Diverted to Victorian London by persons or powers unknown, Bernice Summerfield finds herself beset with problems of a kind that those unused to time-travel could barely even imagine.
Diverted to Victorian London by persons or powers unknown, Bernice Summerfield finds herself beset with problems of a kind that those unused to time-travel could barely even imagine.
The Adventures of the Diogenese Damsel
Big Finish and Faction Paradox spoilers…
Jim Smith’s ‘The Adventures of the Diogenes Damsel’ is something of an oddball. On one level it’s an intricate period piece, stranding Bernice in Victorian London with David Warner playing the indomitable Mycroft Holmes, is a victory for style and setting. Little touches like announcing yourself when boarding the underground train sets this piece quite firmly back in a friendlier, simpler London than the one we know today. The characters speak in a very, very stylised form of English, that must have been a challenge for the actors to work their way through such long sentences without drawing breath, yet it pays off.
On the other hand, it’s an oddball. Last year we saw Kadiatu Lethbridge Stewart make an appearance, which raised a few eyebrows as the character hadn’t appeared since the Virgin range over a decade before. Last release we saw Lawrence Miles make his Big Finish debut, and now some of his creations seem to have followed him. In a way this story could almost ‘be’ a Faction Paradox story, a brief sidestep as two ‘temporally active’ characters cause trouble when stranded in Victorian England. Lord Straxus, from Big Finish’s own 8th doctor range, is his own oddball entity but for anyone unfamiliar with the story around Chris Cwej there are revelations later on here that will throw listeners a real curveball.
That isn’t to say it harms the release. With the little I did know I pieced the picture together rather well, and there’s only a little here that isn’t properly explained as the story proceeds. Plot threads such as Mycroft’s investigations into the ‘seven’ murderer, Bernice’s stranding in history and the sale of stolen artefacts tie together very neatly… But by and large the story takes a back seat to let the characters all shine as individuals. Once again, Jim Smith’s ‘ultra stylised’ writing comes to the fore.
All in all this is a very competent production, with engrossing characters oozing out period detail as if they were contagious. The central plot it simple but well presented and brings with it a numbers of references to things any hardcore fan can point at and gasp. Hopefully it wont leave new listeners behind because there is a lot here for everyone.
9 / 10