The Doctor and Charley are presented with an intriguing mystery where they are once again teamed up with DI Menzies and plunged back into the criminal underbelly of Manchester.
The Doctor and Charley are presented with an intriguing mystery where they are once again teamed up with DI Menzies and plunged back into the criminal underbelly of Manchester.
THE RAINCLOUD MAN
At this stage of Big Finish’s production of Doctor Who stories, the list of “authors to watch” has changed drastically from ten years ago. Though I haven’t been stunned by the quality of any audio (read: given a 10/10 score) since 2006’s “The Kingmaker,” I would presently put Eddie Robson atop the list of Big Finish writers. His scripts are crisply-plotted, well-characterized stories with an appropriate amount of humor, and he has become reliable for producing some of the best stories in any given release year. “The Raincloud Man” is another example of Robson’s writing at its best, and provided a strong, if somewhat frustrating, means through which to end the 2008 release year.
I found the construction of “The Condemned,” the story that “The Raincloud Man” sequelizes in part, to be somewhat unique to Doctor Who. Of the many genres the series has attempted, crime drama of the Law & Order or Homicide: Life on the Street variety has not been among them. Since it was done so well in “The Condemned,” I enjoyed an opportunity to return to this format — though as DI Menzies (Anna Hope) is now established as a detective into alien affairs in Manchester, the story needs not spend time on setting up its characters. Freed of this constraint, the plot quickly spirals in several interesting directions, involving a pound coin from the future, Charley’s continued need to protect her identity from the Doctor — and the contrary insistence of a time-sensitive — an interplanetary casino, and a war between two unusual alien races. Robson’s design of the Cylox is fascinating: a species conceived as a form of sentient virus, always manifesting itself should the behavior of the warlike Tabbalac grow too aggressive.
As with “The Condemned,” the set pieces and ideas of “The Raincloud Man” are its strengths. Opening on the Doctor and Charley at breakfast is a nice break from the usual TARDIS openings, the casino is a wonderful combination of the extraordinary and the familiar, and the streets of Manchester give the story the audio equivalent of Jon Pertwee’s beloved “Yeti in the loo” — the alien coming to our backyard. The dialogue, too, is precise and witty without feeling unnatural, and allows Colin Baker especially to get his teeth into the material.
Unfortunately, much like “The Condemned,” the story frays somewhat around the edges. Unlike in her previous appearance, here Anna Hope goes over the top in her performance. Menzies is so gruff and monotone that hearing her voice becomes comical after a time. Furthermore, Charley again seems to act out of character: she devises a solution to a problem, involving a time machine, with which she will directly controvert the First Law of Time — while I don’t blame her for her desires, this companion of all companions ought to understand the devastating effects thereof. It strikes me as deeply out of character. And yes, there’s the ongoing problem of Charley’s secret: it has been theorized that the Doctor knows what’s going on, and is letting Charley expose herself, but here it is made quite clear that the Doctor is as ignorant as anyone else. This would be believable hadn’t Charley’s secrecy been presented as quite so ham-fisted — instead it frustrates, compounded by the ongoing false promises of revelation. At least this time we learn that Charley’s reticience is a serious problem; this is the first development of this issue since this pairing was devised.
The cast approaches the material from a comedic perspective, which jars slightly with the source material — Jeremy James in particular as the Tabbalac leader goes into ham overdrive, but as it’s entertaining I enjoyed it. Many of the performances are unmemorable, though Michael Fenton Stevens, last seen in “The Kingmaker,” turns in a fine acting job. Andy Hardwick’s sound design is effective, though the score, like many of late, is unmemorable. Nicholas Briggs directs, easily capturing the pace of the script and driving events forward.
Overall, as mentioned above, “The Raincloud Man” is a fine way for the 2008 release year to end. While unfulfilling regarding long-running plot threads, the story is nonetheless well-composed and effective. With excellent acting performances from the lead, a strong supporting cast, and the usual solid production from Big Finish, this release is strongly recommended as a highly-entertaining piece of Doctor Who and another successful script from Eddie Robson.
8/10