Having previously offered us a couple of historical tales ("Frostfire" & "Mother Russia") Big Finish now elect to take the first Doctor into outer space with "Here There Be Monsters", a somewhat bewildering but impressive space epic as narrated by his granddaughter Susan. This youngster is clearly 'another tortured sole' whom is having nightmares and feels the need to unburden herself regarding what has transpired out there in the distant future. Our Hartnell era quartet of time/space travellers step out of the TARDIS and into a teeming jungle like environment which Susan momentarily compares to the petrified forest on Skaro (TV's "The Dalek" story). However the dense foliage for this audio tale is actually on a spaceship which had me initially thinking it was going to be a re-tread of TV story "The Ark" but it is far more ambitious than that admirably enjoyable classic series offering. It's not giving anything away to say that the Captain, the rasping sounding Rostrum is infact an… more »

Having previously offered us a couple of historical tales ("Frostfire" & "Mother Russia") Big Finish now elect to take the first Doctor into outer space with "Here There Be Monsters", a somewhat bewildering but impressive space epic as narrated by his granddaughter Susan. This youngster is clearly 'another tortured sole' whom is having nightmares and feels the need to unburden herself regarding what has transpired out there in the distant future. Our Hartnell era quartet of time/space travellers step out of the TARDIS and into a teeming jungle like environment which Susan momentarily compares to the petrified forest on Skaro (TV's "The Dalek" story). However the dense foliage for this audio tale is actually on a spaceship which had me initially thinking it was going to be a re-tread of TV story "The Ark" but it is far more ambitious than that admirably enjoyable classic series offering. It's not giving anything away to say that the Captain, the rasping sounding Rostrum is infact an artificial vegative lifeform whose tendrils extend all over the ship reacting in a way similar to the Varga plants as featured in the Pertwee era "Planet of the Daleks" TV tale. Actually more of a surprising mystery surrounds Stephen Hancock's 'First Mate' character, a secret that will no doubt fascinate listeners when it is ultimately revealed. The script certainly presents Carole Ann Ford with a fair deal of various character vocalisation challenges which she conveys admirably including a fairly decent suitably terse and nasal Hartnell. Whilst learning of the E.B.V.Nevermore vessel's mission I liked the way that Barbara Wright suitably reproached the haphazard nature of Rostrum by likening it to the English/Spanish navy of the 17th Century, as if she was teaching back in Coal Hill School. A appreciative nod is also due for the impressive background incidental soundscape created for the Nevermore which for me sounded a bit like Gallifrey as featured in the last couple of episodes of "The War Games" (a TV story I suspect we might be seeing next year on DVD, marking its 40th anniversary). Taking up all but 5 ½ mins of the total approx 79 ½ min discs running time this two part tale is an imaginative, highly enjoyable offering although I was momentarily thinking could this really fit seamlessly into the Hartnell era? Rounding out the title with a brief trailer for the next narrated offering (Deborah Watling's 'Victoria' "The Glass Elevator" tale) plus a 'CD Extra Interview' track this is a great start for this third season.