Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, John Leeson, Alice Krige, John Albasiny, Charlie Norfolk, Gwilym Lee.

There are stranger things at work in the universe than humanity could probably ever cope with, especially when the human race doesn’t know what type of creatures can live at the very bottom of the deepest, darkest trenches of the oceans and the secrets they hold.

Jonathan Morris’ latest audio play for Big Finish, Phantoms of the Deep, tries to convey the richness and diversity of the oceans whilst at the same time keeping the fear factor, the all-important strangeness and fond eccentricity that makes Doctor Who so popular.  However, this particular audio drama, despite some moments of magic, is more akin to a squid drying out on an island in the Atlantic Ocean.

It is disappointing to hear an audio drama that relies on some well-worn science-fiction facet, possession, rogue intelligence, a man out of time, a heroic member of the team willing to lay down their life, all these aspects are captured in a script that somehow just leave the listener flat. Even with the addition of the excellent and ever professional Alice Krige, who for a generation of science fiction fans is the embodiment of horror as the Borg Queen in the Star Trek franchise, thrown in at the deep end and coming into the Doctor Who World doesn’t quite give the drama the lift, the sense of seriousness that this amazing actor can bring to anything.

Whilst Alice Krige lights up the drama, the rest of the cast seem to have the strangely heroic taken away from them. The Doctor, Tom Baker, and Romana, the ever gracious and much missed Mary Tamm sink into the background, in truth, the play doesn’t seem to have the same effect as any of the others dramas that Mr. Baker has been in since reprising his much loved role as the fourth Doctor for Big Finish.

As this series crosses into the final few episodes, it can only be hoped that the tension, the adored humour that the fourth Doctor was noted for, a trait he shared magnificently with David Tennant in the series history, will return to make it a worthwhile exercise in listening to what has been an interesting series otherwise.

Phantoms of the Deep is available from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall