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The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield #1

Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield

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A new five-disc box set featuring the adventures of archaeologist Bernice Summerfield and her friends the Doctor and Ace!

The Revolution by Nev Fountain

On the planet of Arviem 2, Bernice Summerfield has a lot of problems. Pursued by robots, maniacs and miracles, she has another issue to contend with. The Doctor's come looking for her – and he's not feeling himself.

Good Night, Sweet Ladies by Una McCormack

Bernice has come to the Moon of Adolin on a desperate mission. Instead, she finds an abandoned labyrinth, two confused survivors, and something ancient that needs her help.

Random Ghosts by Guy Adams

Welcome to the Forbidden World. This world has a secret. The problem is that no-one can remember what it is. Time is broken here. Those trapped here must live the same day over and over – forming alliances, lying to each other, trying to escape. Welcome to the Forbidden World.

The Lights of Skaro by James Goss

Bernice Summerfield is on Skaro, and she's very much on her own. The Doctor can't get to her, not this time. All Benny can do is stay alive for as long as possible. And, in a city full of Daleks, that's not going to be very long.

Audio CD

First published June 1, 2014

67 people want to read

About the author

Nev Fountain

52 books45 followers
Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain, is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme 'Dead Ringers'.

He is currently writing for Dead Ringers and the satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.

He has written three humorous murder-mystery novels, collectively called 'The Mervyn Stone Mysteries', and a serious thriller called 'Painkiller'.

His latest book, 'The Fan Who Knew Too Much' was released in July this year.

Nev was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire and now resides in Surrey.

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5 stars
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62 (50%)
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for April Mccaffrey.
573 reviews49 followers
October 20, 2018
I listened to this starting from the fourth story by accident but that was completely my fault as I didn't pay attention! But I very much loved this boxset and so great to see this side of Bernice and Ace as we all know they didn't exactly hit it off as friends when they first met but they still somewhat care for each other and that leaves so much to explore between the relationship of these two women as friends which is fantastic.

Story 1- A very funny insane story in which a planet gets created in order to create a theme bar. Now why does that sound something like Irving Braxiatel would do? Also-zombies. Benny seems to have a thing for Zombies.
Story 2- While looking for Ace, Bernice crash lands on a planet that is occupied by Daleks and we all know Benny hatred for Daleks.
Story 3- This was a weird story because it looped and cut and sometimes hard to follow. But in the end it shows that there is a link between the stories. Ace is great. Unfortunately Bernice and Ace end up waking up the City of Skaro. Bring on the Daleks and story 4.
Story 4- We find out that Ace let her emotions take over her actions again. She wants to totally destroy the Dalek Race. Does Bernice and the Doctor let her do it? Listen and find out. Great box set
Profile Image for Debra Cook.
2,050 reviews9 followers
January 21, 2016
Story 1- A very funny insane story in which a planet gets created in order to create a theme bar. WHAT????
Story 2- While looking for Ace, Bernice crash lands on a planet that is occupied by Daleks.
Story 3- This was a weird story because it looped and cut and sometimes hard to follow. But in the end it shows that there is a link between the stories. Ace is great. Unfortunately Bernice and Ace end up waking up the City of Skaro. Bring on the Daleks and story 4.
Story 4- We find out that Ace let her emotions take over her actions again. She wants to totally destroy the Dalek Race. Does Bernice and the Doctor let her do it? Listen and find out. Great box set.
Profile Image for Jamie Revell.
Author 5 books13 followers
July 14, 2018
For those unfamiliar with the character, Bernice Summerfield was the long-running companion of the Seventh Doctor in the licensed novels of the early ‘90s. She briefly appeared in a number of solo books after that, and it was the adaptation of some of those books to audio format that got Big Finish their start in the business, and led to them getting the Doctor Who license themselves. In the twenty or so years since then, she has appeared in a number of audio plays, but here returns to her roots in a four-part story that also features the Doctor.

Having said which, it’s important to note that this series does what it says on the tin: McCoy may have lead billing in the credits, and it’s his theme tune that’s used in the play, but this is Benny’s story. In fact, the Doctor is a fairly minor character, and absent for long stretches. Which is at is should be, given the title, but might not be what a listener might expect from the packaging.

The Revolution – The first episode is a comedy by the usually reliable Nev Fountain. Benny and the Doctor find themselves on a planet with a fanatical devotion to science (absent any ethical considerations, so far as one can tell). The Doctor is behaving erratically and far from his usual self, while Benny is pursued by the police for a crime against scientific orthodoxy. It comes across as trying to be Pythonesque, with exaggerated characters and mad situations, but unfortunately mainly succeeds at just being silly. It does all make sense in the end, and there are certainly some laughs along the way, but it doesn’t work as a whole. 3 stars.

