Kiss of Death (Doctor Who) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

What promised to be an intriguing story delving further into Vislor Turlough's murky past, instead turned out to be just another laser-blasting breathless runaround. Whilst awaiting TARDIS repairs and relaxing on pleasure planet Vektris, the companions are stunned to see Turlough kidnapped by a pair of galactic mercenaries alongside old flame Deela. It soon transpires that they are working for the mysterious Rennol and that Deela herself is not quite what she seems. Meanwhile, The Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa are confronted by the grotesque Morass, as they seek to rescue their friend, who appears to be somewhere within the icy catacombs that the Morass is guarding...
Lots of squelchy alien voices, nasty Cockney-voiced killers, creepy music and whingeing Aussie air-hostesses later, I was left nonplussed; despite the best efforts of cast and crew this is utterly forgettable.

Latest Doctor Who audio story. featuring Peter Davison as the Doctor. Plus Janet Fielding Mark Strickson and Sarah Sutton as his companions Tegan Turlough and Nyssa.

For those who don't follow the range regularly: this is the fifth story in a run to feature this particular TARDIS crew. Although it involves Nyssa having bumped into the Doctor again decades after she first left the TARDIS. Although it's only been days for everyone else. She's also travelling with them again whilst tracking down a cure for a disease.

None of that particular story arc gets mentioned here though so casual listeners should be able to get into it without any problem.

It runs for four episodes of twenty five to twenty nine minutes approx, and is spread over two discs.

It starts with the TARDIS on the holiday planet of Vektris, where some of the crew are enjoying the place. Some are making repairs to the ship. And Turlough is keeping himself to himself.

When he runs into a face from his past he ends up being kidnapped. The Doctor and the others pursue the kidnappers to a frozen world where someone would like Turlough and his old acquaintance to do something for them. But they and the Doctor soon find that danger and death await, as the planet has a few secrets....

This one gives a prominent role to Turlough and lets him do far more than he ever got to in some stories on tv.

Tegan gets some great scenes.

Nyssa gets a couple of good character moments.

But the villains of the piece and the person from Turlough's past are rather cliched characters and just sound a bit over familiar.

And the monster of the story has a very soft voice which can be hard to hear at points. Especially in the second cliffhanger, which rather spoils it.

These audios are never able to do anything to interfere with tv continuity so you know it's not going to amount to much and never be mentioned again. Although it does deal with that fact quite nicely in the final scene. Mind you said final scene ends in a manner that would work better as a visual rather than an audio fade out, so it seems a bit abrupt.

There's nothing wrong this story. It's a thoroughly professional production. And there are some clever elements to it. But ultimately it's only slightly above average and not too memorable.

There are nine minutes or so of the music from the story at the end disc one.

A trailer for the next release in this range right after the end of part two on disc two.

And fifteen minutes of interviews with cast and crew right after that.

For much of his time aboard the TARDIS during the TV series, apart from his debut in Doctor Who - The Black Guardian Trilogy: Mawdryn Undead / Terminus / Enlightenment [DVD] and his swansong in "Planet of Fire" (available in Doctor Who - Kamelion Tales Box Set: The King's Demons / Planet Of Fire [DVD]), the intriguing character of Vislor Turlough was woefully overused. This audio drama at last seeks to develop him further... but how do you delve into the background of a character whose secret origins were not disclosed until his final adventure?

Writer Stephen Cole solves the problem in such an ingenious way that I didn't even register how circuitous a route he was taking through "Doctor Who" continuity until a line of dialogue towards the end of the play made me realise: "Hey, that actually fits in really well with 'Planet of Fire'!" Unlike the "Star Wars" prequels, "Kiss of Death" doesn't undermine the impact of the revelations made in the "sequel" that has gone before.

At first, there seems to be little or no mystery surrounding the honey-trap scheme that sees Turlough (Mark Strickson) getting kidnapped, though the fact that the TARDIS is grounded on the holiday planet Vektris undergoing repairs means that we get a nice bit of space-opera action as the Doctor (Peter Davison), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) have to "borrow" a spaceship in order to mount a rescue. However, the simple set-up is just as well in view of the complications and plot strands that arise, which include a monstrous subterranean security system called the Morass (John Banks). What with the Tractators and now the Morass, those Trions don't have much luck with underground monsters, do they?

The biggest problem with this production is (not for the first time) an incomprehensible voice. It is very difficult to tell what the Morass is supposed to be saying. Fortunately, the Doctor and Nyssa reiterate most of the salient points.

Each of the TARDIS crew gets something substantial or memorable to do in this story, including some agonising jeopardy for the Doctor and a delightfully sarky line about Enid Blyton from Tegan. However, the real star of the show is Strickson as Turlough - and about time too!