It was very hard
for me to decide whether or not I should even do this review. In part because
of the regret and disappointment I felt at the end of the previous Doctor Who:
New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield box set. I’m not gonna lie. I was less
enthusiastic about the second volume than I am for another season of Clara
Oswald. So did this second installment fare any better than volume 1?
PYRAMID OF SUTEKH
Oh dear…
Well, it seems we’re
not going to learn our lesson. The exact same thing that plagued the previous
volume is present in this first story in which Benny stumbles upon Sutekh’s
tomb and has to keep the titular mummy from being reborn. This story is
lackluster at best and the only thing I can praise about it is the
characterization of Sutekh and the fact that he is in this story.
The first ten
minutes is just Benny talking to herself in monologue. If only the script would
give her some kind of sidekick to speak to and wouldn’t drag this plot
development out for ten minutes before actually doing so. Unfortunately the
Doctor is locked out of the plot (AGAIN!) by the writer and the eventual
companion we are introduced to is about as one-dimensional as a robot. That’s a
joke only those unfortunate enough to have listened to this story will get.
Haha!
I take major
offense to the title of this series starting with ‘Doctor who’ but not actually
giving us a proper team up like proper crossovers are supposed to. Has no one
watched say The Avengers, or Flash/Arrow or even Raildex? I understand that
this is the adventures of Bernice Summerfield, but if you’re not going to use
the character of the Doctor properly or at all, why brand it as ‘Doctor Who’?
Why not ‘The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield…featuring the Doctor’?
This story also
seems to adjust how powerful Sutekh is depending on what the plot needs at the
time. This can get grating as one moment he can think away a space attack fleet
and in the next has trouble moving a couple of rocks. The technobabble in this
tale also reaches ridiculous heights even for technobabble. Nobody really
wanted to explain all the crazy stuff that goes on so if you get a handwaved
explanation, don’t expect it to make much sense.
Rating: 5/10.
THE VAULTS OF OSIRIS
Ironically, this
story proves just how well these crossover box sets can work without reducing
one character to sidekick/buffoon status. Benny teams up with Ace McShane as
they search for the Eye of Horus. Justin Richards proves that you can have two main
characters from different corners of the Whoverse work together and treat both
as equal stars.
I will say this:
The flashback sequence at the start which leads to the two characters meeting
up is good! I’m talking Series 6 good. Not the astronaut on the beach bit, but
the montage of Eleventh Doctor exploits before that. This is a pro, as well as
a con as that flashback could’ve easily been a great story on its own.
The Doctor is
even less involved in this story, but Ace is there to pick up the slack. Benny
is worried about Ace’s TARDIS driving skills and has a right to be…Ace has only
had one at the Academy and it didn’t go well that time. Likewise, Benny kissing
up to the TARDIS deserves its own mention. The dialogue in this story is
fantastic and the adventure itself is nothing to sneeze at. This feels a lot
like Indiana Jones meets Relic Hunter inside Doctor Who. Just a
simple adventure with two contrasting, yet very complimenting main characters
who can get the job done. Now why can’t we do the same for the Doctor and Benny
damnit?
Rating: 8/10.
THE EYE OF HORUS
Now this is I’m
talking about! This right here. The Eye of Horus. This is what I expect from
these boxsets! This series climbs with each adventure and this story is utterly
brilliant. Benny winds up in ancient Egypt and runs into…the Doctor?
Ah Egypt! We
need more Doctor Who stories set in Egypt. It’s a setting with a rich and
exotic environment and great mythos to explore and I would love to actually see
it as opposed to hearing about it. Wouldn’t you? Like Eye of the Scorpion, this is a masterful tale full of conspiracies,
revenge, tragedy, love and lots of drunken Egyptians.
But the biggest
advantage is the fact that it contains the Doctor and he is not under siege or
pushed to the sidelines. He is a prominent figure in the story and he is used
expertly. The Seventh Doctor has always been dark, but some of his actions here
will add another degree of suspicion and disgust for the Doctor’s seventh
persona. It is fantastic to hear Sylvester McCoy add another layer to his Doctor
that at the same time doesn’t interfere with our normal perception of him. And
did I mention prominent role?
This story also
makes good use of Benny, but I mean in how it treats her in respects to the
Doctor. She is justified when she’s right and she’s justified when she’s in the
wrong. While she still feels more prominent than the Doctor, it is lessened to
the degree that I can accept it as the distance between them is very
insignificant.
Hats off to
Sutekh who just hams up every scene he’s in and just goes with it. It is
brilliant listening to Gabriel Woolf recreate Sutekh
in each of these stories. A worthy foe indeed.
However, this
story isn’t perfect. It has two issues. For one thing, the source of the
conflict is created by the most unlikely set of plot conveniences I have ever
encountered. It is staggeringly bad. It’s like the universe wants this to
happen. Screw logic or suspension of disbelief. Secondly, the first and last
scene of this story distracts from the plot and serves literally no purpose at
all.
Rating: 9/10.
The Tears of
Isis
How does that
saying go? Out with a whimper, instead of a bang? Sums up this last story
perfectly. The second volume of Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice
Summerfield comes to a crashing crescendo as the Doctor, Benny and Ace face off
with not-Sutekh. That’s right. There is no big grand battle. Instead, we are
treated to a dull black comedy which lacks humor.
And the same
problems that plagued this series at the start is back again. Benny is talking
to herself because the plot can’t wait to split her up from the Doctor and Ace.
The only problem, I don’t know which plot is duller, hers or the TARDIS duo’s.
Benny encounters a cult dedicated to Sutekh and we learn what cults do when
their apocalyptic predictions come true.
What did the
Doctor do to be treated this badly by the narrative? He is the star of this
universe and this story just treats him like a helpless coward, completely
disregarding his personality and tossing him aside for two
thirds of the story. And Ace…oh Ace. She about as involved as the Doctor in
this story. Thinking about it, I can’t recall her doing anything even remotely
useful to the plot. So why are both of them in here? This is the Doctor and Ace
McShane damnit! They deserve better.
And let’s not
get started with Sutekh. Like every other main character that isn’t Benny, he
doesn’t really show up until half the story is finished and even then, he
becomes just another cartoon villain. This is sad people. The plot is paper
thin. The guest characters are awfully unlikeable and uninteresting to listen
to. In fact, this story is so bad; I actually turned it off midway to listen to
The Secret History (absolute cracker
of a story) before coming back the next day to see how everything gets
resolved.
And it gets
resolved with not one, but TWO incredibly dull and unimaginative Deus Ex Machinas
both in the same five minutes. What a way to sort things out?
Rating: Rating: 2/10.
One point for Lisa Bowerman and one point for the fact this series is finally over. Thank Sutekh!
I am afraid I
cannot recommend this box set. I respect you guys/girls way too much to
recommend you spend 30 pounds on a box set that is only about fifty percent
worth it.
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