Memory Lane

Main Range #88

Released: October 2006

Listened: 9/2/21

Another high concept adventure, and another one set in a prison, kinda. The TARDIS lands in an unremarkable English suburban street...really unremarkable as it turns out, because all the houses are identical, and contain the same elderly woman. That’s because the street is a prison cell for an astronaut who landed on the planet years ago, and now believes himself to be a 10-year-old, reliving his childhood memories. Charley nearly falls victim to the same trap, giving Anneke Wills another cameo as Charley’s mother. There’s a distinct new-series feel as it takes the characters quite some time to figure out what’s going on while navigating a surreal environment. (And we learn that the Doctor really likes ice cream.) That new-series feeling continues once we discover what’s actually going on, because it’s fairly unexpected. C’rizz’s “absorbant personality” hasn’t really been a factor in stories up to this point, except mentioning that it’s there, but it turns out to be a key plot point this time. Charley doesn’t deal with homesickness exactly, but there’s a hint that she’s starting to feel it. This story also features one of the more unusual covers in Big Finish history. It’s a quality story, with just enough oddity to cut the danger and make for a good adventure.