Doctor Who: The Devil's Armada

Philip Hinchcliffe Presents #1.2

by Philip Hinchcliffe, Marc Platt (Adaptor)

The TARDIS lands in Sissenden Village in the sixteenth century. Catholic priests are hunted, so-called witches are drowned in the ducking stool, and in the shadows the Vituperon are watching... and waiting...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction

Audiobook

First published August 5, 2014

About the author

Philip Hinchcliffe was producer of Doctor Who from 1975 to 1977. He also novelised stories.

He appeared on camera only once in the series, as one of the faces that appears in the Doctor's mental battle with Morbius.

Reviews

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una stella in meno, rispetto al primo volume della serie (Doctor Who: The Ghosts of Gralstead, ma solo perché l'ho trovato più confusionario.
Siamo nel XVI secolo, alla vigilia della battaglia navale tra Impero Britannico e l'Invincibile Armada. Poi ci sono le persecuzioni contro i cattolici, una caccia alle streghe e la solita invasione aliena.
Pur gradendo l'interpretazione di Tom Baker e di Louise Jameson, la ripetitività della storia e la sensazione di già ascoltato (anche se i prodotti successivi a questo audio) non hanno aiutato.
L'equilibrio tra atmosfere horror e fantascientifiche, tipico di Philip Hinchcliffe, non ha sortito l'effetto nostalgia che aveva potenziato il primo audio.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 4th Doctor and Leela are my favorite combination and Hinchcliffe is certainly well-versed in the dynamic between these characters. However, this is one of those cases where a story that was original back in the day no longer seems as fresh when produced more than forty years later, i.e. the Devil is an ancient alien. Also, it did not seem true to the character to have Leela being terrified. . There were also times when the plot seemed overly complex and confusing, just not translating well to the audio play format. Regardless, I am still giving it three stars because Tom Baker and Louise Jameson are just so good!

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this story. I like the Doctor's historical adventures and so I am always looking forward to seeing historical events through his and his companions eyes. I didn't like this one quite as much as some others because I got lost a time or two about what was happening but I was eventually able to figure it out.

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy The Fourth Doctor and Leela. I really liked it when the Doctor got angry at the witch dunking.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Big Finish story where you can really feel the writer's influence.

Unsurprisingly The Devil's Armada was written by Philip Hinchcliffe, and I say 'surprisingly' because it really does feel like a Hinchcliffe era Fourth Doctor adventude.

It really captures that 'gothic horror' style so perfectly. It's a wonder that 'The Fourth Doctor Meets The Devil' wasn't a story idea that was done on-screen, as it's such an obvious idea, particularly for a Hinchcliffe era serial, and the idea works so well here.

The Devil's Armada is such a gripping and genuinely creepy tale; the Imps in particular I found quite disturbing, with their giggling and description by one or two characters of having piercing green eyes.

Leela gets some great stuff to do here too. She gets some lovely character scenes and helps to drive the plot when the Doctor is in danger.