Doctor Who Review - "Trouble in Paradise"
rating: 1
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Wellthey cant all be great. Ive enjoyed almost everything Ive heard from Big Finish. Even the stuff that wasnt great tended to at least be decent, to at least have something that made it worthwhile. This story, the sixth in the Destiny of the Doctors range, has, sadly, nothing to make it worth your time or trouble. The story begins with the Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) receiving a mysterious message from the Eleventh Doctor. Yes, at least they get it out of the way quickly this time. He sends them on a mission to get a MacGuffin that he needs up in the future. This takes the Doctor and Peri to a certain ship in the Caribbean, circa 1492. Yes, the Doctor and Peri meet Christopher Columbus, and thats where it all goes a bit pear-shaped for me. You see, Columbus, who constantly describes himself as the greatest explorer in the world, is played alternately for laughs and as a villain with no redeeming features whatsoever. Now Columbus was by no means perfect. He was a great sailor and navigator, for the most part, and certainly a great explorer. He was, however, a terrible administrator, and for that he rightly takes flack in this story. However there is no nuance at all. Hes simply presented as a very evil, egotistical man who has no redeeming features all. Thats very disappointing from a series thats usually willing to have all sorts of nuance. It doesnt help that Columbus men are shown as being scared that they might sail off the edge of the world, which is nonsense. Weve known for thousands of years that the world was round. Certainly sailors, who, mind you, planned to reach the Far East by sailing west, would know it was round. Add to this the overall antagonist of the story, a creature with origins that make absolutely zero sense, and you have a story that is, all in all, made of fail. A really serious disappointment. I will say that the acting is at its usual good level, and the sounds effects are fine, but really it's like putting a fresh coat of paint on a collapsing house. So sadly, I cannot recommend this story unless you intend to listen to the entire Destiny range. If you do, you can just view this as something like The Twin Dilemma; the bad you have to put up with in order to enjoy the good.