The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Professor Bernice Summerfield

"Knowledge above all..."

Dragons' Wrath was the last of Big Finish's first season of Bernice Summerfield audios and the final one to be adapted, again by Jacqueline Rayner, from a previously published novel, in this case Justin Richards' 1997 New Adventure.

Unusually for the format of these adaptations, Dragons' Wrath is a single CD release only which obviously makes it shorter than the others. Rayner's script adapts to this by utilising Benny as a narrator to help move the plot along at times, but this has a strange effect of making the drama rather haphazard when compared to the fully dramatised earlier releases. The method does ensure that the scale of the story isn't compromised though, even if it has been greatly reworked to remove some elements of the plot which has resulted in a story that feels rather under whelming as there is little time spent on developing individual aspects, such as characterisation, before it has moved on to it's next plot element.

After Benny finds a man dying, she uncovers a mysterious dragon sculpture in his room. It seems a coincidence when she is asked to join an expedition funded by Romolo Nusek to excavate a world where he believes that the warlord Gamelian founded a colony there. Gamelian won a famous battle against an ancient order named the Knights Of Jeneve, taking their statue of a Dragon as his trophy...

Dragons' Wrath is a very typical story for Benny as it involves her being drawn involuntarily into a web of intrigue surrounding a particular artefact, in this case the Gamelian Dragon. Throw in a character like Nusek, a power-hungry individual out to consolidate his influence throughout the galaxy, and the type of story featured here is almost the archetype for many of the stories that followed its original publication and that's the main problem with this story. It feels over-familiar due to the fact that it's a style done too many times since.

The brevity of the play also works against its effectiveness as it gives it a very uneven feel. The earlier parts are very leisurely paced and take their time in establishing the elements that make up the bulk of the plot, but as the story progresses there are many elements that feel rushed due to the way the narrative moves forward. A good example of this comes after Benny and Clyde have escaped from Nusek's guards in his library and then suddenly the drama moves forward so quickly that they have been at the dig on Stranturus III for an unspecified period of time. Elements like this or parts which are underplayed in their importance - such as the attack on the dig which follows soon afterwards - all help to give this a rushed and hurried feel as if Rayner was having trouble compressing the storyline down to fit into a seventy minute play. This has the consequence of robbing the story of its depth because the hurried pace means that little consideration is given to developing the characters themselves making the whole thing rather superficial and hollow.

Some of the set pieces of Dragons' Wrath are pulled off admirably, such as the court inquisition scene where the nature of Nusek's work and the reputation of Gamelian is effectively put on trial, being full of drama and tension whilst also highlighting some of Benny's best characteristics, such as her devotion to preservation of the past for instance even at the cost of the point she's trying to make. The conclusion to the story is also well played, despite the fact that the very end of the story are rather abrupt, as it makes a satisfying end to the story even if the route to it hasn't been as pronounced as it could have been.

Lisa Bowerman's Bernice continues to delight, with her quick wit showing through well in her performance. She develops a good rapport with Nigel Fairs, who plays Doctor Nicholas Clyde, which gives their scenes together a believability and strength which helps to forward the drama. Fairs is quite adept at highlighting Clyde's suspicious nature of others, but convinces to the extent that the listener doesn't become overly suspicious of Clyde himself until late in the proceedings. Richard Franklin gives a very reserved performance as Nusek which helps to emphasise his nature as a threat hidden within the couch of respectability that makes him very menacing during the early parts of the story. As things - inevitably - go wrong for him, he does become more melodramatic but rather than go completely over the top as he seems tempted to do on occasion, he convinces as a man very much on the edge. As Truby Kamardrich, Jane Burke gives a vastly different performance to her previous role in the Benny audios (Tameka Veto in Beyond The Sun) with a much more sinister, harder and forceful presence here and it's a role that suits her well. Producer Gary Russell makes an appearance here too as Mappin Gilder in quite a fun appearance as his character is rather obsequious but acts as a pivotal role in turning the tables on Nusek during the trial scenes, which is entertaining to hear. Russell and Jez Fielder both also voice the minor roles within the production, which does cause a slight problem because of the fact that their voices are so distinctive and recognisable. Fielder in particular has the ability to alter his voice to different roles but having him do so many in one story lessens his performance's effectiveness as it's still recognisably him which undermines the sense of disbelief that these are all different people.

There is a disclaimer on the packaging saying that 'some dialogue is not presented… to the standard of Big Finish's usual standards' which refers to problems during the recording, and is unfortunately quite noticeable. There are lots of instances of the dialogue suffering from distortion which occasionally makes it difficult to hear what is being said. Toby Richards and Emily Baker's production work is fairly good at creating an intriguing atmosphere for the story but their music does tend towards the bombastic and the pseudo Bond theme 'Adventure Is My Game' which was introduced here was a mistake best forgotten as it completely sets the wrong tone for Benny's adventures.

Dragons' Wrath is not a poor story, yet it fails to generate enough excitement or drama for it to really endear itself to the listener. The fact that its pace is very unbalanced with the leisurely early parts of the story and other parts feeling underdeveloped, doesn't help things either. Despite the production problems, the cast are enthusiastic which gives the story an energy which keeps things interesting, but it does not compensate for the fact that the story lacks depth. This isn't a particularly auspicious end to this first season, and neither does this adaptation really do justice to the original story it is based upon.