The Memory Bank by Chris Chapman – The Doctor and Turlough arrive on a planet where to be forgotten is to cease to exist. But the Forgotten leave a gap in the world – and that’s where the monsters are hiding.
The Last Fairy Tale by Paul Magrs – Deep in the heart of old Europe, the village of Vadhoc awaits the coming of a mythical teller of magical tales – but not all such stories end happily, the TARDIS travellers discover.
Repeat Offender by Eddie Robson – The Doctor has tracked the deadly Bratanian Shroud to 22nd century Reykjavík – where he’s about to become the victim of a serial criminal. Again.
The Becoming by Ian Potter – A young woman climbs a perilous mountain in search of her destiny. The Doctor and Turlough save her from the monsters on her trail – but what awaits them in the Cavern of Becoming is stranger, even, than the ravening Hungerers outside.
THE MEMORY BANK AND OTHER STORIES
THE MEMORY BANK
2016’s anthology release is “The Memory Bank and Other Stories,” and the first story in the anthology, as the title implies, is Chris Chapman’s “The Memory Bank.” It’s an interesting, high-concept tale about a planet where being forgotten means an end to your very existence. To combat this, the planet employs an Archivist who relives the memories of its citizens to ensure they are never completely forgotten, and of course there are monsters lurking in the memory gaps. This is a smart, efficient story that effectively uses its running time to deliver both plot and theme. I like how thoughtful it is, how Chapman dwells upon the importance of memory and how the memories we create help define us. And he doesn’t sledgehammer in a reference to “A man is the sum of his memories, a Time Lord even more so” which is surprising. “The Memory Bank” is a great start to the collection – we need more like this.
8/10
THE LAST FAIRY TALE
The second story, Paul Magrs’ “The Last Fairy Tale,” isn’t as successful, and is probably the weakest entry of the four. There is some great material in here about how the stories we tell influence our perceptions of the world, and how the same action can seem both praiseworthy and deplorable depending upon the perspective from which it is viewed. Magrs, an experienced writer and scholar, understands the importance of storytellers to society, and that comes across strongly in his script. The problem is that it’s almost entirely undramatic. The Doctor and Turlough arrive in a small village and the people mistake the Doctor for their storyteller of legend. After the briefest conflict generated by this mistaken identity, the real storyteller shows up and then the Doctor and Turlough leave. I think the story would have been better had it not been framed as a traditional Doctor Who story – by pegging the start to the TARDIS’s arrival and the end to its departure, the scope of the story is limited in ways that weaken the message Magrs wants to communicate. Still, if this is the weakest story in the collection, you’re looking at a very good collection.
6/10
REPEAT OFFENDER
The third story, Eddie Robson’s “Repeat Offender,” is the best of the four. To begin with, it actually makes use of having Turlough along in the TARDIS – in the other three stories, he’s mostly distinguished by complaining a lot; here, he’s an active participant. It’s a four-hand story with Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Mandi Symonds, and an uncredited actor, and Robson uses the one-room setting to drive up the tension while simultaneously peeling back layers of the plot. What starts as a simple story about the Doctor and Turlough trying to prevent an alien influence from threatening humanity becomes something much more complex involving the Doctor’s future selves and the paradoxical nature of time travel. Even the alien possession points work well, because Turlough is untrustworthy enough that it’s hard to know whether he’s in control. I also enjoyed the Doctor’s arguments with the police inspector (Symonds), which ask questions about civil liberties and the prospect of where technology is taking our justice systems. Thumbs way up for this one.
9/10
THE BECOMING
Lastly, we have Ian Potter’s “The Becoming,” another high-concept story involving the Doctor and Turlough encountering an alien society and navigating its customs while helping determine its future. The encounter with Waywalker (Kae Alexander) is interesting, and Potter’s script does a fine job of delivering exposition through dialogue without it ever sounding forced. There is some fine material here about adaptation and how both societies and species adapt to their surroundings. However, as with many high-concept stories along these lines, “The Becoming” often feels too clinical – and the point near the end where the Doctor figures out what’s going on and rushes back to the settlement doesn’t earn its urgency. I’m generally a fan of Potter’s work, and I’m not sure if this anthology format plays to his strengths. But that’s a minor complaint – this is the sort of story that makes the listener think, and I consider that very high praise.
7/10
Overall, “The Memory Bank and Other Stories” is one of Big Finish’s most successful anthology releases. When the weakest story is a typically intelligent Paul Magrs entry, you know you’re listening to something good. Long-time Big Finish repertory player Helen Goldwyn directs, doing fine work, and the sound design from Richard Fox and Lauren Yason is up to their usual standards.
Recommended.
Box set average: 7.5/10