Signs and Wonders

"A god's passing has the power to shake all things to their foundation."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: September 2014

Series: Monthly Adventures 191

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hector/Hex, Sally

Synopsis 

The end of the world is night. That's what everybody is seeing in their nightmares. That's why they are congregating in Liverpool for the party to end all parties, hosted by Rufus Stone, a celebrity turned doomsday prophet. He claims he's the only one who can save them when the day of judgement comes. Because he's on the side of the angels. 

The Doctor, Ace and Hector arrive to find the city in the grip of apocalypse fever. There are lights in the sky, earthquakes and power cuts. The Doctor is determined to investigate, while Ace is more concerned about finding a way of restoring Hector's lost memories. 

Meanwhile, in the river Mersey, hides, slug-like creatures are stirring...

Verdict

Signs and Wonders was a decent story to round out the latest trilogy of Monthly Adventures for the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hector. It seems to have also finally concluded Hex's time as companion which I must say has felt a little unnecessarily elongated. I was not a fan of the Hector persona and I really do think it takes away from Hex's death. What we had in Afterlife was strong and a nice way to kind of pay homage to the companion, but for some reason most companions just can't stay dead. Why must we persist with giving characters a happy ending? I hated it on screen with the likes of Clara and Bill and I just wish Hex had his final ending as we've already heard numerous releases ago. In saying that, I do think it's quite poetic and nice that he ends up with Sally Morgan who made a fine return here, but it all feels a bit random at the end with the Doctor and Ace popping forward fifteen years and just checking in to say hello. The continuation of the Elder Gods theme was good and I liked the mystery that brings as the potential in the Gods is obviously strong. There was the expected reference to Gods and Monsters with the name dropping of Fenric and Weyland, but also a fun reminder of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and the Gods of Ragnarok. To'Koth was in that same vain which immediately gave him some kind of credence and the devotion Praska had towards him as a servant was incredible. She was overwhelmed and overawed by the very prospect of communicating with him. The Doctor less so. One thing I did notice in the story which was a bit annoying was that there was just far too much of the Doctor talking to himself out loud. I understand the medium of audio but it didn't feel natural or at all reasonable that the Doctor would be seeing these things out loud in his own company. The uneasy feeling between Ace and Hector was felt throughout and being back in Liverpool was good, until Hector was drawn in to the lure of Rufus Stone. His position as a famous person calling on the end of the world being near was good and I loved the media attention he was getting. Hex being from the 2020s is good and I liked the near future setting being basically the time I'm listening now. It's a fun quirk to think about with me being behind in my listening. The build up towards the coming of To'Koth was strong and I appreciated the pace of the story for the first half at least. It didn't give everything away all in one go as we first considered Rufus before realising he was just a pawn in a much bigger game. That was good, although I must say I thought the second half of the story did drag on a little. The use of emotion and memories on both the sides of Hector and the Doctor was strong stuff. Hector would regain his memories of Hex which was nice for Ace more than anything, but also I liked that familiarity of him being able to call Sally something as simple as Sal. She would get her chance to be with him now and she absolutely took it! As for the Doctor, the torment he was experiencing when feeling the anguish of the TARDIS was incredible and I loved how Ace didn't want him to be alone. She knew Hex was going to leave so she was straight at rekindling that relationship with the Doctor and letting him know how much she loved him. I love the prospect of now having a series of adventures with just the Seventh Doctor and Ace. In some ways, that's how it should have been for a long time. I thought the foreshadowing of the future premonitions were fun and Ace seeing multiple versions of her future which were in different media/series with the likes of Ground Zero and Intervention Earth acknowledged was a nice touch. All possible, not all fixed. It was a nice way of explaining things across different medias and indicating that all were potentially correct. Overall, a great listen! 

Rating: 7/10