Doctor Who: The Oseidon Adventure

The Fourth Doctor Adventures #1.6

by Alan Barnes

The first time the fearsome Kraals attempted to take over the Earth, with the help of their android agents, things didn't go quite according to plan – thanks to the time-travelling alien Doctor and his allies at UNIT.

This time, Marshal Grinmal and his belligerent cohorts are ready for them. This time, they'll make no mistakes. This time, Chief Scientist Tyngworg has not just one plan, but a back-up plan, and a back-up back-up plan worked out...

With the Doctor a prisoner on the Kraals' radiation-blasted home planet of Oseidon, only his companion Leela can save the day – alongside a most unlikely ally.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Time Travel, Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy

Audio CD

First published June 30, 2012

About the author

Alan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television. Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. Among other strips, Barnes originally commissioned The Simping Detective. He also wrote a handful of Judge Dredd stories involving alternate universes or featuring a young Dredd.

He worked for five years at Doctor Who Magazine and progressed from writing strips to becoming joint editor in 1998 and sole editor from 2000 until 2002. He subsequently contributed the ongoing Fact of Fiction series of articles to the magazine. Barnes has also written or co-written a number of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions.

He has written a number of books on cult films (including James Bond, Quentin Tarantino and Sherlock Holmes) and his book The Hammer Story, co-written with Marcus Hearn, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 1997.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had an interesting few twist and turns, and the big game between the Doctor and the master, sadly it wasn't as great as an end as i was hoping, BUT i still enjoyed it and found it funny at times and overall just enjoyed the whole sci-fi Doctor whoyiness of it all! Hahah which i don't think you can complain about.

[John Keegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wrapping up the first season of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, this also serves as the follow-up to the previous audiodrama, "Trail of the White Worm". It starts off as a bit similar to the plot of "The Avengers", of all things, before taking a bit of an unexpected turn. Sadly, the turn that it takes is a bit of a reminder of the limitations of audiodrama.

I'll refrain from too many spoilers once again, since it's more fun to see how the pieces fit together in terms of the overall continuity, but a large part of the story involves android copies of key characters. It also involves a series of feints and turnabouts, especially in the second half. The net effect is that there is a stretch of the story where it becomes difficult to keep track of who is real and who is a copy. And since the story hinges on keeping the truth close to vest, there are moments where the confusion is intentional.

It also serves as a bit of a sequel to "The Android Invasion". While that serial contains one of the more iconic moments of the Fourth Doctor era, the plot is an absolute mess. So the return of the Kraals is not exactly the most welcome turn of events. The story also involves UNIT, which makes sense given the callback to the previous story, but seems a bit dissonant, since UNIT is more closely associated (at least in my mind) with the Third Doctor. And the narrative gymnastics required to explain the absence of familiar UNIT characters is more sad than amusing.

Because the Fourth Doctor Adventures are set to return to this time period in its third season, arriving on digital shelves in 2014, there's little in the way of closure of any character arcs. Though Leela's "education" is more prominent a focus in these adventures than most of the actual Classic Who serials, it's clear that the Doctor's mission to civilize is ongoing by "Horror of Fang Rock". And thus, it's going to remain something of a pretext for how the Doctor and Leela enter into a situation, rather than a progressive story element. Which, while entertaining enough, does feel like a missed opportunity.

[Leila Anani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the sequel to the wonderful 'Trail of the White Worm' and picks up from the cliffhanger of The Master opening a wormhole to let in a hellish alien invasion.

Oh dear. What a let down! For inspiration this picks up themes from The Android Invasion (1975) The portal leads to Oseidon where a bunch of Kraal and their android minions invade - but it's all a ruse to divert the attention from the Master's real plans....

The plot is over-complicated with android doppelgangers all over the place and unmaskings worthy of Scooby-Doo. I could deal with that if it was a good story but sadly it's a bit lame - This is The Doctor and his nemesis the Master! - there's so much fodder here for wit, out manoeuvring each other and the Doctor showing off his intellect with a worthy opponent - I didn't feel that at all here. The Master's plot bored me and I just wasn't feeling the electricity between our two Timelords.

Trail of the White Worm was so good because of its source material - throwing in Hammer, Lair of the White Worm and adding the Doctor to make something new and exciting. There's no myth or literary references in the Oseidon Adventure - it's all Who, and Who at it's most alien - While it's true to cannon without the outside references it weakens audience connection somehow. This is hard sci-fi where as the better Who stuff is a hybrid of horror, drama, fantasy with SF elements.

