Doctor Who: Memory Lane

Big Finish: Monthly Range #88

by Eddie Robson, Paul McGann (Performer)

No summer can ever quite be as glorious as the ones you remember from when you were young, when a sunny afternoon seemed to last forever and all there was to do was ride your bike, eat ice-lollies and play with Lego. Tom Braudy is enjoying just such an afternoon when the TARDIS lands in his Nan's living room and interrupts her in the middle of the snooker.

After they've apologised, the Doctor and his friends soon discover matters of far greater concern than the fact that their time machine is blocking Mrs Braudy's view of a thrilling century break. The street which Tom happily cycles up and down appears to have no beginning or end, and every single house on it is identical.

Is this the future of suburbia, or something even more sinister? Why doesn't Tom look as young as he behaves? And can anybody remember which house the TARDIS is in?

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

Audio CD

First published October 31, 2006

About the author

Eddie Robson is a comedy and science fiction writer best known for his sitcom Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully and his work on a variety of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who. He has written books, comics and short stories, and has worked as a freelance journalist for various science fiction magazines. He is married to a female academic and lives in Lancaster.

Robson's comedy writing career began in 2008 with material for Look Away Now. Since then his work has featured on That Mitchell and Webb Sound, Tilt, Play and Record, Newsjack, Recorded For Training Purposes and The Headset Set. The pilot episode of his sitcom Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 5th July 2012. It starred Katherine Parkinson and Julian Rhind-Tutt.

His Doctor Who work includes the BBC 7 radio plays Phobos, Human Resources and Grand Theft Cosmos, the CD releases Memory Lane, The Condemned, The Raincloud Man and The Eight Truths, and several short stories for Big Finish's Doctor Who anthologies, Short Trips. He has contributed comic strips to Doctor Who Adventures.

Between 2007 and 2009, Robson was the producer of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of products, and has contributed four audio plays to the series. He has also written books on film noir and the Coen Brothers for Virgin Publishing, the Doctor Who episode guide Who's Next with co-authors Mark Clapham and Jim Smith, and an illustrated adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Reviews

[Nicholas Whyte]

At one point in Memory Lane, C'rizz complains with some reason that he, Eight and Charley have been landing in a lot of prisons lately, as the eponymous lane turns out to be yet another one. It isn't as threatening as some, but it is definitely rather weird, with its prisoners believing themselves happy and usually back in their childhood (which gives an excuse to bring back Anneke Wills as Charley's mother). I wasn't completely satisfied by the explanation of the means and motivation of the imprisoning entities, but the cast just about manage to make it work.

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

2018 52 Book Challenge - 51) A Book With Food On The Cover

I enjoyed this audiobook. I think the premise was just different enough to excuse having two prison stories in a row - even if the characters make it meta by talking about this fact - and the thought of the TARDIS getting kidnapped by an ice cream van is pretty hilarious.

I also liked the snooker involved. I too have watched many matches between O'Sullivan and Williams and been glued to the edge of my seat with a cup of tea, and may not have noticed the arrival of a TARDIS until it blocked the screen. That last bit may just be wishful thinking.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun!

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was interesting. I liked getting to see interactions between Charley and her mother.

[Xander Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part One is incredible. I say this a lot and have done recently with my review for Time Works, but I have a real fondness for exploratory Doctor Who episodes with no real stakes, something Part One of this does perfectly. The mystery, and surrealness of the imagery of the location is on display, and its just a really effective and engaging piece. Parts Two and Three weren't as good but were still very fun to listen to - the plot was interesting enough that it held my attention, and I especially liked the more focus on C'rizz, seeing as its his penultimate story. He's such an interesting character, and its a shame that so little of the plots focus on him, preferring Eight and Charley instead. Part Four picked up the plot again, giving some really interesting situations - Charley in her childhood home and the Doctor trapped in the most by-the-numbers Doctor Who story as his dream scenario, it was fun to listen to, and I enjoyed hearing India Fisher and Conrad Westmaas playing the predictable companions.

Just some really fun stuff, and its a shame its so close to the end of this specific era of Eighth Doctor audios.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was lots of fun. Evil suburban nightmare that you get trapped in to make everything happy. And a wonderful surprise cameo by Anneke Wills. (I do love Lady Louisa!) The only thing I didn't quite understand was why the sexist references? Why are space legos only for boys? At least he was challenged on it but it felt unnecessary. (As a girl who had space lego but not as much as she wanted as her mother thought it was "for boys" very annoying!). Interesting and different and there were some absolutely wonderful one liners in this. Definitely glad I picked it up in the sale.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. A tightly scripted ontological puzzle that starts small and well-formed before expanding into something bigger and ever more intriguing. The entire cast is on point here, particularly C'Rizz as he begins to assert his own personality over events. The audio design makes you really feel like you're in the environments described and entire narrative is easy to follow and engaging from beginning to end.

Along with Chimes of Midnight and Scherzo, Memory Lane is an exemplar of the best of the Eight Doctor's monthly series run.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writers of the Eighth Doctor main range stories definitely knew how to set the tone. They knew what kinds of stories were the most thematically appropriate for this incarnation, and this one is no exception.

However, compared to "Time Works" and "Something Inside", "Memory Lane" pales. I found the story to be quite sub par to be honest, and the presentation was probably one of the least audio-friendly scripts ever.

The world building is just not here. Even for a setting which is the same house repeated along a street forever, it's surprising how hard it is to imagine so much of this story. Kim's gun, the alien villain Argot, the "Led Zeppelin", the ship inside the attic, the layout of the house itself, the promenade - I couldn't tell you anything about how these scenes ought to look because there's literally zero description in the dialogue.