Good Night, Sweet Ladies – Following up on the clues provided by the Doctor in the previous story, Benny tries to reach an archaeological ruin on a now-uninhabited moon. I found much of the story confusing, as Benny encounters a castaway and a mysterious stranger and tries to explore the ruin. I’m really not sure what was supposed to be going on here (and the bits I did follow would be spoilers) although Benny is well-written and adds some levity to the proceedings with her customary snark. What saves the episode is the closing segment, which, while it may not necessarily make any more sense, is a touching counterpoint to the comedy of the first episode, and an affecting use of Benny’s backstory. 3.5 stars.

Random Ghosts – Benny finds herself on an all-but abandoned planet trapped in a time loop. The set up is thus that of Groundhog Day, although with deadly 'ghosts' and, of course, a rather different resolution. However, unlike that film or (say) the Star Trek episode 'Cause & Effect', the story is not told sequentially, but as a series of 'found footage' clips edited together thematically by a computer. So, for example, scenes that elucidate the relationship between two characters will be played together, regardless of where they occur within the loop. This works rather better than one might think, although it's certainly something you'd want to pay close attention to. 4 stars.

The Lights of Skaro - The last episode is the strongest of the four, as the action moves to Skaro, in a story that brings in elements of various past Dalek stories from the TV series. What really raises it above most other stories of its type is the examination of Dalek history and how they have changed over the years (both out-of-world and in-world). In particular, we get some explanation of how things look from their perspective, and some reflections on what passes for their culture and psychology. There's also some great characterisation of Ace, and overall, something that feels very much like a tribute to the New Adventures novels that first introduced Benny. 5 stars.
129 reviews1 follower
October 9, 2019
Huh. I thought I'd written a review for the first story in here when I listened to it in the Big Finish Youtube livestream a couple of months ago. Oh well.

The Revolution: A weird, fairly lighthearted story featuring Benny, a somewhat-out-of-it Doctor, some random guy and a planet that's very strictly science. It's a standalone, and only ties in to the arc the rest of the stories are in at the very, very, very end. Last couple of sentences, I think. (For some reason I didn't re-listen to this when I borrowed the CD boxset, so it's been a couple of months, okay?)

Good Night, Sweet Ladies: I'm...not sure how to quantify this one. It was interesting, for sure, with a mysterious cathedral, a mysterious (!) old woman and also some guy who was completely useless and probably just there so Benny wouldn't have to talk to herself for us to know what was going on. Deals with abandonment issues, I guess.

Random Ghosts: A friend of mine told me about this movie where a woman has amnesia so that she can't form new long-term memories? So like, each new day, as far as she's concerned, is the same one. She watches The Sixth Sense a lot or something, I don't know, I haven't seen it. At the end of the film she's worked out a thing where when she wakes up there's an introductory video, basically, that tells her what's going on. I don't know. Anyway, this story is a lot like that, except everyone there has introductory videos and they're actually working towards a goal, at least one each, and people keep doctoring footage and also they're trying not to die. The story's relayed through a series of "thematically related" clips from different versions of the day, which by and large works, and the ending is good.

The Lights of Skaro: This meandered a bit. It kind of attempted to wax philosophical about the Dalek condition, which was sometimes really fascinating and sometimes just kind of whatever. Still not really sure if it worked. Also: Benny wandering around a city that she knows to be full of murder cyborg whatevers does not seem super in-character????, although I guess it makes for more interesting viewing than her going "oh! guess I'll just wait around", which admittedly also wouldn't be in character for her. I don't know. See, this is what I was talking about when I said I wasn't sure if the story worked.
Profile Image for Luke Sims-Jenkins.
144 reviews2 followers
February 20, 2019
As a lover of the New Adventure novels (the NA's) this was a no brainer for me to buy when it came up recently in a Big Finish sale. The sad thing is that while i was and am a huge Bernice fan, I haven't really listened to her audio stuff. Something I was glad to rectify with this set.

As for the stories, I like the latter two more than the first two.

The Revolution, by Nev Fountain, is a hilarious story, light and fun with many twists and turns. I found myself smiling throughout this one.

Good Night, Sweet Ladies, by Una McCormack, didn't quite work for me. Its a good story and well acted, but the ending I didn't buy it too much.

Random Ghosts, by Guy Adams, is 5 stars for me. I love Groundhog Day-esque stories and this one had a neat twist. I was hooked! that cliffhanger too wow.

The Lights of Skaro, by James Goss, keeps the high quality and the momentum from the previous story and builds on it. A truly wonderful in depth look at the Daleks which I found equally fascinating, sad and touching.

So this easily could have been 5 stars, but the first two stories (in particular the 2nd one) whilst good, are not as fantastic as Ghosts and Skaro.
Profile Image for Steven Poore.
Author 22 books102 followers
June 22, 2024
On the one hand, focusing away from the Doctor himself gives this boxset a fresh bounce - and who doesn't want adventures focusing on the affably snarky Bernice Summerfield? Benny's presence generally helps to root stories in the relative here and now, usually with some historical or archaeological aspect to the plot. Things don't have to get too timey-wimey, as they tend to do with the Seventh Doctor's shenanigans.

