The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

In the beginning the story starts with a brief scene set in the modern day where an excavation of the site of Pompeii, has uncovered a mysterious artefact that must have been buried there in the volcanic ash for two thousand years. Soon UNIT is called in and confiscate the item which appears to be an English Police Box.... Meanwhile, two thousand years earlier the Doctor and Mel arrive in Pompeii and soon it becomes apparent that, unusually for the Doctor at this point in the timeline, he knows a lot more about what is happening here than he wants to, and with access to the TARDIS cut off, it seems that he is about to give up on even trying to save himself and Mel. In the process he offends a Gladiator in an attempt to gain some local currency, whilst Mel is accused of theft and is arrested.

The Fires Of Vulcan sees a return to the Doctor and Mel team that dominated season twenty-four. Yes, Bonnie Langford returns to the world of Doctor Who after a thirteen year absence and quite amazingly, given the history of her character, it is a very welcome return. Melanie Bush on television was a bit of a non entity. She was never really properly characterised and the way that Bonnie played her was annoying to say the least. The few books to have featured the character of Mel since have improved her characterisation, by developing her character and building on what little there was to make her into a fully rounded character. Steve Lyons was one of these protagonists with his New Adventure ‘Head Games’ which actually marked the return of Mel after she had left the Doctor in Dragonfire. In that book the characterisation of Mel was one of its strongest traits and Lyons’ ability to write Mel well shines through here, with her character being much more like the Mel of the books, although saying that all of her book appearances, bar Head Games, have been with the Sixth Doctor, so we are still awaiting the first missing season 24 novel. Bonnie Langford’s performance here is far better than anything she ever did in the television series. Mel’s annoying character traits are still there, but they are restrained and manage to be more endearing than annoying.

Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor is much more melancholy than he should be considering when the story is placed, and Sylvester’s voice is appropriately altered. Rather than being the manic, mixed metaphor spluttering Doctor of that time, the circumstances of the story make him downbeat and sombre and McCoy plays this well, although it does take a moment or two to get used to him playing the character in this way. In the years since he was the Doctor on television, McCoy’s voice does seem to have mellowed somewhat and by having the character this way throughout the audio, it suits Sylvester well and as a result his performance is excellent.

The supporting cast are good without exception. They’re not as outstanding as some of the casts of other productions, but they help make the story effective and ensure that the audio succeeds. Gemma Bissix, who is given a ‘with’ credit on the back cover afforded to special guest stars only, is the standout performance of the supporting actors helping to create a likeable character in Aglae.

The production on The Fires Of Vulcan is once again magnificent, with the effects used during the eruption of Vesuvius, being very effective - especially with the constant screams of fear echoing out of the speakers as if the dying are crying out in a futile attempt for salvation.

Overall The Fires Of Vulcan is a good entry into the Big Finish audios. It’s not the best Sylvester McCoy story, but there’s not much wrong with it. Bonnie Langford seems more comfortable with her role here as Mel than she ever did on television and this comes across in her performance well. This is helped by the fact that in the four episodes of audio drama here, Mel is treated as a proper character by Steve Lyons and as such it gives Bonnie something to work with and she manages to do the unthinkable and turn Mel into a likeable and believable character. Purely historical stories are always fun, and so is The Fires Of Vulcan. Listening to this audio is a very pleasant way to spend just under two hours. It’s not a spectacular effort, but it does the job of being an entertaining piece of Doctor Who.