Sunday, November 27, 2016

The Library in the Body by: James Goss directed by: Scott Handcock: Orient Express on the Murder

The Library in the Body stars Lisa Bowerman as Professor Bernice Summerfield, David Warner as the Doctor, Rowena Cooper as Mother Superior and Zeb Soanes as The Librarian.  It was written by James Goss, directed by Scott Handcock, and released in August 2016 by Big Finish Productions in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: Volume Three: The Unbound Universe Box Set.

 

After the success that was The Triumph of Sutekh Big Finish commissioned a third box set for Bernice Summerfield, but decided to move her back towards her original series where she was on her own.  She should be the top billed for these sets and this third set is the compromise Big Finish have is that they took Benny out of the regular universe, and forced her together with the Unbound Doctor from Sympathy from the Devil and Masters of War as played by David Warner.  It is a great idea as David Warner’s Unbound Doctor has been celebrated by fans and a return to these alternate universes have been a request from fans since they disappeared completely in 2008.  Now I haven’t actually listened to the Unbound range before this audio which is okay considering that it really isn’t necessary for understanding this box set.  You really only need to know that the question in mind when David Warner’s timeline was created is the premise of “What if the Doctor hadn’t been UNIT’s scientific advisor?” altering the timeline after the Second Doctor.

 

I was initially blown away by David Warner’s alternate take on the Third Doctor, as he comes across as pretty much the Doctor who has had too much power.  His universe is dying and he breaks into ours as a way to escape, except the TARDIS doesn’t let him and he drags Benny into his universe.  His habit of calling Benny, Summerfield, and refusing to help out gives us a very interesting take on the character.  This story seems like they are going to set up an arc to make him more Doctor-ish and it is really good.  Warner is great as a Doctor as he just doesn’t take anything from anyone, even Benny, yet even if he refuses to admit it, he feels genuinely bad for Benny being stuck in his universe.  He just wanted to use her to get out of his dying universe, not put her in the same fate as that universe.  Of course they’re going to try and save the universe because Benny really won’t let it just die and is going to find a way back into her own universe at least by some time.  He also is the one who caused the death of the universe making him feel like what the War Doctor should have been

 

Lisa Bowerman as Benny has a lot of fun in the role.  Her opening scene is just hilarious as she is giving a lecture when the TARDIS shows up, and she actually says goodbye to the room of students saying she’ll be back in a minute.  It’s just hilarious to see her have to deal with the new situation which shakes up the status quo and the performance is a powerhouse from Bowerman.  As Warner’s Doctor is apathetic, it is Benny who has to investigate the goings on in this library where they’re going to be under attack from a race that wants to destroy all knowledge.  Benny is just great in this story as she is the lead role.  Bowerman deserves the top billing she gets on the story’s cover as this is not Doctor Who, it is The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, she’s the star, she gets top billing.

 

The actual plot by James Goss is also just really fun as it takes this library where all knowledge can be found and makes it a hostile environment.  There are invaders trying to destroy all knowledge as they believe it is the root of the war and if it goes away everything will be find.  The Doctor of course thinks they’re just being silly, but they’re essentially the villains with no real interesting motivation.  The twist about halfway through is that the library is actually the mouth of a giant parasite.  It goes around inviting everyone in and then takes all their knowledge by showing them what they think they want to see and then eats them.  It’s a really funny idea but the plot gets a bit convoluted as it introduces the Master, as played by renowned pantomime actor and arch nemesis of Mark Gatiss, Sam Kisgart, there for a cameo, because he is going to be the big bad of the box set which doesn’t really go anywhere, and everything is needlessly complex and could just stop a bit earlier to have a better conclusion.

 


The side characters of the story are also just a bit weird.  The Librarian does a great job at being a villain in the actual library while the Kareem are out in space being villainous.  It really isn’t anything that goes anywhere with these villains except a way to close the story by destroying it.  Benny plays off them great, but other than that nothing else really is interesting about them.  There are also some singing nuns who are there for comic relief singing classic British songs in numbers which is okay, I guess.  I really have no opinion on them

 

To summarize, The Library in the Body is again a really good opening for the third box set of The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield.  Sure the plot gets a bit complicated near the end and some of the supporting characters really don’t have any depth, but it’s just exploring this new universe for Benny to explore.  83/100

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