Except that this time out the best story in the set *is* the timey-wimey one. Nev Fountain's The Revolution opens proceedings with a typically Fountain-esque romp, occasionally touching base with seriousness and academia but generally running with the snark. Una McCormack's Good Night, Sweet Ladies on the other hand, tries too hard to get into Benny's psyche and - for me, at least - ends up being underwhelming. I'm disappointed in myself for not liking it more.

And so to Random Ghosts, by Guy Adams. Heck, that's good. Making full use of the audio format,
Profile Image for Josh.
112 reviews2 followers
July 21, 2020
As a new listener to the Bernice Summerfield range, I absolutely adored this set! She's such a complex character and I love her relationship with Seven and Ace. Definitely can't wait to give the next boxset a listen!
Profile Image for Jurgen.
242 reviews38 followers
May 1, 2023
1.1 'The Revolution' by Nev Fountain: 3*
1.2 'Good Night, Sweet Ladies' by Una McCormack: 4*
1.3 'Random Ghosts' by Guy Adams: 2*
1.4 'The Lights of Skaro' by James Goss: 4*
Profile Image for Lucy.
73 reviews
July 21, 2023
The Revolution *****
Good Night, Sweet Ladies ***
Random Ghosts ****
The Lights of Skaro ***
Profile Image for Danny Welch.
1,407 reviews
October 11, 2022
So I've been listening to The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield range recently and I've been absolutely loving it, however, the reason why it took me so long to continue the range is that initially when I was much younger in 2015 detested it, just wasn't for me. However, I have decided now to give it a second chance before I continue with the range!

The Revolution:
Nev Fountain has written an incredibly stupid yet clever little tale that is absolutely hilarious from start to finish, from Benny's drinking habits, scientific yet easily tricked robots, a mentally confused Doctor, plenty of mature and nasty humor, and a very bizarre villain with an insane plan that only Nev Fountain could have come up with!

The highlight of this story was by far the performances from Sylvester McCoy and Lisa Bowerman who manage to show off their comedic talent magnificently! 8/10

Good Night, Sweet Ladies:
Una McCormack is a writer I'm really growing to admire, she has written a very atmospheric and creepy labyrinth story set on a moon with a ghost from the past and a Dalek in its maze, and as we all know Bernice Summerfield hates Daleks, something that is heavily touched upon in this story with its heartbreaking ending. It's a really solid and fast-paced script, nothing mind-blowing but the ending more than makes up for it! 8/10

Random Ghosts:
Guy Adams has written by far one of the best and most experimental stories of this range, it really has the vibes of an early monthly range story with its maturity and on top of that, it reminds me of Creatures of Beauty except a lot more scatterbrained. On a forbidden planet where time is wrong, a bunch of survivors including Ace and Bernice only have footage to remember what happened, but the footage can be distorted and lies can be told.

This is an incredibly clever audio drama that is masterfully pieced together by Scott Handcock whose skills as a director are greatly highlighted here. It also ends on a banging cliffhanger, whilst given away by the lack of thought for the finale's title is still very intense! 10/10

The Lights of Skaro:
On my initial listen this was the one I really disliked, it just wasn't my thing when I was 14 years old and admittedly I was a little confused. But I'm so glad I gave it another go!

James Goss has written an incredible finale to this box set that ties everything up beautifully, whilst exploring Dalek History with a cameo or two. The story deals with Bernice Summerfield's long history and hatred of the diabolical monsters, coming to terms with what they are and understanding what made them who they are. It also deals with Ace's frustration and fear of The Daleks and how much they've taken away from her. But also it tackles the idea of how The Doctor blames himself for The Daleks merely existing.

Goss has built a brilliant story from the foundations of Random Ghosts and given us a masterful story that takes more of a character drama angle to a Dalek story where their history is in flux. I can kind of understand why I didn't like this on my first listen but 14-year-old me honestly deserves a slap in the face. 10/10

Overall: I am so glad I revisited this set, I was a tad worried it would be just as disappointing as I remembered it being. But it's so much more than that, it's an exceptional release that tackles interesting themes to do with The Daleks whilst also showing plenty of humor and maturity. 36/40
Profile Image for Anne Barwell.
Author 23 books107 followers
August 15, 2014
This 'reads' more as a Benny boxset than a Doctor one but as a fan of the Benny stories, I rather liked that about it. The stories link together in an arc, and covers a range of genres, the first one having its focus more on comedy and rest getting darker as the set progresses.

Benny and The Doctor play off each other well, as do Benny and Ace, and this set also gives a different take on the Daleks which I really liked. I always liked this TARDIS team in the Virgin books and hope BF does more with them.

I would like to see more of a crossover between the Benny and 7th Dr ranges in BF with some of the Benny regulars making an appearance.
Profile Image for ani.
52 reviews4 followers
July 12, 2014
An excellent box set of stories which are strong independently and very good as a story arc.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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