The Helliax Rift (#237)

   Big Finish Main Range

 

I’m a bit conflicted with this story. Though I like the premise and the tale in general, it has a strange atmosphere to it. I always expect ulterior motives with Dr. Who stories and the people involved. Perhaps that’s just my fault then but this is not a good story for examining the motives.

The story starts with the Doctor finding an alien signal attached to a dog’s collar, which is then tracked down by UNIT. The leader dealing with him, Lieutenant-Colonel Price, is not very friendly to the Doctor and continues on this vein throughout the tale.

I don’t want to give any plot points away so let’s just say that there is a “spa” where aliens who crash are taken for healing and surgery. Or not? The mood and way people talk goes from cordial to threatening in a blink of an eye in this story. The UNIT people, the doctor and spa owner, the alien who has come for his son – they all do it! Let’s let these people shoot everyone while escape, son. I operate to find out information about physiology and let them live, or not. It’s a touch bizarre as I’ve heard seen so much posturing yet it’s all innocuous in a Big Finish audio story. I can’t rate it that high because of that. And because of the parental aspect as it just seems very awkward. How the heck does she feed all of the aliens in her unground lair? And hasn’t anyone come looking for these aliens before this time? Sigh. Wacky.


Peter Davison (The Doctor), Blake Harrison (Lieutenant Daniel Hopkins), Russ Bain (Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Price), Genevieve Gaunt (Corporal Linda Maxwell), Deborah Thomas (Annabel Morden), Anna Louise Plowman (Dr Jennifer Harrison), Robbie Stevens (Morris), Jacob Dudman (Samuel).

Writer: Scott Handcock

Director: Jaimie Anderson

Release: April 2018

© Laura Vilensky 2019