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The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield #2
Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, Vol. 2: The Triumph of Sutekh
1) The Pyramid of Sutekh by Guy Adams
Professor Bernice Summerfield, archaeologist and adventurer, has discovered a Pyramid on Mars. Inside she finds her old friend the Doctor is fighting a battle with the Osiran God Sutekh. One he is losing.
2) The Vaults of Osiris by Justin Richards
Egypt in 2015 is an unsettled place. The trade in stolen antiquities is a murky one, and it's about to get a whole lot worse, as an ancient and terrible force enters the market.
3) The Eye of Horus by James Goss
Ancient Egypt is enjoying a golden age - peace, prosperity and a powerful Pharaoh. But something is moving through the sands. A forgotten god requests an invite to the feast.
4) The Tears of Isis by Una McCormack
Russell Courtland prophesied the world would end on Tuesday. No-one was more surprised than he was when it did.
Professor Bernice Summerfield, archaeologist and adventurer, has discovered a Pyramid on Mars. Inside she finds her old friend the Doctor is fighting a battle with the Osiran God Sutekh. One he is losing.
2) The Vaults of Osiris by Justin Richards
Egypt in 2015 is an unsettled place. The trade in stolen antiquities is a murky one, and it's about to get a whole lot worse, as an ancient and terrible force enters the market.
3) The Eye of Horus by James Goss
Ancient Egypt is enjoying a golden age - peace, prosperity and a powerful Pharaoh. But something is moving through the sands. A forgotten god requests an invite to the feast.
4) The Tears of Isis by Una McCormack
Russell Courtland prophesied the world would end on Tuesday. No-one was more surprised than he was when it did.
Audio CD
First published June 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 16, 2015
I LOVED this! One of the best Benny adventures in YEARS! If not ever. It was WONDERFUL to have her being an archaeologist and having some Egyptian adventures where she got to use her skills. It was lovely hearing her with the doctor and Ace again. The pyramid of Sutek was claustrophobic and funny with the killer robots (who were adorable). The vault of Osiris was interesting with the modern day perspective, something one doesn't get a lot of in Benny stories, and it was great to have her have a whole adventure with Ace. Eye of Horus was a nice trip down to ancient Egypt, with Egypts only woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut! Not to mention Benny as Hathor, really the god of beer is definitely in her portfolio. The last adventure the Tears of Isis was brilliant, wonderful funny lines, moving bits, the end of the world AND the Temple of Set! I mean the Temple of Sutekh!
Perfect Benny adventures all round!!!
Perfect Benny adventures all round!!!
July 29, 2024
Though a meetup between errant archaeologist Bernice Summerfield and Martian godlike alien Sutekh was in hindsight an obvious match, it doesn't spread itself too well across an entire boxset of stories. And as ever with the Seventh Doctor involved, everything gets just a little too timey-wimey and Time's Champion-ey for the more casual listener (me, at the wheel) to keep in focus. The final episode goes for a touch of Sapphire & Steel, and I have to admit I had just about given up on the Set (aha) by that point. A shame.
July 5, 2015
Sarà stata la presenza di Sutekh, mai dimenticato villain dell'era di Tom Baker, sarà stata l'innegabile verve e presenza scenica di Lisa Bowerman... ma l'ascolto del secondo volume delle avventure di Bernice Summerfield è letteralmente volato.
La presenza del Dottore (nell'incarnazione di Sylvester McCoy) e di Ace (Sophie Aldred) è stata tuttaltro che accessoria e l'intreccio delle quattro storie si è rivelato intricato ma perfetto.
Uno spin-off da non perdere.
La presenza del Dottore (nell'incarnazione di Sylvester McCoy) e di Ace (Sophie Aldred) è stata tuttaltro che accessoria e l'intreccio delle quattro storie si è rivelato intricato ma perfetto.
Uno spin-off da non perdere.
January 21, 2016
2.1 Benny is digging on Mars and discovers a pyramid. When she opens it she finds the Doctor possessed by the God Sutekh. A battle insures between Benny and Sutekh in which Sutekh gains body form again and disappears. 2.2 Benny and Ace go back to the tomb of Osiris to get the Eye of Horus. 2.3 Benny and the Doctor end up in Egypt in the past to search for and battle Sutekh. 2.4 The Doctor, Benny and Ace race through time to stop Sutekh from destroying the world.