Saying that it's not awful - as ever the cast do a decent job. I liked the voices of the Kraal and Baker goes without saying. I think i was most disappointed in The Master who wasn't nearly evil or insidious enough. The biggest highlight are the pop culture references - like the colonel's demands to shut down the BBC and abolish free school milk. And there's a comedy gem at the end where it's revealed that the horse that's been stolen by the Kraal is in fact Shergar. That made me giggle.

Overall though - meh. Sadly one of the weaker Tom Baker audios and such a let down after part 1.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poursuivant la trame narrative du dernier épisode, on retrouve le Docteur et Leela en pleine invasion Kraal. Invasion de courte durée puisque le plan du Master s'avère beaucoup plus compliqué que prévu.

Je vais être très honnête, le retournement de veste, la révélation qu'une personne n'est pas ce qu'elle prétend être réellement (un peu à la Scooby Doo ici) peut être intéressant une fois dans un récit, pas trois, quatre ou même cinq fois. Je ne dévoilerais pas l'intrigue, mais le récit semble non pas être articulé sur une même trame narrative, mais sur 4, 5 différentes qui se superpose comme si ça fournissait un retournement de situation intéressant plutôt que de nous ennuyer (y compris la fausse révélation un peu avant la fin, trop facile à deviner).

Ça aurait donc pu être un épisode assez intéressant si on ôte les milliers de revirement de situation, mais une dernière chose m'a encore fait tiquer.

Tout le monde passe son temps à traiter les autres de stupides et d'imbéciles. Ça marche bien un temps ou deux, surtout si le personnage le pense, mais rendu au point où ça en est dans le drame audio, on dirait du cabotinage d'écriture. Il y a d'autres moyens de faire comprendre qu'un individu se sent supérieur à d'autres qu'avec des insultes (ou encore, une fois est suffisante). Quand le drame audio au complet semble être rendu un concours d'injure, c'est aussi lassant.

Bref, un potentiel surexploité que l'écriture et le surjouage des personnages n'a pas aidé.

(Et pour en rajouter sur les répétitions, on commence à comprendre que le cheval aide à se déplacer plus vite et qu'il allait y avoir une "révélation" sur ce dernier à la fin, encore une fois, surjoué)

[Emma L.B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

... Okay so the first part of the story was better than this part, but it was still good! I went into this one full of interest and curiosity of what I was about to hear coming directly from Doctor Who: Trail of the White Worm. Unfortunately it didn't hold up my interest all the way through.

I really enjoy the idea of making robots/cyborgs (or whatever they were called) with the intellect and whatnot of their real person (especially with the suspenseful and funny meetings and interactions when you're not sure who's real and who's a robot!), but at the same time I really dislike it because it creates big loop holes and I'm not sure if they ever said anything about this mechanic only being available with these typical constructions or what not - But it still makes me all "b-but if you can do this, why not use it all the time!?" and I don't like having thoughts like that constantly popping up while I'm trying to listen and focus on the story.

The characters where great though, I loved them. I could picture them in front of me and their voice actors where great, all of them. I really missed the teenage girl and her friend though, what ever happened to them? Weren't those suppose to get help from UNIT? Did they succeed or not?

The Master is a bit foolish and stupid in this one, ironically that's just like I want him. I haven't thought of it before but the Master in the series (and by that I mean the original series, the original Master's from Classic Who) is a bit of an idiot. He thinks he's smarter than he actually is, just like the Doctor think's he's happier than he actually is... Now I made myself sad. The point is that this Master is much more interesting to follow and listen to than the modern version - who I just get "urrrrgh I'm a bad Disney villain!"-vibes from.

As a last note I must say that even though the Kraals aren't so interesting to me as a species, they were great fun in this one. They made me laugh several times which is always lovely.

Oh, and Tom Baker is amazing. Just amazing, and pure, and sweet. Yes. Love'im.

[Craig Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part two of a two parter and features some of the same characters as the previous story,

Leela: “The Second Kraal Army? What happened to the first?”
Doctor: “I’m rather afraid I did.”

The Master tries to hypnotise Leela, Who, Unlike Jo Grant with her psychological defences, just twats him.

This episode is so cool, so fun. Louise Jameson as Leela is wonderful. The guest stars from throughout Fourth and Fifth Doctor’s runs are in fine form as well. Highly recommended.

