In the 49th century, the sun of the Tarsus system is suffering from an unusual malady; an anomaly has formed within it, destabilising the star and triggering a burst of lethal energy that is set to destroy all within its path. With their transport rendered inoperable due to a wash of temporal particles, the Doctor and Ace find themselves caught up in the mass evacuation of the planet Tarsus Six along with all the human inhabitants.
As ever with the Seventh Doctor, their arrival is not a random event. Despite Ace’s assumption that they have come to save people, he is on a personal quest. Seeking an ancient Gallifreyan artefact, the Doctor has picked the distraction of this dramatic event as his best chance to get at his prize.
While most around them are fleeing, a cult of true believers called The Senders welcome the energy wave. Expecting a form of rapture, they believe they will transcend to another plane of existence when it hits. As the rescuing ship Obscura moves them to safety, Ace makes a dangerous error of judgement as she allows one of their number on board.
The story, although well contained on a space ship for the most part, is on a scale that we doubt a television budget could have ever convincingly achieved. It is great to hear these characters in space environment and there are some are good period touches, such as the Doctor winning their place on board by sheer force of personality and a little foreknowledge.
The resolution to the tale is not terribly complex, although it is well put together and flows naturally from events. The inevitable intrusion of the 11th Doctor arrives relatively late in the piece and provides a well placed complication.
Author James Swallow has captured Ace perfectly. Still a little naïve and idealistic, she is close to the character of the TV series and far from the hardened fighter of later fiction. This tale is very much hers. Kept in the dark about the Doctor’s true intentions, as was often the case on screen, she is tricked into allowing a saboteur onboard and yet still goes on to protect her against the forces of law and order.
Sophie Aldred comes back to the voice of this younger woman effortlessly. There is good differentiation in her other voices too, although attempts to mimic Sylvester’s Scottish tones do not quite work for us. The secondary voice of the piece is that of Ian Brooker. A Big Finish stalwart, he provides a strong authority figure in the role of ship’s captain OhOne.
‘Shockwave’ is another solid episode in the ‘Destiny of the Doctor’ series, entertaining in its own right and providing a further intriguing hint for the future with its talk of “a blue box, a pair of travellers and a red-headed girl”.
Released on Thursday 4 July 2013 by AudioGO.
> Buy Series 7 Part 2 on DVD on Amazon.
> Buy Series 7 Part 1 on DVD on Amazon.
> Buy Doctor Who audiobooks on AudioGO’s website.
What did you think of the audiobook? Let us know below…