March 4, 2019
This second offering in the New Adventures series, this has no particular connection to the first and is instead, as the subtitle makes clear, a sequel to the popular TV story Pyramids of Mars. It’s also more of a single story than its predecessor, even though the four hour-long episodes are each written by a different author and follow the usual format of each being set in a different time and place. A key similarity, of course, is that this remains a Bernice Summerfield story in which the Doctor happens to appear from time to time, even though it’s McCoy, rather than Bowerman, who gets key billing in the credits.
The story kicks into high drama almost immediately, in an episode set entirely inside a Martian pyramid, with Bernice struggling to contain a situation that’s spiralling rapidly out of control. It’s a good use of a limited cast, alternating between Bernice and shorter scenes featuring the Doctor, with Gabriel Woolf providing a great sense of menace as Sutekh. While this episode has, in part, an Indiana Jones feel, the second is more of a heist story, as Bernice and Ace try to liberate a key Osiran artefact from the thieves who have taken it. There are plenty of twists and a fair amount of action along the way to the mid-story cliffhanger.
From here, we head to Ancient Egypt and the reign of female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. This segment is detailed and well-written, taking full advantage of the fact that there is much we don’t know about historical events in the fifteenth century BC. (For what it’s worth, one of the characters is apparently the grandfather of 5th Doctor audio companion Erimem, but, since he’s a real historical figure, it’s not clear that anyone on the writing team joined the dots… either way, it’s not relevant to the plot).
A nice twist is that the final section of the story is set in the post-apocalyptic world that we glimpse so briefly in Pyramids of Mars. This, of course, also justifies the title of the overall story – this is what would happen if Sutekh did, indeed, triumph. Perhaps even more so than the opening episode, this has the feel of a battle against overwhelming odds and the resolution, when it comes, has nods to another TV story as well.
This is, perhaps, darker fare than the sort we usually get with Benny, although not uniquely so. At times, her customary dry wit is curtailed by her (and the world’s) obvious peril, but this only adds to the tension. Plus, she actually gets to do archaeology! It helps, of course, that Woolf has the absolutely perfect voice for audio, still undimmed 40 years on from his TV appearance. Despite the four radically different settings, it fits together as a single story rather better than its predecessor and just about nudges into five-star territory.
The story kicks into high drama almost immediately, in an episode set entirely inside a Martian pyramid, with Bernice struggling to contain a situation that’s spiralling rapidly out of control. It’s a good use of a limited cast, alternating between Bernice and shorter scenes featuring the Doctor, with Gabriel Woolf providing a great sense of menace as Sutekh. While this episode has, in part, an Indiana Jones feel, the second is more of a heist story, as Bernice and Ace try to liberate a key Osiran artefact from the thieves who have taken it. There are plenty of twists and a fair amount of action along the way to the mid-story cliffhanger.
From here, we head to Ancient Egypt and the reign of female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. This segment is detailed and well-written, taking full advantage of the fact that there is much we don’t know about historical events in the fifteenth century BC. (For what it’s worth, one of the characters is apparently the grandfather of 5th Doctor audio companion Erimem, but, since he’s a real historical figure, it’s not clear that anyone on the writing team joined the dots… either way, it’s not relevant to the plot).
A nice twist is that the final section of the story is set in the post-apocalyptic world that we glimpse so briefly in Pyramids of Mars. This, of course, also justifies the title of the overall story – this is what would happen if Sutekh did, indeed, triumph. Perhaps even more so than the opening episode, this has the feel of a battle against overwhelming odds and the resolution, when it comes, has nods to another TV story as well.
This is, perhaps, darker fare than the sort we usually get with Benny, although not uniquely so. At times, her customary dry wit is curtailed by her (and the world’s) obvious peril, but this only adds to the tension. Plus, she actually gets to do archaeology! It helps, of course, that Woolf has the absolutely perfect voice for audio, still undimmed 40 years on from his TV appearance. Despite the four radically different settings, it fits together as a single story rather better than its predecessor and just about nudges into five-star territory.
September 24, 2022
So a long time ago I attempted to start listening to this set but after really not enjoying the first box set and feeling extremely underwhelmed, I was a little put out on listening to this, so I basically gave up and left it until a further date. Now fast forward about 6-7 years later and I'm finally deciding to finish this set once and for all.
