3 ( )

This Fourth Doctor adventure features Romana I and is set in the Antibes in 1929. Life is pretty cushy at their hotel, with plenty of time for painting and socializing, although a string of petty thefts and some ominous predictions by the astrologer Madame Arcana (talk about nominative determinism!) are cause for concern. And then there’s the cave on the beach, which contains more than meets the eye…

This was Robinson’s first script for Big Finish (following some novelizations and stand-alone novels for the W.H. Allen and Target ranges), and it’s not bad. I liked the choice of Romana I for a companion, given that she spent so little time on the show, and the setting is a good one. Mary Tamm is a crisp narrator, and the script cleverly reduces the amount of Fourth Doctor impressions she has to do. In a single-person story such as this one, it probably helps to reduce the number of “voices” that need to be done. However, I found the sound mixing made some dialogue hard to follow, especially when characters went into the cave or attended a noisy party. I also found the repeated use of the word “realized” as a dialogue tag distracting.

The audio production also includes a brief interview with Mary Tamm, Nigel Robinson, and director Lisa Bowerman, where everyone says the usual nice things about each other, although I did enjoy Tamm’s thoughts on her experiences at conventions and the fact that her grandson was getting into Doctor Who (and was still coming to terms with the fact that Grandma was on TV and sitting beside him at the same time!). I also giggled at the fact that Nigel Robinson seems to include mucus in a lot of his stories.

This was a light, quick audio read (I finished it in a few days, which is speedy for me and audiobooks), so if that’s what you’re after, it might fit the bill. ( )

Mary Tamm going solo does a decently professional job of a rather lousy script involving alien goings-on in Antibes in 1929. ( )

The Doctor and Romana are staying in an exclusive hotel at the French Riviera in 1929 while the Doctor tries to catch up on his painting and Romana continues writing her thesis on the Doctor. But why does Madame Arcana keep on insisting that the stars do not shine properly? Why are there cave paintings on the beach depicting animals from the planet Saiph? Who has stolen Binky Blaine’s copy of an Agatha Christie novel? What is in the mysterious shipments being delivered to Mister Crane’s villa? And why did socialite Anne abandon all her usual reserve and dance the Charleston like a wanton hussy? Well, if you are wondering what connects all of these seemingly disparate occurrences together, then you’ve got more interest in the proceedings than any of the characters in this play.

The Stealers from Saiph sees a new voice joining The Companion Chronicles-- Mary Tamm reprising her role from the Key to Time season as the original Romana. This is the first time Tamm has played Romana in a Doctor Who story since 1979. I personally prefer Lalla Ward’s second Romana, but all forms of Romana are fantastic, so I was eager to hear this release, which (unusually for a Companion Chronicle) does not feature any guest voices.

It was a delight to hear Mary Tamm, of course, but the plot of her return was so tedious and nonexistent that there's not much to sustain attention. A disappointing return for a much-loved character.

You can read a longer version of this review at Unreality SF.