could be something akin to Game of Thrones in space with some of the comments of emperors and the like, but alas all we knew was that Safira was imprisoned and it was time to escape. Even for a shorter adventure this felt very quick and whilst that was beneficial for excitement and pace, the detail could have turned this adventure into greatness. I really do think the concept and particularly the characters at its heart were incredibly strong. If only there was more time! Of course, I have no idea at this moment if the stories that follow this one in the release are connected, but given similar past audios and the fact they're all different writers I would guess not. I'm entirely sure on the significance of the title either, but it's a catchy one! I liked the palatial gardens within the prisoner ship and touching upon Peri as being a botanist was a nice touch. I feel like that's a slightly different side of her character than what we mostly saw on television and having a hobby like that leaves some strong room for development in the audios. Peri really is a tremendous companion and that's evidenced at the end here with her appeal to Safira. Did she really want blood spilt in her escape plan? Was that part of her intentions? Of course, the answer was no. I do think she was convinced a little easily and gave the order to call things off that she'd spent so long putting in motion quite suddenly, but it showed just how much Peri resonated with her. Laris was an amusing character as the jailer for Safira, but he never felt like his position bestowed upon him. It was always Valtris in control which was fun with her being imprisoned. It was very much like The Sea Devils for the Master in that regard which was enjoyable. Tondra rounded out the cast very well and her position in being complicit with the escape seemed a little harsh, but if Valtris offered her surrender then it was probably the right way to go with things. I don't know though, it just felt a little off for me and undeserved! Overall, a more than decent concept and an enjoyable twenty to twenty-five minutes or so, but it just needed to be longer. With a bit more depth and time, this could have been fantastic. Still, a worthy listen for sure. 

Rating: 7/10