The Pyramid of Sutekh:
I wasn't exactly keen on this story upon first listening, but now I've had a chance to experience it again, it's absolutely brilliant. Very creepy and atmospheric stuff to be found here with plenty of tension, high stakes, and gruesome imagery. Sylvester McCoy and Gabriel Woolf are equally terrifying in this, but Lisa Bowerman absolutely gives it her all in this as well, seeing Bernice hopeless and desperate to try and stop Sutekh from coming back to life is a harrowing experience and the last few moments of this story will leave your jaw hanging! 10/10
The Vaults of Osiris:
Justin Richards for the first and only time in this range has taken the writing mantle to tell an exciting modern-day heist story in Egypt, of smugglers, gods from the dawn of the time, the banter between Ace and Bernice as they try to help out The Doctor on what appears to be another one of his grand masterplans and to finally find out answers. This was a really fun action-packed continuation of the set, with a bloody good cliffhanger! 9/10
The Eye of Horus:
So now we have the setup of the finale, ancient Egypt, high stakes, The Doctor engaged, Sutekh manipulating history to fit with his grand plan, and one of the best cliffhangers Big Finish has ever given us. But despite the occasional darkness and bleakness this story maintains, it's at times very funny with a superb sense of wit. James Goss has written a terrific script that is oozing with brilliance and fantastically sets up what's to come with the finale! 10/10
The Tears of Isis:
So now we're here at the finale written by Una McCormack, admittedly I was a little worried about this one simply because it had so much to live up to with the other installments. But this is a fantastic way to conclude an overarching story, set on an Earth that's been wiped out by the hands of Sutekh and the few remaining survivors being his creepy cultists staying in an old holiday home. Seeing Sutekh's plan come to fruition is both exhilarating and terrifying, but it's amazing to realize just how clever The Doctor's master plan has been in this set, cold but clever. 10/10
Overall: This set has been nothing short of incredible. It does something very timey-wimey, complicated but unique with one of the finest villains Classic Who has to offer! 39/40
The Pyramid of Sutekh:
I wasn't exactly keen on this story upon first listening, but now I've had a chance to experience it again, it's absolutely brilliant. Very creepy and atmospheric stuff to be found here with plenty of tension, high stakes, and gruesome imagery. Sylvester McCoy and Gabriel Woolf are equally terrifying in this, but Lisa Bowerman absolutely gives it her all in this as well, seeing Bernice hopeless and desperate to try and stop Sutekh from coming back to life is a harrowing experience and the last few moments of this story will leave your jaw hanging! 10/10
The Vaults of Osiris:
Justin Richards for the first and only time in this range has taken the writing mantle to tell an exciting modern-day heist story in Egypt, of smugglers, gods from the dawn of the time, the banter between Ace and Bernice as they try to help out The Doctor on what appears to be another one of his grand masterplans and to finally find out answers. This was a really fun action-packed continuation of the set, with a bloody good cliffhanger! 9/10
The Eye of Horus:
So now we have the setup of the finale, ancient Egypt, high stakes, The Doctor engaged, Sutekh manipulating history to fit with his grand plan, and one of the best cliffhangers Big Finish has ever given us. But despite the occasional darkness and bleakness this story maintains, it's at times very funny with a superb sense of wit. James Goss has written a terrific script that is oozing with brilliance and fantastically sets up what's to come with the finale! 10/10
The Tears of Isis:
So now we're here at the finale written by Una McCormack, admittedly I was a little worried about this one simply because it had so much to live up to with the other installments. But this is a fantastic way to conclude an overarching story, set on an Earth that's been wiped out by the hands of Sutekh and the few remaining survivors being his creepy cultists staying in an old holiday home. Seeing Sutekh's plan come to fruition is both exhilarating and terrifying, but it's amazing to realize just how clever The Doctor's master plan has been in this set, cold but clever. 10/10
Overall: This set has been nothing short of incredible. It does something very timey-wimey, complicated but unique with one of the finest villains Classic Who has to offer! 39/40
December 10, 2019
I dunno. This followed the standard scheme of "turns out the entire thing was the Doctor's plan all along", complete with a "dang Doctor sometimes I wonder if you're any better than the guy you just defeated". And sometimes that works? Didn't this time, though. Also the Osirans were weird and didn't 100% make sense. Ace and Benny had cool character interaction, and the first episode was really good.
But yeah the ending was weird and the third part was weird and the revelation that the entire thing was the Doctor's plan didn't entirely make sense and yeah.
But yeah the ending was weird and the third part was weird and the revelation that the entire thing was the Doctor's plan didn't entirely make sense and yeah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2023
The Pyramid of Sutekh ***
The Vaults of Osiris ***
The Eye of Horus ***
The Tears of Isis ***
Let's be honest, every single Sutekh story since Pyramids of Mars has been a flop. Unfortunately this boxset is the same. Entertaining in places and as always, even the worst Benny stories are carried by the strength of her as a character, but sadly mediocre overall.
