The Doctor answers a psionic distress call being sent from England in the 1920s. There, in the environs of a fairground, he is reunited with an old friend: Harry Houdini. To Adric and Nyssa the name means very little, but to the Doctor’s companion Tegan he is a legend. Escape artist extraordinaire, Houdini’s reputation will last for decades.
But how come Harry knows so much about Tegan herself? Is it really just guesswork, as he says? Is Harry right to be concerned about the fairground’s fortune teller, who claims to have supernatural skills? Both he and the Doctor suspect an alien influence they know of old.
What neither the Doctor nor his friends realise is that, somewhere in the shadows, a far more sinister and familiar presence is lying in wait for them…
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
The Peter Howell score blasts through the speakers as “Smoke and Mirrors,” the fifth in the Big Finish/AudioGO “Destiny of the Doctor” series begins. Author Steve Lyons has written some of the most acclaimed spinoff media in memory, but does this latest effort measure up? Yes, for the most part, though it’s another in an incredibly straightforward line.
As the title suggests, “Smoke and Mirrors” is a story about illusions, both physical and emotional, and it trades heavily on the Doctor’s relationship with Harry Houdini, a character often mentioned but never before seen in the series. The frequent mentions are justified – we learn that the Doctor and Houdini have been friends for many years and through many of the Doctor’s incarnations, and that each has taught the other many lessons and tricks. Lyons also writes Houdini as a man who cannot be satisfied with magic: he must always seek the rational explanation, and then turn around and accuse the conjurer of betrayal. That the Master has turned Houdini against the Doctor thus becomes believable, but it sits uneasily with the depth of their friendship as established elsewhere in the story.
I was surprised when the Master didn’t turn up in the Jon Pertwee story, given the traditional pitch of each of these releases, but nodded with understanding when he turned up with the Peter Davison story instead. Lyons writes a reasonable justification for this additional season 19 appearance for the Master, and gives him one of his two usual motivations: he’s either trying to conquer the universe or find a new body, and this marks the latter. Unfortunately, he’s kept off camera for too long, and when he does appear it’s as a ghostly reflection – he’s mostly there to loom over the regulars and cackle a lot. That Tegan defeats him by hurling a chair through a mirror does not inspire confidence – but then, these stories are tributes to their eras, and the Master never was very threatening when he faced the fifth Doctor.
It’s also nice to hear the season 19 TARDIS crew reunited, even if the actual cast isn’t present. Even after over twenty years of Doctor Who novels and audios, Adric stories are in short supply, and while he was hardly the most popular companion, it’s good to hear him again – and Lyons captures every frustratingly intelligent detail. Tegan gets to be proactive and help save the day, but of course Nyssa spends most of the story under hypnosis. Very season 19 – too many regulars, with the Doctor serving as de facto ringmaster.
Janet Fielding narrates effectively, for the most part. It’s interesting to hear the subtle differences between her own narrative voice and Tegan’s, for one thing, and her impression of Sarah Sutton is surprisingly effective. She doesn’t bother to do impressions of Davison or Matthew Waterhouse, which is perfectly reasonable, and while her Master is a good cackling villain, it doesn’t sound anything like Anthony Ainley – his evil chuckles were very distinct. Tim Beckmann plays Houdini in a likable performance of a tortured soul.
Much like the other stories in the “Destiny of the Doctor” series, there’s not much to say about “Smoke and Mirrors.” While Lyons, like Jonathan Morris before him, at least gives the story a minimal amount of subtext, it’s really little more than a straightforward homage to a particular era. If the trend continues, the next one ought to be particularly violent with a Doctor who doesn’t show up until at least 10 minutes in.
Solid, traditional stuff.
7/10