Doctor Who: Big Finish Mega-Review - October's Releases
Main Range "1963: The Space Race"
rating: 4
November 1963, and the Soviet space programme reigns supreme. Having sent the first animals, then the first men beyond Earth's atmosphere, now they're sending a manned capsule into orbit around the Moon. Just as Vostok Seven passes over into the dark side, however, its life support system fails. Only the intervention of the Sixth Doctor and Peri, adopting the identities of scientists from Moscow University, means that contact with the capsule is regained. But something has happened to the cosmonaut on board. She appears to have lost her memory, and developed extreme claustrophobia. Maybe she's not quite as human as she used to be...Gather 'round, ye children, and let ole Uncle Chris tell you about a simpler time. A time called "The Cold War", when the world's fate hung by a thread, and humanity could be wiped out with the simple (and at times, quite likely), press of a button. It was also the time of the space race, when the Soviets and the USA raced to see who could get to the Moon first. The Soviets, as this story pointed out, had the first satellite, the first man in space, the first woman in space, and the first spacewalk. Then it all kind of went tits up for them, America spent billions, and got to the Moon first. Well, at least in real history. In the Whoniverse, that isn't quite the case. There was much to enjoy here, even if the overall story was almost quite literally a bit "base under siege". It was nice to see Nicola Bryant get some time to play Peri without the Doctor being around to overshadow everything. I also rather liked the "hole" figure that was behind all the problems, even if was a bit shades of V'Ger. I also really enjoyed the way the story tied in with the whole 1963 feel, especially when, while on a rocket heading back from the Moon, the Doctor realizes what day it is. This is a major problem when he has to try and call off a nuclear strike, only to learn that President Kennedy is away in Dallas at the time. Aside from a bit of the "secret history" stuff that I had to roll my eyes at (in one case, VERY HARD, given what's located on the Moon), I found much to enjoy here. It's a good, solid, stand-alone story.