The Vaults of Osiris ***
The Eye of Horus ***
The Tears of Isis ***
Let's be honest, every single Sutekh story since Pyramids of Mars has been a flop. Unfortunately this boxset is the same. Entertaining in places and as always, even the worst Benny stories are carried by the strength of her as a character, but sadly mediocre overall.
May 3, 2022
I came to this set for the sultry tones of Gabriel Woolf and I was not disappointed.
June 21, 2024
I think I enjoyed this a little bit more than the Fourth Doctor Adventures audios that included Sutekh. The acting certainly gets intense here. Very ambitious.
June 23, 2024
A very solid set of stories with Benny, the Seventh Doctor, and a little bit of Ace.
October 23, 2018
Really enjoyed this boxset! Written by a unique range of writers and as one who loves mythology and legends, this really peaked my interests!
Gabriel Woolf is absolutely fantastic and it was as though he never truly left the role as Sutekh from the Pyramids of Mars all those years ago. He just seemed to have slipped right back into his skin (excuse the metaphor :P ) and his voice was an absolute delight to listen to! Certainly got a lovely voice to listen to even when he is playing the God of Death!
The Pyramid of Sutekh- Benny is running late for Peter's wedding and she is absolutely terrified of being in Sutekh lair. She has a Robot mummy on her side which takes up her ex and rather dead husband voice. But when she reunites with the Doctor, it's not him that comes to her rescue but Ace.
The Vaults of Osiris- An Egyptian heist, a robbery to steal Osiris, the only key to perhaps destroying the god of death. Isis is being very mischievous and it is fun to see Benny, Ace and Isis working as an undercover gang of sorts to stop it all.
The Eye of Horus-Perhaps my absolute favourite out of all of them! Benny was pronounced as the Goddess of Beer and if that didn't suit her, I don't know what else did! (Should have been announced as the Queen of beer AND Sass though). James Goss has got to be one of my favourite writers within the big finish world as each story I listen to written by him, does not fail to disappoint. The Doctor was being in the dark and treating Benny rather unfairly and the fate of poor Hatshepsut was really tragic but it was lovely to see that the Doctor may have perhaps really did care for her. So much he was willing to be her Queen.
The Tears of Isis-Really dark and grim. But the 7th Doctor, as manipulative and as secretive as he may be, is always one step ahead of everyone (except Braxiatel...), even the God of Death and to see him out manoeuvred Sutekh was really satisfying.
I really hope to see Gabriel Woolf return in more works. He has such a fantastic voice and this boxset showed that and great character developments. It was also fantastic to see Ace starting to care for Benny and as Benny was chasing Ace in the first boxset of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, this time it's Ace chasing Benny.
5/5. Would recommend!
Gabriel Woolf is absolutely fantastic and it was as though he never truly left the role as Sutekh from the Pyramids of Mars all those years ago. He just seemed to have slipped right back into his skin (excuse the metaphor :P ) and his voice was an absolute delight to listen to! Certainly got a lovely voice to listen to even when he is playing the God of Death!
The Pyramid of Sutekh- Benny is running late for Peter's wedding and she is absolutely terrified of being in Sutekh lair. She has a Robot mummy on her side which takes up her ex and rather dead husband voice. But when she reunites with the Doctor, it's not him that comes to her rescue but Ace.
The Vaults of Osiris- An Egyptian heist, a robbery to steal Osiris, the only key to perhaps destroying the god of death. Isis is being very mischievous and it is fun to see Benny, Ace and Isis working as an undercover gang of sorts to stop it all.
The Eye of Horus-Perhaps my absolute favourite out of all of them! Benny was pronounced as the Goddess of Beer and if that didn't suit her, I don't know what else did! (Should have been announced as the Queen of beer AND Sass though). James Goss has got to be one of my favourite writers within the big finish world as each story I listen to written by him, does not fail to disappoint. The Doctor was being in the dark and treating Benny rather unfairly and the fate of poor Hatshepsut was really tragic but it was lovely to see that the Doctor may have perhaps really did care for her. So much he was willing to be her Queen.
The Tears of Isis-Really dark and grim. But the 7th Doctor, as manipulative and as secretive as he may be, is always one step ahead of everyone (except Braxiatel...), even the God of Death and to see him out manoeuvred Sutekh was really satisfying.
I really hope to see Gabriel Woolf return in more works. He has such a fantastic voice and this boxset showed that and great character developments. It was also fantastic to see Ace starting to care for Benny and as Benny was chasing Ace in the first boxset of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, this time it's Ace chasing Benny.
5/5. Would recommend!
December 15, 2015
Loved. Nice mix of serious, and a bit of crack. Wonderful stuff.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews