Nekromanteia by: Austen Atkinson directed by: John Ainsworth: If They Didn't Put Effort in Why Should I?

Nekromanteia stars Peter Davison as the Doctor with Simon Williams as Paul Addison, Glyn Owen as Commander Harlon, Ivor Danvers as Wendle Marr, Nicola Bryant as Peri and Caroline Morris as Erimem.  It was written by Austen Atkinson, directed by John Ainsworth and released in February 2003 by Big Finish Productions.

 

If I wasn’t writing this blog for all audiences I would be opening this review with a colorful array of cursing as today’s story just misses the point on every occasion.  The story, if you can call it a story and not just a series of plot points vaguely connected by some story about witches that feels like a really bad fanfiction.  The Fanfiction referred to of course here means something that is poorly written trite that has no place off the utter murky depths of the internet.  What I can actually make out is that the Doctor, Peri and Erimem run in with some space marines who are all really dull in the Nekromanteia system while there is a corporation trying and failing to pull off the plot from The Caves of Androzani while witches are basically doing human sacrifices and kidnap Peri.  There is also the Doctor going into another dimension or dream (it isn’t specified) to play cricket with the witches’ god and a lot of people die for no discernable reason.

 

This is a story that portrays the Doctor as almost a criminal as he has contacts in the black market which is almost like something the Seventh Doctor at his absolute worst.  Peter Davison also is just uninterested in the story as there is not nearly enough for him to do in this story as the Doctor and probably just had to fill the contract.  Peri also is treated horribly as she for no reason, except because this is basically fanfiction, is forced into the nude for a large portion of the story and it is implied she gets raped with some moaning noises from Nicola Bryant.  Bryant is trying her absolute best at acting scared but there is a tone in her voice that she is disgusted with the script and doesn’t want to be doing it.  Caroline Morris has her third story and she has absolutely nothing to do but be a whiner and just scream with the lungs of Mel Bush.  Her cat is unnecessarily killed here just to make Erimem feel bad and have the audience feel sympathy for her.  The supporting cast also is just too boring as I can’t remember a thing about their characters.  I know there were space marines, a big bad corporation and some witches but there isn’t much else that I can say about them as individuals.

 

To summarize, Nekromanteia feels like a fanfiction that had no real effort put into it with characters that don’t feel right, music that doesn’t sound right, direction that feels like it was done only for a paycheck and all from a writer who I can’t find any sort of information.  So considering how little effort was put into the story it asks why I should put effort into this review.  0/100