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The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield #3

Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, Vol. 3: The Unbound Universe

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3.1 The Library In The Body by James Goss

In a dying reality knowledge is the only thing left of value – and the Kareem have come to destroy it. Can Bernice, the Doctor save the last library?

3.2 Planet X by Guy Adams

Bernice and the Doctor land on a planet so dull no one ever bothered naming it. Finally something interesting is about to happen here.

3.3 The Very Dark Thing by Una McCormack

Tramatz is an idyllic world – the rivers hum to themselves, unicorns prance through the emerald forests, and, at the very corner of your eye, is a horrible secret.

3.4 The Emporium At The End by Emma Reeves

The Last Song has been sung, and the final days of the universe have begun. Everyone flees to the gateway – to find that The Emporium At The End is having a closing down sale.

Written By: Guy Adams, James Goss, Una McCormack, Emma Reeves
Directed By: Scott Handcock
Cast

Lisa Bowerman (Professor Bernice Summerfield), David Warner (The Doctor), Zeb Soanes (The Librarian), Guy Adams (The Sage of Sardner), Tom Webster (Acolyte Farnsworth), Rowena Cooper (Mother Superior), Alex Jordan (Mandeville/Kareem Chief/Acolyte), Sophie Wu (Millie), Julie Graham (Prime Minister 470), Damian Lynch (Ego), Kerry Gooderson (Megatz), Deirdre Mullins (Fleet Admiral Effenish), George Blagden (Colonel Neave), Richard Earl (Gallario), Aaron Neil (Aramatz), Laura Doddington (Idratz), Lizzie Hopley (Sister Christie), Shvorne Marls (Ampz), Gus Brown (Forz), Scott Handcock (Elevator) and Sam Kisgart as the Master. Other parts portrayed by the cast.

Producer and Script Editor James Goss

Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Audiobook

First published September 30, 2016

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About the author

James Goss

231 books181 followers
James Goss has written two Torchwood novels and a radio play, as well as a Being Human book. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010. James also spent seven years working on the BBC's official Doctor Who website and co-wrote the website for Torchwood Series One. In 2007, he won the Best Adaptation category in the annual LA Weekly Theatre Awards for his version of Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Danny Welch.
1,385 reviews
October 8, 2022
So the reason why I listened to The Triumph of Sutekh despite being a little nervous about it was mainly so I can get into the David Warner stuff, (may he rest well) because from what I've heard they sound absolutely brilliant but unfortunately, the first set was not of my cup of tea in this range so I was very put out, but I'm really glad I'm finally getting the chance to continue because I'm finally experiencing what I've been missing out on!

The Library in The Body:
James Goss has written a story with such a clever and unique idea at its core from the simple twist of its title. It's an exciting base under siege with plenty of humor, action, horror, and excitement.

The Universe is coming to an end and seeing This Doctor and Bernice Summerfield in a universe she knows nothing about is exciting. David Warner and Lisa Bowerman get off incredibly well immediately! I wasn't terribly keen on Sympathy for The Devil, I enjoyed it but found it a little overrated but this story alone has made me truly appreciate Warner's Doctor because he's brilliant! 10/10

Planet X:
Guy Adams has written a superb dystopian story set on a planet that thrives or rather not thrives on boredom, where the people's only chance of living is to not live at all. This is a very dark story with a heartbreaking conclusion. There is plenty of tension throughout this story since the simplest of emotions can jeopardize a person's existence.

David Warner was by far the highlight of this story for me, the cast was absolutely fantastic overall bringing together beautifully tragic performances, but seeing Warner's Doctor at his most cunning, yet unforgiving was amazing to see and his plan whilst arguably cruel is brilliant. 10/10

The Very Dark Thing:
Whilst this story sounded fun and unique, I wasn't sure if it would necessarily be my cup of tea. But Una McCormack has written a really fun yet bleak little story with unicorns, a singing river, and a bombardment on a planet where the locals don't even realize their at war for committing a terrible atrocity upon the universe.

This is my least favorite story in the set, but that's by no means a bad thing because it is a very good adventure with plenty of humor, heartbreak, twists, and a really funny ending. 8.5/10

The Emporium at The End:
This was the story I was the most apprehensive about, it has such a great synopsis but Emma Reeves is very much a hit-and-miss writer for me so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect of it. But I'm glad I gave it a go, she's truly written a brilliant finale for this set with a high-stakes story and the return of an old enemy...

It's amazing to hear Mark Gatiss return as The Master in this story and you can tell he's having a great time, the bond between him and Lisa Bowerman was the highlight of this story for me. David Warner as usual was great and I loved the concept behind this story, it's such a simple but unique one that could only be done within the context behind the arc of this series. 10/10

Ruler of The Universe here we come!!

