Cameron Mason's Reviews - Big Finish Audio Reviews Condensed

Big Finish Productions - Professor Bernice Summerfield

Oh No It Isn't
Benny and Wolsey
The first Big Finish New Adventures adaptation. Lisa Bowerman is perfectly cast in the role of Benny, with Nicholas Courtney brilliant as Wolsey in Pantoland. The rest of the cast have a lot of fun with script, with Mark Gatiss echoing the great Kenneth Williams with the voice he uses to play The Vizier. Jac Rayner has expertly adapted the novel for this fun audio play.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

Beyond the Sun
Benny and Jason
Matt Jones effectively condenses his own novel into another fine Benny audio. Sophie Aldred is fantastic in an unusally villainous role, Anneke Wills is very effective as Doctor Kitinger and finally Stephen Fewell is great as the gormless wonder Jason Kane. The remaining cast are excellent, with Jane Burke and Lewis Davis very believable in their roles of Tameka and Emile, respectivly.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

Walking to Babylon
Benny and Jason
The Time Ring Trilogy is off to a great start in Jac Rayner's adaptation of this classic Kate Orman novel. The People are seem more menacing on audio than in the book. Elisabeth Sladen is fantastic in the role of Ninan-ashtammu, and Barnaby Edwards is great in the role of Edwardian archaeologist John Lafayette. Stay listening after the end of the story for a great interview with Lisa and Stephen.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

Birthright
Benny and Jason
The middle section of the Time Ring Trilogy keeps the pace up in this adaptation of Nigel Robinson's Doctor-lite New Adventure. Colin Baker excels as the Russian detective Mikhail Popov, and the rest of the guest cast cope well with their multiple roles. A nail biting climax sets it all up for the final story of the Trilogy
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

Just War
Benny and Jason
The end of the Time Ring Trilogy, adapted from Lance Parkin's acclaimed debut novel, misses none of the emotion of the novel. Lisa and Stephen are in top form, with some of their best acting for the range. Mark Gatiss is chilling is his role of Standardtenfuhrer Joachim Wolff, and Maggie Stables puts in a wonderful perfomance in her first role for Big Finish as Ma Doras. The best work by Big Finish so far.
Preliminary Rating: 10/10

Buried Treasures
Benny
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

Dragons' Wrath
Benny
A definite let down after the previous five, with Dragon's Wrath being the Resurrection of the Daleks/The Twin Dilemma of the range, straddling the formats of the two seasons: a book adaptation on one CD, with the horrible new theme song. Production values seem to be down in this story, with the adaptation feeling like it's missing something, which I haven't found in the previous five. Lisa is still in top form, and special mention to Gary Russell in making his role of Mappin Gilder sound extremely realistic.
Preliminary Rating: 6.5 - 7.5/10

The Secret of Cassandra
Benny
The first audio of Season 2 is off to fine start with David Bailey's original story. Benny is holidaying on a planet at war, being rescued from death by the seemingly friendly Captain Colley and his passengers. The story features twist after twist, and when you think you the story worked out, another twist is thrown in for good measure. Special mention for Robert Curbishley's expert recreation of Helen Goldwyn's vocal infections.
Preliminary Rating: 8.5 - 9.5/10

The Stone's Lament
Benny and Adrian Wall
Mike Tucker's first Benny script is an interesting tale, making great use of Lisa Bowerman's abilities. Adrian Wall translates well to audio, being voiced by Harry Myers. The story won't set the world on fire, but is a good way to fill an hour.
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

The Extinction Event
Benny and Irving Braxiatel
Lance Parkin's debut audio script is a real corker. Benny and Braxiatel are off to auction of items from dead and destroyed worlds. Miles Richardson is superb as Brax, bringing the role to life as slightly harsher Brax than we are use to, but in this story it's for the best. A somber ending draws this dark and moody story to a more than satisfying close.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

