Thursday, September 20, 2012

Big Finish - The Magic Mousetrap

Big Finish 120 - The Magic Mousetrap. Written by Matthew Sweet and directed by Ken Bentley.


This is the start of an earlier Ace and Hex mini series and it begins rather mysteriously. The Doctor finds himself on a cable car travelling to an exclusive sanatorium in the Alps. Except that the Doctor seems to be having problems with his memory and events seem to be repeating themselves. Plus there are two mysterious  patients in the attic who seem to know more than they are letting on.

How to start a Doctor Who adventure can be challenging. The standard formula of the Tardis materialising just in time for the Doctor and companion to investigate some strange goings on can become a bit repetitive. So here the writer and critic Matthew Sweet throws us right in to the middle of the mystery and we are as much in the dark as the Doctor. It is an effective technique but it is a bit confusing. There are also some strange accents to contend with. Sweet was influenced by Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain so there is some weird experimental stuff going on here.

Acting and production are up to the usual high standards and the actors who had to do accents actually do a fine job and I didn't find them too distracting. I was confused by the story structure but that may be just me not paying full attention with my recent glut of Big Finish audios.

3 out of 5 straw boaters. Next up is my last encounter with the Eighth Doctor for the time being.

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