Overall: 38.5/40
Profile Image for Rick.
3,124 reviews
October 10, 2022
An alternate reality? A variant history? An incarnation of the Doctor and/or a timeline that was erased by effects of the Time War? And now, to make matters even more confusing, this Unbound Doctor (from Doctor Who Unbound: Sympathy for the Devil & Doctor Who Unbound: Masters of War) has pulled Professor Bernice Summerfield into his universe - his Unbound Universe! Or what’s left of it!

3.1 The Library In The Body - The Unbound Doctor and Professor Summerfield find their first stop to be far from a quite visit to a library. This library is about to be put under siege. And only this disreputable Doctor and Professor Summerfield can save the knowledge in the pages of its books. But this is not the universe Summerfield knows, and this isn’t the Doctor she’s familiar with. Can she actually trust either? An excellent, exciting and captivating story that is fueled by the talents of both Lisa Bowerman and the one and only David Warner. And to be honest, I love Warner’s take on The Doctor. I wished there had been an opportunity to actually SEE him as The Doctor. This sequence is off to an excellent start (5/5).

3.2 Planet X - The second story in this set is a delightfully dark and twisted tale of an authoritarian dystopia. A perfect setting for this version of The Doctor that is depicted through a mirror darkly twisted. The juxtaposition of humor and social commentary via the dystopian setting is wonderful. Not quite as engaging as the previous one, but still enormously entertaining (4/5).

3.3 The Very Dark Thing - This one is surreal. And it feels like it’s been plucked right out of the Time War. Although to be honest, it could very well be. If the Time War alters history as the weapons seem to imply, then anything from these Unbound variations could be part of the Time War (and I’m not even getting to the Timeless Child to make anything “canon”). This one is certainly something that one would expect to find in the annals of The Warrior (aka War Doctor), but it certainly works for my favorite Unbound Doctor as well (4/5).

3.4 The Emporium At The End - A bit of a cliché but still entertaining. Unfortunately, I did find this one the weakest of the set. This time around it’s not a restaurant at the end of the universe, it’s a department store. And, of course, we get our traditional capitalism vs religion conflict. Yep, all a bit cliché (3/5).

This set includes a music suite and an extensive behind-the-scenes set of interviews with cast and crew of the production. Overall a solidly entertaining set (4/5).
Profile Image for April Mccaffrey.
569 reviews48 followers
August 14, 2018
Exceptionally excellent boxset and what a joy to listen to!

Every writer in this boxset; James Goss, Guy Adams, Una McCormack and Emma Reeves all had something amazing to write and not once did the stories disappoint! It was so great to hear David Warner's Doctor working alongside Benny and Benny was her usual sarcastic, humorous self on adventures in another universe even if she didn't have much archeology to do but was still a joy to have.

I absolutely loved it. The soundtrack, the characters-everything.

1. The Library in the Body; What an interesting twist in the title! Usually, it's a body in the library but James Goss was really clever and spun the words around from the famous Agatha Christie sort of mindset and developed a story line simply on that and it worked! The thought of an organization who was so against knowledge completely was a frightening aspect. Nobody can be completely against knowledge for otherwise nobody would be able to function but James Goss completely nailed it. I also loved Rowena Cooper as Mother Superior and she was a joy to have on this boxset.

2. Planet X-Guy Adams. Now this was the story I wasn't expecting anything but boy, I wasn't expecting for it to completely destroy me with feels and angst. This story was so wonderful and emotional. It almost had a dystopian and fantasy sort of feel to it; for the government to control your emotions, to keep you boring and if you so the slightest bit outside of being boring or average, they will rip that away from you and that thought is horrifying. As the doctor says; it's wrong and Julie Graham really nailed it as the Prime Minister 170. So chilling!

3. The Very Dark Thing by Una McCormack. I think this is my least favourite story in the boxset but still a wonderous joy. Unicorns, singing rivers and something people are not telling and not at all what it seems. All linked to the great big war that destroyed the universe. It was very funny for this one with Benny's reactions to the things only she could hear and no one else can and she making everyone open their eyes/ears to the truth. It was also hilarious to her reactions to the unicorns as she rode pegasus back in Atlantis during Epoch! She's very fond of them apparently.

4. The Emporium at the End-Emma Reeves. Now what can I say? A perfect ending. Everyone at the end of the universe wants to go shopping but not your usual shopping; a shopping to get out. Its a lottery. Offer as much you can or you can't leave!

The Manager isn't at all who he appears to be and Mark Gatiss did a wonderful job of getting those Alex Macqueen!References and Roger Delgado!Master references into his Unbound Master which was a lovely touch.

It was also interesting to see the Manager with Benny and using Benny for her own needs. Of course Benny isn't totally fooled by him and always, the Doctor always remains her best friends.

