This new audio adventure from Big Finish follows the seventh doctor and Mel as they land on a warehouse that is in orbit of a planet below. This is then followed by much mysterious unravelling concerning the warehouse, as the Doctor interacts with new characters and discovers many impracticalities and dangers.
In this new Doctor Who story, Mike Tucker has created a story that focuses on the Doctor’s relationship with Mel, and offers an expansion of the characters that has not been seen in other audio adventures. In particular, the character of Mel is seen as less of a liability and more of a character of practicality. This may come from Mike Tucker’s familiarity with the character of Ace and wanting to offer the audience a more compelling and intriguing Mel than has been previously seen.
The story is very much simple, but it feels that this was very much the aim with this audio adventure. Big Finish productions have created a one-off story that could be seen as a good jumping-on point for new Doctor Who audio fans. Although the story is very much a new, post-2005 Doctor Who story, there is the feel of a throwback to the classic era; the characters have been developed further and the story is not as simple as a lot of classic Doctor Who stories are.
Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford make a great contribution to this story, and the seventh Doctor and Mel were the perfect choice for the story to focus on. It really is great to see Mel having more of a role in stories, and it makes the audio a bit more enjoyable and less of a retelling of a previous story in a new location.
Overall, the story is slow to begin with but the mysterious surrounding the warehouse keep the suspense up and allows for a classic Doctor Who story to be told. There are a few moments that are predictable, however the story has a feel of originality and is a great one-off story for all Doctor Who fans to enjoy.
THE WAREHOUSE / AUTHOR: MIKE TUCKER / DIRECTOR: BARNABY EDWARDS / STARRING: SYLVESTER MCCOY, BONNIE LANGFORD, PHILLIP FRANKS, DILLIE KEANE, CLARE BUCKFIELD / PUBLISHER: BIG FINISH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