The Skymines of Karthos
Benny and Brax
David Bailey's second Benny story for Big Finish is as impressive as his first. Benny's pregnancy does little to hinder her role in the story, she still has her fair share of the action. The story makes clever use of the Monarch/Council of Common's system of government, with the 'fire flies' an interesting yet nasty species. The guest cast were excellent, in particular Johnson Willis as Professor Konstantin. Another successful Benny audio can be found in The Skymines of Karthos.
Preliminary Rating: 8.5 - 9.5/10

The Greatest Shop in the Galaxy
Benny and Joseph
Benny conducts an achaeological dig in the carpark of the largest shopping complex in the galaxy, but she is definately NOT there for shoe shopping and most certainly NOT with Adrian's credit chip (*cough* bollocks-she-isn't! */cough*). All's well and good until temporal shenanigans take place, allowing man eating Borvali and soldiers from the past into the Gigamarket... Paul Ebbs' script is light and funny, with a serious message at heart. Alistair Lock's direction is strong, and the light jingle-like music between scenes is inspired. Steve Wickham is well cast in the role of Joseph, Benny's annoying computerised porter; with the guest cast's performance uniformably excellent, up to usual Big Finish standards.
Preliminary Rating: 8.5 - 9.5/10

The Green-Eyed Monsters
Benny, Adrian, Jason and Joseph
Benny is fed up with the way Jason and Adrian act whenever they are around each other, so decides that while she is off verifying some artifacts, Adrian and Jason can look after Peter for her. Dave Stone's script is very witty, be it poking fun at the Adventure is My Game theme song, or providing Benny with her trademark wit. There are also some serious character moments for Adrian and Jason, allowing the two characters to come to a form of understanding. The main plot could only have come from the mind of Dave Stone, but that's no bad thing.
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

The Plague Herds of Excelis
Benny and Iris
Benny has set out to escape the men in her life for some time to herself, and is forced to land on Artaris to avoid a huge alien fleet of vessels. There she becomes involved in the fuitition of a plan that has spanned thousands of years, and with a mysterious woman named Iris Wildthyme... The final story in the Excelis trilogy (of four), The Plague Herds of Excelis fills in the final pieces of the puzzle: what 'the Relic' is, and how Iris became involved with it all. Steve Cole has written a story that is full of life, despite all the death that takes place within the story. The highlight of story would have to be the relationship between Benny and Iris, with Lisa Bowerman and Katy Manning giving it an extra spark through their performance. The Plague Herds of Excelis provides closure to the whole sequence in a very satisfying way, tying together all plot threads well.
Preliminary Rating: 8.5 - 9.5/10

The Dance of the Dead
Benny
Recovering from the events of The Plague Herds of Excelis, Benny is smuggled aboard a spacecruiser taking delegates home. An explosion occurs, leaving Benny trapped with some Ice Warriors and the memories of two dead delegates. Was it an accident? Was it sabotage? Will they survive the ship, and the memories of the dead? Steve Cole has written a followup to his previous Benny script that can be basically summed up as "The Poseidon Adventure in space", but works well as a character piece, and as a suspence mystery. The relationship between Benny and Sstac is brought to life by Lisa Bowerman and Matthew Brenher, who cope well with switching between their characters and the personalities of the dead delagates. The ending of the story leaves the way open for a reappearance by Sstac.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

The Mirror Effect
Benny, Brax, Jason and Adrian

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The Bellotron Incident
Benny, Brax and Bev Tarrant

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The Draconian Rage
Benny and Brax

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The Poison Seas
Benny

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Death and the Daleks
Benny, Brax, Jason, Adrian and Joseph

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The Grel Escape
Benny, Jason and Adrian

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The Bone of Contention
Benny

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The Relics of Jegg-Sau
Benny

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Silver Lining
Benny

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The Masquerade of Death
Benny and Adrian

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The Heart's Desire
Benny

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The Kingdom of the Blind
Benny and Jason

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The Lost Museum
Benny and Jason

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The Goddess Quandary
Benny

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The Crystal of Cantus
Benny

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The Tartarus Gate
Benny

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The Dyson Ring
Benny

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