The Doctor and Carnacki: The Haunter of the Shore

"We begin at goodbye."

Writer: AK Benedict

Format: Audio

Released: November 2024

Series: Seventh Doctor Adventures 6.01

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

1897. Young Carnacki investigates a case at Edgemere Manor where the skeletons of tourists are left on the shore of the lake. Carnacki must discard everything he knows when he discovers that the estate's hermit is the Doctor, and that time is being manipulated by an unseen force.

The Doctor and Carnacki must work together if the mystery of Edgemere Manor is to be solved, the house saved, and the haunted residents find peace.

Verdict

The Haunter of the Shore was an excellent start to The Doctor and Carnacki series of Seventh Doctor Adventures! I think it's great to have a boxset with the Seventh Doctor travelling solo because there is so much potential to explore this period of time in his life as we head towards his ultimate fate in The Movie and regeneration. The look that appears on the cover artwork would suggest this is the Seventh Doctor somewhere relatively close to that point and the atmosphere presented here lends well to that placement. It's a really dark story in terms of feel which I like. That feels right for this Doctor and also for the detective nature of the episode. The premise of this series in having the Doctor encounter Carnacki is fascinating and I must admit though I had to Google search who he was. I remembered him encountering the Paternoster Gang in The Screaming Ceiling but I blogged that four years ago now so I was in need of a refresher. I would say the episode did a good job in describing to you just who he was though which was appreciated. The Seventh Doctor feels made for a detective series so I hope that's something we get here with a couple of more adventures alongside Carnacki. Encountering him in both young and old age was good stuff and I liked how he was trying to aid Lady Firle with the mysteries happening around Edgemere Manor. That worked as an excellent setting and I quite enjoyed how she wasn't all that keen for Carnacki to provide his theories. She wasn't interested in what she was experiencing to be put down to science and she was really insistent that she wasn't suffering anything because of her grief. She was a strong woman who I admired and she just wanted to be with Mark once again. Who could blame her? I can't imagine losing my partner. Why wouldn't she want to follow any avenue that could see her reunited with him? The playing around with the here was really good and the ambiguous and almost incomprehensible nature of it was perfectly suited to the Seventh Doctor. I thought Sylvester McCoy was on top form here which is great as his incarnation is often my least favourite. Imogen was a nice character to complement the cast and she felt typically Victorian which was really good to incorporate. She was rather bullish and I think that was needed when things got as technical as they did here. She wasn't following along much at all with the discussion about time. The older Carnacki was good but I must say that I can only hear a Sontaran now where Dan Starkey is concerned! The pair interacting and almost predicting the fate of the other was good stuff though and they played it well together. The younger Carnacki trying to predict the future based on what he would as his future self was logical and almost so simple it could be bypassed! Wittins as the alien who crash landed felt a tad abrupt but I liked how apologetic he was for the situation and what came of it. The Doctor explaining the difficulties of literally moving through time was good and I love how it was presented as almost a physical treacle to break through. The struggle was real! I thought the ending was nice with Lady Firle meeting her Mark one last time to really end on a high note that was full of emotion. Overall, a good mystery and a really dark and intriguing atmosphere. A superb start to the boxset! 

Rating: 9/10