Review: The Skull of Sobek

Marc Platt steps up to the plate for The Skull of Sobek, his debut story for the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller audio range. Having written some stunning Doctor Who adventures in the past - both for the television series (the wonderful Ghost Light) and the audio plays (including fan-favourite Spare Parts) - seeing his name attached to a new release is always a reason for excitement. Sadly, the promise of this tale doesn't quite deliver.

The TARDIS has landed on Indigo 3, in the middle of a big blue desert, at a sanctuary full of blue people. Outside the sanctuary's walls, people wait impatiently, wanting to gain entrance. They might be less eager, though, if they knew what was unfolding within...

My main problem with this release was that, despite multiple listens, I was never really grabbed by the adventure. The monks and nuns who populate the cast are essentially quite uninteresting, suffering from a lack of development, and I struggled to get involved in the plot because I didn't have a feel for the characters who were involved in it. The Crocodilians suffer in a similar way, spending most of the play inactive, preferring to snarl occasionally in silly voices. The environment is an exciting concept, but other than some early world-building in the opening few minutes, which feels deliberate to the point of being heavy-handed, there's not quite enough development of what this place is, let alone who these people are. There's a lingering sense that, had this story been twice the length, it would have more substance to it; as it stands, it's a bit slight.

By this point in the second season, it feels like some of the qualities which originally made this range of plays unique are starting to fade. After the events of Human Resources, the dynamic between the Doctor and Lucie obviously had to change, and they've been more friendly and less antagonistic towards one another ever since Dead London. In The Skull of Sobek, however, there are a few moments where their relationship is threatening to become generic, and I found myself longing for something more from their obvious chemistry. I'm also starting to miss the presence of a subtle ongoing arc across the stories: going for individual standalone episodes is not a bad thing, but there was a nice over-arching continuity to the first season, which was rewarding for dedicated listeners, and I'm beginning to wish for something similar here.

Those two compalints aren't necessarily the fault of Marc Platt, though, and several elements of his script are genuinely superb. The dialogue is very strong, for example, with lots of individual lines and longer speeches which are outstanding. Even if Platt hasn't fleshed-out his own characters very well, he's certainly got a good handle on the Doctor and Lucie, who are both utilised brilliantly throughout the play. One particular moment involving Lucie is absolutely terrific - a chilling contender for the best-written and -performed moment in Big Finish's recent history.

Whilst Sheridan Smith shines above everyone else, there are some big name guest stars who are equally impressive. Art Malik and Barbara Flynn are the best, both giving great turns, despite their relatively-small roles and their flawed characterisations.

The extra features are decent, with Flynn making an absolutely charming interview subject, and script editor Alan Barnes and executive producer Nicholas Briggs giving some nice (and humorous) insight into the origins of the story. There are also some really enjoyable studio clips, giving an insight into the recording of wildtracks, which are unintentionally hilarious. Having been disappointed with the story, though, it's really interesting to hear Barnes praising Platt so strongly for some of the things I felt were lacking, which suggests this might be a bit of a marmite release than I'd thought.

The Skull of Sobek, sadly, is the first disappointment of this season. Perhaps, if it was in a different context, some of the niggles I had wouldn't have been so noticeable; but after three superbly strong releases, this one does seem like a bit of a lull. Ultimately, it's worth listening to the play for its handful of moments of genius, but as a whole, it's not quite what I'd hoped for.