Also like previous Eighth Doctor stories, this one falls into the same predictable pattern of a promising and intriguing opening which loses itself towards the middle of the story and then gets just plain confusing towards the end and gets wrapped up in a rather silly way.

The stuff on the promenade was weird and confusing too. Especially given how it appears once or twice and then it has nothing to do with the actual climax.

I'd rather this whole thing had just been confined to the infinite street as some experimental audio, rather than turned into a generic 'bad guy in control and doing bad thing!' set-up.

And sadly as well, the cover art doesn't actually happen in this story, which is upsetting because it looks really cool. I get why they went with that, but it's definitely more of an abstract representation of the story.

[Reggie A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about the ending but generally this was one of my favorites of this late stage of Eight’s early run. There are some fun absurdities on display!

I particularly love the way the script twists to make sure the listener has a very clear idea of the setting. The sounds and the sights were easy to conjure in my mind, which was to the benefit of this story’s concept.

Without spoiling, I found the ending’s reveal very fun, but I don’t necessarily love how it was handled. For what it was, it was fine.

This is definitely one of the easiest listens of the latter third of Eight’s pre-Adventures run. It’s weird and a lot of fun and confusingly memorable.

[SuperPiggy5000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a great audio! I'd listened to the first episode before, so it took a bit to get into, but solid. Good acting and some interesting concepts. I wonder though if this was a leftover script from the Divergent Universe Arc, it feels like one of those stories

(Disclaimer: I'm writing this right after finishing listening, so I haven't sorted out my thought on it yet, may come back and update this review later.)

[H.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a decent audio but had some of the same tropes as usual with the other audios. Kind of convoluted, but it was nice to see Charley interact with a "version" of her mom again. This was a little lighter in tone than the previous one, which I think helped me enjoy it more. C'rizz and Kim bickering was kind of amusing.

[luckey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay now this is a really funny classic episode of Doctor Who that hits so good on audibook. This prison concept is so much better than the last one. the trios chemistry is amazing and Im so happy 8 is back to being sassy af. missed my Victorian twink

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the more underrated 8th Doctor stories. This does feel like Holy Terror with an 8th Doctor coat of paint but that's not a bad thing. Not as emotional as Holy Terror but the unique setting makes this story stand out.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fun, but there were moments where I was confused. Particularly at the end.

[Finn Chamberlain-Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't mind it but I clocked out a bit by the end so when it ended I kinda woke up confused.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept and overall good, but the ending was meh

[Plingsben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind fuck this one

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

More about memory, so I hope this eventually leads to some sort of conclusion.

[elise barber-wixtrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

"what are you offering?"
"an assortment of frozen confectionery!"

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You should never turn down tea when it's offered. It's impolite, and impoliteness is how wars start."

[Devin Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memory Lane made me nervous as it seemed like it was going to be similar to Something Inside in the sense of "lost in maze (of sorts) and trying to find our way out" and that the TARDIS team would just be wandering around until they found out how to leave, and while it did have that to it, it was pulled off well in a much more interesting way than Something Inside. I don't want to give too much away but it is quite entertaining and the relationships between the members of the TARDIS and the people they meet in the audio can go from hilarious to quite tedious but all the while, very well done. The only reason I took away a star was that I felt the ending was quite abrupt and boring, though I certainly did not expect it. (Also I misread that the last episode was longer than it actually was, so when I got to the ending I expected something to cause them to keep going, or not be successful). Still, I would definitely recommend it, not the best Eighth Doctor Audio, but certainly a wonderful one!

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Eighth Doctor, Charley Pollard and C'rizz arrive in a suburban street which appears to be endless, and every house on it is identical. When they lose track of which house the TARDIS is in, the need to escape from this humdrum hell — and to discover its true purpose — becomes more pressing. It has something to do with an ice-cream van and a lost astronaut...and a prison for someone who has done nothing wrong.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the plus side, the setting for this starts out suitably weird, simultaneously vast in size, and yet utterly claustrophobic. There's also some good use of Charley's background later on. Unfortunately, the explanation for what's going on is basically rather silly, and this badly lets the play down when it's taken as a whole. There are good scenes, certainly, but the overall story doesn't work as well as it should.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10
Verdict: Recommended

Really cool setting and story telling. Loved the unfolding mystery, which I wish lasted a bit longer. The story feels like it's too quick to explain everything, which leads to the middle section feeling a bit aimless. The resolution also felt a bit too fast, which wasn't helped with the end appearing to be longer than it actually is due to 20 mins of ads.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor, Charley and C'rizz land on a planet that keeps being reset and people have memory problems. There was a crash on the planet but none knows who they are or how long ago this happened. Can the doctor get the answers.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

ターディスが着地したところがミセス・ブラウディのリビングルームで、一旦家の外に出ると同じような家が立ち並び、どの扉を開けてもミセス・ブラウディがいるけれどターディスが着地した家ではないというので探し回るのはミステリアスで面白かったと思うのだけれども、これがチャーリーとケリスと8thの最後の冒険になると思うので、何というか何かチャーリーやケリスに絡んできたり、実はドクターが監獄の中で見ている夢オチなのかとおも思ったけれどもそういうわけではなかったので、ちょっと拍子抜けしてしまった。

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's the most ruthless thing in a bakery?

Attila the Bun!

[Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting adventure through memory and imagination with Eight, Charley and C'rizz.