Luna Romana [AUDIO/2014.1.17]

★★★★☆

  What a wonderful slice of Doctor Who. Luna Romana is a stunning concept piece that fits snugly with the boundless imagination of the Graham Williams era, playing about with fractured selves (City of Death, anyone?), two different Romes and a bunch of chaotic fun with time travel. Lisa Bowerman as director is a stamp of assured quality, and this installment is yet another example; this is the kind of high-concept extravaganza chock-full of imagination that could overwhelm the audio drama format in the hands of a lesser director, but she's simply too good not to make it work like a charm. What also helps is that Richard Fox & Lauren Yason are a fantastic music duo, and they provide a fairytale-like score that fits well with such a lyrical story. The Doctor fights Romans with golden faces, Romana (both of them) jumps around time tracks to save herself again and again, and that dastardly Quadrigger Stoyn gets to flex his theatre muscles and be an officious prick towards our heroic duo -- entertainment value aplenty, as you can clearly see. It was an inevitability for me to fall in love with it so much.

  What's even more wonderful about Luna Romana, though, is that it's a touching love letter to Mary Tamm's first incarnation of Romana. Juliet Landau's incarnation (from spin-off drama Gallifrey) brings her alive with her splendid narration, capturing the late Tamm's mannerisms so wonderfully. I could believe that she was there, next to Tom Baker's Doctor, waving her silver wand about and searching for the final segment of the Key to Time. Alongside being a fantastic finale to the Quadrigger Stoyn trilogy and an unconventional multi-Romana story, Matt Fitton's story works as a coda to this incarnation, a heart(s)felt dedication to this character. I love it. I love Luna Romana -- it has grown on me exponentially over the years and I find it to be quite the quintessential Romana story.