What Still Remains

"The darkness got darker."

Writer: Adam Christopher 

Format: Audio

Released: August 2025

Series: BBC Audio 29

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

The TARDIS materialises on a research station, locked in a state of temporal displacement on the surface of Volkoff Epsilon. 

The station's human crew are engaged in the study of a mysterious artefact they call 'the remnant'. Apparently a source of unlimited power, it could be the solution to Earth's energy problem.

Yet the station's time barrier has become disrupted, leaving the crew confined with no way out. The Doctor realises that both he and Ace – and the TARDIS – are now also trapped by the time displacement. 

What is the secret of the tiny, spinning artefact? Why have half the bases's personnel already disappeared? And what lurks in the shadows, threatening to overwhelm first Ace and then the whole of Earth?

Verdict

What Still Remains was a great audio adventure to continue the series of BBC Audios! I'm a big fan of this range and apart from the Beyond the Doctor stories it's lovely to be up to date with things and listening as they're released. Another little Audible gift from my partner was most welcomed as I do love a freebie. After House of Plastic earlier this year I was a little surprised that we were getting another Seventh Doctor and Ace adventure, but this is only their second in the entire range so they deserve to have a few more under their belt that's for sure. I thought Sophie Aldred did a terrific job as the narrator and she really did well in giving different voices to the different characters. In a story like this which with one actor is actually pretty long at seventy-seven minutes, that's very important. One voice can become mundane but her enthusiasm maintained throughout and that was a delight to listen to. I thought the story itself was really intriguing and the discussion in the TARDIS about time decay was right up my alley. I'm a big fan of stories involving time and often if I find things confusing or it gets convoluted, that can actually be a positive. The idea behind the cycle lock and the research station being on a six second displacement was fascinating and it was certainly a clever way to get around researching a black hole up close and personal. Dr Novak was a decent character as the head of research but after seven weeks since going over the cycle lock, a long evacuation was in place to get everybody out. It had been ongoing partly because she didn't know what else to do to keep the crew occupied, but they had a false sense of reassurance when the Doctor and Ace arrived. I thought it was fun for them to feign as time agents, but Marlon in particular wasn't exactly buying it. Amelia as the other main character as part of the crew complimented the group nicely. I liked Ace's confidence in the Doctor's ability to fix the situation and his discovery that the problem was software rather than hardware seemed a bit easy. Surely the crew could have at least tried looking down that route? Things escalated quickly from there with the Doctor hearing the voice not of this university and combining that with a shadow chasing Ace and things started to feel eery! The atmosphere matched the cover art which was tremendous. The Remnant served as a brilliant focal point for everything that was going wrong and I loved that it fed by collapsing the fourth and fifth dimensions of its prey. That's incredible! It was all that remained of a previous universe that was trapped in a neutron star which the research crew thought was an infinite energy resource. It's not exactly the worst mistake made but it proved costly. Marlon believing that the voice was his brother Jacob who was the first to succumb added a decent sense of emotion and it was him through what he thought was his dead brother that placed the code. The whole plan to use the time displacement to go back the whole seven weeks in the first place and change history was admirable and logical, but it was never going to fly. I thought the resolution's simplicity was actually terrific in having the Doctor materialise the TARDIS around the facility and the Remnant was instantly inert once inside the TARDIS with the state of temporal grace. That works well and certainly makes sense! As long as it was held within the TARDIS then it couldn't do anything. Perhaps leading the way for a future return? I'd like to see that as a threat from a previous universe sounds full of potential. Overall, a fine little listen! 

Rating: 8/10