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SF HOME | DOCTOR
WHO HOME | BIG FINISH AUDIOS
| 8TH DOCTOR NOVELS | EPISODES
| MISC REVIEWS |
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Unlike many fans, I don't hold Marc Platt's television story GHOST LIGHT in particularly high regard, and found his New Adventure TIME'S CRUCIBLE to be a bit of a confusing mess. On the other hand, Peter Davison has proved to be an excellent audio Doctor so far and LOUPS-GAROUX would see him reunited with Mark Strickson for the first time since PHANTASMAGORIA. The first I listened to LOUPS-GAROUX I wasn't particularly impressed and to be honest, the story seemed a bit confusing. However, on subsequent listening, it improved immeasurably, so perhaps it just required a little more attention the first time around. As the title suggests, LOUPS-GAROUX is a werewolf story, but instead of the usual Hammer-esque "moon, gipsy girls, torch-carrying mob" scenario, we've got a Brazilian setting in the year 2080. But before we get to Rio, there's a sequence set in 16th century Germany which introduces the villain of the piece, in the form of Nicky Henson's Pieter Stubbe. After this, we're in Brazil, where the Doctor and Turlough soon encounter the werewolf creatures, while wealthy heiress Ileana de Santos is concerned about the return of the "Grey One" as well as the fate of her son, who is being treated by the rather sinister Doctor Hayashi. LOUPS-GAROUX boasts several interesting characters, all well-portrayed. Freed from the sort of rubbish transformation scenes that you just know DOCTOR WHO would have given us if this had been a televised story, Nicky Henson is able to give us an excellent villain, with a suitably menacing voice. Returning to WHO, Eleanor Bron is excellent as Ileana, who has an interesting relationship with the Doctor, with the immediately recognisable Burt Kwouk suitably sinister as Hayashi. Mark Strickson also has some excellent scenes, particularly where he is reminiscing of home with jaguar girl Rosa, another interesting character who is well-played by Sarah Gale. As well as these good performances, LOUPS-GAROUX has a good story and the usual high production standards that we've come to expect from Big Finish. Despite my initial reservations, LOUPS-GAROUX turned out to be a definite winner. BACK TO THE TOP |
LOUPS-GAROUX |
