Sepulchre [AUDIO/2010.12.2]

★★☆☆☆

  To be honest, this isn't hideous by any means. Sepulchre does at least one thing right, and that is closing off the Demon Quest chapter of the Nest Cottage Chronicles in more or less a functional manner. The Doctor, Mike and Mrs. Wibbsey are back to their normal lives at the end of the day, free from the shackles of the Demon and the Hornets (who have miraculously made their return, being revealed as the masterminds behind the scenes). I like the fact that this story doesn't go for the bombastic, noisy approach; it's not Paul Magrs' style anyway, and the atmosphere of the storyline was always far more compatible with brooding, creepy celestial stories.

  Problem is, it's all pretty boring. Tom Baker's sonorous voice can do no wrong, but with Richard Franklin taking the narrator seat for the most part, his effect is somewhat limited. The mansion-prison setting is an inspired choice for a finale, and they could've done so much more with it (The Haunting of Villa Diodati was set in a mansion, and it was on telly)... but no, the setting is mostly used as a mere backdrop and not as a testing ground for new, experimental ambience and spooks for the listeners. Then we have the Hornets in such an out-of-the-blue reappearance that their impact is at an all-time low; they don't really do anything interesting at all, do they? The double negative effect of the Hornets' return is that the Demon (the main antagonist of the entire boxset) becomes sidelined somewhat as well. We get two weak villains when one good villain would've sufficed. 

  I mean, Sepulchre is just bland, and that's its biggest crime in my eyes. The conclusion of Demon Quest (a boxset I thoroughly enjoyed) comes to a slow-paced halt with half the imagination and fun the rest of the stories had. Baggage of two boxsets' worth, I expect; I don't blame Paul Magrs for fumbling this finale, he's usually a really strong writer. Does this sour the experience of Demon Quest as a whole? Slightly, but not so much that I wouldn't recommend the second Nest Cottage boxset to you regardless.