The Stones of Venice

Main Range #18

Released: 19 March 2001

Listened: 7/25/21

It feels like this story is aiming for a different sort of feel, something vaguely mystical and spooky. It’s written by Paul Magrs, and it’s dark, but without his trademark dark humor (and without Iris). Charley seems to have had several adventures by this point, and wants a break from the constant danger. She’s not impressed by Venice in the 23rd Century, which is about to sink into the sea. It’s been sinking pretty much since it was built, but in this case, the Duke of the city gambled away his beloved wife in a card game, so she cursed him and the city to 100 years of life, which ends tonight. There’s also a cult expecting the Lady Estella to return, and the Doctor runs afoul of them, and an amphibious underclass hoping to exploit the situation to their own ends, who take advantage of Charley. There’s a twist, but it’s honestly a pretty obvious one even on first listen. The language seems flowery and overdone, which fits the mood of the story, but it makes the whole thing feel false. As usual with Paul Magrs, there’s a lot of ideas running around, but in this case, they don’t really add up to much. There’s a definitive climax, which is nice, but there are too many threads left dangling.