The Shadow of the Scourge

Main Range #13

Released: October 2000

Listened: 12/1/20

This story was originally labeled a “side step,” in that it deliberately used the novel continuity, rather than the continuity Big Finish had been following (which there wasn’t much of, at the time). This allows them to use Benny without having to introduce her. Benny has clearly been with the Doctor a while at this point, and Ace has her Dalek-fighting military experience, allowing Sophie Aldred to play her a bit older. As Paul Cornell is the writer, the story is pretty confident with these characters’ voices. The first half of this story plays out at a good pace, with the TARDIS team investigating odd goings-on at a hotel with multiple conventions. There’s a standard bunch of Aliens From Another Dimension who are trying to get in, and of course they feed on fear. But when the Doctor enacts his usual plan to trip the baddies up, it doesn’t go as planned. That leads to a lot of mental jousting, soul-searching, and wandering around mindscapes, which Paul Cornell seems to enjoy doing. However, the ending that grows out of that seems a little pro forma, unfortunately. The minor characters are well-realized and colorful, which makes it seem a bit like a novel adaptation; appropriate. It’s a nice entry into this part of the project.