The Dalek Trap [AUDIO/2019.7.10]

★★☆☆☆

  Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to make a new boxset celebrating the return of a beloved character, and put something like this as the opening installment. I actually like the idea that the first story of the Further Adventures of Lucie Miller boxset is mostly about her and not the Doctor (although their rapport is legendary)... but it's the idea, not Nicholas Briggs' execution over here. He just had to pull out an eldritch being in this particular episode, didn't he? He had to make this all very mysterious, slow and reflective, labyrinthine in his own way; well, I appreciate the effort, Nick, but I really don't think I vibe with how it's used here. Is it mysterious and fascinating if the majority of the runtime is spent with two very boring character forgetting their own names, putting Lucie in the middle of the two and listening to them quite literally scramble around? Is it entertaining it at all to not give Paul McGann a speaking role for the vast majority of the audio drama? It's not as if I can see a hypnotised Eighth Doctor on a screen, is it?

  I always appreciate effort, no matter how I think about the finished artwork, and The Dalek Trap is something I can imagine some people would like. It's different, it's unexpected and all... but for me, it's just not all that fun.