Nekromanteia

Main Range #41

Released: February 2003

Listened: 12/6/19

The last few stories have been fairly dark, and feature harsher language than would be acceptable on television. I think that by 2003, the Big Finish writers were starting to take risks much like the novel writers were, taking the series into a darker, more mature place, a trend that reversed once the revived series came around. This story is especially dark, although with a title like “Nekromanteia,” I should have expected that. Erimem is subjected to severe physical assault, and sexual assault is certainly implied, although she later denies it. As in “The Church and the Crown,” there are no “good” characters aside from the TARDIS crew. Even characters who seem to be acting nobly are revealed to have darker motivations. All this jars with the twist at the end, which I think was intended to be played straight, but comes off somewhat silly. The episodes are a bit on the short side, and vary drastically in length, but the cliffhangers are impressive ones. This is the final appearance of Erimem’s cat Atranach.