Have I mentioned how much I love the nuns in this boxset? Can big finish bring these bad ass out of space nuns back for a story line of their own?

Benny was absolutely fantastic and Lisa as always did a great job pulling her off with her humour which had me laughing in some scenes and David Warner is most certainly my favourite unbound!doctor by far.

5.5 for each. Would recommend to anyone who is a fan of Benny or the Unbound series!
Profile Image for Josh.
454 reviews5 followers
October 19, 2022
3. Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Volume 03: The Unbound Universe - 4.375/5 stars

Lisa Bowerman's Bernice Summerfield and the late David Warner's Unbound Doctor have amazing chemistry in this set of thrilling adventures.

3.1 The Library In The Body by James Goss - 5/5 stars

Fun story to start Bernice and the Unbound doctor's adventures. Sets up this version of the unbound doctor perfectly. The characters here are hilarious, and the setting is great.

3.2 Planet X by Guy Adams - 5/5 stars

This is basically the Happiness Patrol (my favourite Doctor Who episode) but better. The Unbound Doctor is really great in this.

3.3 The Very Dark Thing by Una McCormack - 3.5/5 stars

Decent story with quirky elements to it. Bernice Summerfield and her unicorn was a fun little highlight.

3.4 The Emporium at the End by Emma Reeves - 4/5 stars

The Unbound Doctor and Bernice Summerfield reunite with the singing nuns and the Cyborg King from the first story, to my delight. The highlight from this story is Benny and the head nun getting drunk together as they worry that the universe will finally end. The Manager was a very decent final foe to send off the set.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Drew.
453 reviews6 followers
February 10, 2017
An enjoyable set of Bernice Summerfield stories, with Benny stuck in an alternate universe with David Warner's alternate universe Third Doctor. Not a really strong plot thread tying the four episodes together, and Mark Gatiss's alternate universe Master, though plugged on the cover, doesn't show up until the fourth episode. But David Warner's version of The Doctor is a lot of fun; think Hartnell's First Doctor at his grumpiest, and after downing a few drinks.
Profile Image for Billy Martel.
379 reviews1 follower
November 22, 2023
Review by story…

“Library in the Body”: sadly a step down from the original stories featuring this version of the Doctor. But still a great, and powerful story. Made me cry. 4.5/5 stars.

“Planet X”: on one hand this is a bog standard plot for Doctor Who, on the other hand this is some awesomely demented shit. Some of my favorite lines from this Doctor. 4.5/5 stars.

“The Very Dark Thing”: I love the concept at play. But sadly the ending is far too pat. 3/5 stars.

“The Emporium at the End”: again, interesting concept, great acting all around. Kind of a weird conclusion. 4/5 stars.

Profile Image for Steven Shinder.
Author 5 books20 followers
February 2, 2025
Funny how this past week the three Doctor Who releases I’ve listened to have involved unnumbered Doctors. Was quite fun having Bernice go on adventures with the Unbound Doctor. And I like how the opening theme feels sixties but still different from the sixties TV theme.
Profile Image for Lucy.
73 reviews
July 28, 2023
The Library In The Body ****
Planet X ****
The Very Dark Thing ****
The Emporium at the End ****
Profile Image for Richard Harrison.
464 reviews11 followers
February 7, 2017
Great pairing of Bernice Summerfield with David Warner's "King of the Universe" Doctor. Some of the scenarios in these tales were given short shrift but loved them overall, especially the one with that villain Sam Kisgart playing the Master.
Profile Image for Mel.
3,519 reviews213 followers
April 28, 2017
This was another fantastic box set for Benny. It really wasn't necessary to have heard the unbound stories to enjoy these. Warner's Doctor and the world are very self explanatory and Bernice's entry to the universe was a great idea. At times there was almost a danger of David's Doctor over shadowing Bernice as he was simply superb but the writers did a lovely job of balancing the two characters and making sure Benny didn't just end up as a side kick in her own series.

The first story by James Goss, was an introduction to the unbound universe and the changes it's been through. There were fabulous nuns, robot librarians and evil libraries.

The 2nd story was on a distopian world, the planet X, which survived by being terribly boring and medicoure. It was very grey. But despite that was an interesting story.

The 3rd story was my favourite, the Very Dark Thing, also known as Bernice and the Unicorn! It was a wonderful mixture of highly giggle worthy dialogue balanced by the complete and utter horror of war.

The last story saw the return of the Master, or the Manager. The world was ending and it really played up on the relationship between the two time lords, and how in the unbound universe everything was turned upside down.

It was also great that this box set had a balance between male and female writers. Rare for big finish but totally appropriate for Benny.

It was a total joy to hear more of David Warner as the Doctor. He was just perfect in his delivery and added so many different shades to the character. I have to say I was very glad that Benny didn't leave him at the end of the last story and I really, really hope they'll have more adventures together!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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