[John Parungao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continued from Trail of the White Worm and also a sequel to the classic adventure The Android Invasion. The Master has teamed up with the Kralls and has set his plan to renew his body in motion. There are plenty of twists and turns in this adventure as The Master's plan involves multiple android duplicates so you'll need to pay attention to follow the plot. Best parts of this story are the scenes between Leela and the Master, and the exchanges between the master and the Doctor.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audio play is actually the continuation of the story which began with Doctor Who: Trail of the White Worm. It is an fashion classic Who story, complete with the old nemesis The Master, voiced by veteran actor Geoffrey Beevers who originally played the role in “Keepers of Traken”.

[morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this one convoluted and hard to follow. these kinds of action/ adventure stories with multiple settings and lots of characters and battle /fight scenes not ideal for audio only format. hard to keep straight who is an android and who isn't (?). Not sure what happened to the worm lady from the previous story (?). Bit where the decayed Master riding on horseback seemed a bit much. Tom Baker though has some good moments.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the second half of a two-part story, I have reviewed this at the entry for Trail of the White Worm.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big finish are terrific. They make amazing stories. This is a follow up story. The Master is foiled by not just the Doctor, but by his own creations

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusion reigns with android Doctors and multiple android Masters . We find out what happened to Shergar . The Doctor and Leela defeat all the Masters and save the Earth again.

[Sara Habein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Enjoyed having the Master around to ham around with the Doctor.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved it when Leela slapped the master after he tries to hypnotise her and the double Master bluff. And a horse in the TARDIS! :)

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical doppelganger interactions.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot better than the last one. I thought the plot made more sense and was better put together. Overall, a good short story.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars - again good idea but just missed the mark on being something that had more weight or plot importance overall

[Plingsben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never watched the Doctor Who and the Android Invasion. I've seen pictures of Kraals but in audio they just come of as slightly incompetent Sontarans. The idea for there to be multiple fake masters is clever but not original.

During the CD extras Louise Jameson said"I love the twist of the android master turning on himself it's just such a clever thing to... I mean what kind of brain comes up with that, the whole thing about you can't absolutely be the person... the duplicate person because otherwise you wouldn't know that you were not the person and therefore you can't have full knowledge of the other person therefore you can't ever be a perfect duplicate. Does what sentance make any sense at all..."

The answer to that question is the late Phillip K Dick the inventor of the replicants, in his dystopian novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The story pinches a lot of its ideas from the novel while giving it a nice mix of 4th doctor and Leela magic.

For anyone who has not read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? it will probably be a nice listen and if you do want to read it but fear that this will not ruin the book don't fear, it does have plot and themes of its own.

[michelle+8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize that this was a continuation of The Trail of the White Worm, and I accidentally listened to them out of order. That was pretty badly done. Otherwise, meh. I didn't mind that it was a re-working of another story, because I hadn't seen the original anyway. There were at least a couple of parts that made me LOL.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Miss Zero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent conclusion to the first season of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. While the story has elements of previous stories from television, there is some neat and inventive stuff going on, like the inability to tell a clone from the real person. It was a nice twist and form of trickery I enjoyed. UNIT is in this, although it seems like they didn't really do a whole lot to contribute to the story.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Kraals were only featured one time in the original series . The question is, do we care enough about them to warrant their return? The voice acting, as usual , was great ! I kept thinking that the Kraal sounded like a Sontaran. Then, I realized that one of the voices was dan Starkey, a Sontaran on TV. In the interviews at the end, they talk about how they created the voice. But honestly, I didn't see much of a difference. It was enjoyable . But, not a great story .

[Shawn Deal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good in and of itself. The problem with this one comes right at the beginning. You are thrown into an adventure that has clearly already began with no explanation what so ever. So you take most of the time catching yourself up to where the adventure is. It would have been much better with some sort of introduction.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Android duplicates, galloping between planets on a stallion, and tyrannical nostalgia all add up to a fairly weak audio drama. I enjoyed this as only a reminisce of the Tom Baker era. It lacked innovation and surprise. The dialogue was only OK.

[Sidney McKidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was...COMPLICATED. There was plot twist after plot twist as the Master's really complicated plan was gradually revealed, and it was GOOD. I liked it. The army guy seemed a bit over-the-top, but it was fine.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might have been a two star, but the master copies problems, pink Gin, and Lela’s attempt to kill/maim or at least slap someone was to great a combination. The story itself was nicely paced as well if just a tiny bit complicated.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Kraal attempt to invade the Earth, while the Doctor is trapped on their irradiated home world, Oseidon.

[Paweł Dembowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another forgettable adventure. Big Finish should do more original stories instead of reusing old storylines and villains all over again.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor and Leela try to stop the Master from stealing a battery to jump his time machine.

[Christopher Hatch · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, certainly not fantastic.