Escape from New New York

Tales from New Earth #1

Released: 6 March 2018

Listened: 10/27/22

This 2018 release is one of those where Big Finish had the rights to new-series characters, but didn’t have access to the primary actors, so they did what they could. Which in this case was revisit New Earth, seen in “New Earth” and “Gridlock,” and in the same time period as “The End of the World.” Which, admittedly, is a fairly well-drawn setting, because Russell T Davies does like dropping concepts that leave a lot off-screen, so why not? The main character for this one is Devon Pryce, played by Kieran Hodgson, a young man with a very unfortunate story. His parents were New Humans, created by the Sisters of Plenitude in “New Earth” as lab animals, and after that, they got caught in the Gridlock, and then died while Devon was still young. So he grew up in a kind of monastic society dedicated to maintaining the elevators, and has a boyfriend who’s a sentient shrub, which is all really very Davies. Except that an organization called “the Lux” is helping to fund the society of New Earth, and spreading their religion…and kidnapping people. Oops. Fortunately, Novice Hame (still played by Anna Hope), now Senator, is just the cat for the job, and runs into Devon during her investigations. Except this is a set-up story, and we don’t get to know much other than the Lux are bad. The Doctor doesn’t appear, so technically it doesn’t belong in this project, but, well. Special props to Dan Blasky for pulling off an excellent American accent as the Duke of Brooklyn.