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Big Finish: Monthly Range #116
Doctor Who: The Raincloud Man
Having just defeated the Krotons, the Doctor is treating Charley to a hearty English breakfast, when an intriguing mystery suddenly presents itself. And to solve it, they must plunge back into the criminal underbelly of Manchester, where an old friend is up to her neck in alien trouble.
But what seemed like a mere mystery ends up being a life or death struggle at the centre of an interplanetary war in which the stakes are so high, the Doctor or Charley must gamble and lose their identity. And throughout, the lone figure of the Raincloud Man may hold the key to success or failure.
But what seemed like a mere mystery ends up being a life or death struggle at the centre of an interplanetary war in which the stakes are so high, the Doctor or Charley must gamble and lose their identity. And throughout, the lone figure of the Raincloud Man may hold the key to success or failure.
Audio CD
First published December 1, 2008
About the author
Eddie Robson
160 books116 followersEddie 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.
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.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 8, 2025
2025 Alphabet Challenge - The Letter R
This was quite an enjoyable audio. The first half was a bit lackluster, but once they were in the casino, it got much more interesting and enjoyable.
I also like the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Charley and the fact that it feels like he's getting closer to finding out Charley's past.
This was quite an enjoyable audio. The first half was a bit lackluster, but once they were in the casino, it got much more interesting and enjoyable.
I also like the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Charley and the fact that it feels like he's getting closer to finding out Charley's past.
July 2, 2023
The first two thirds of this are 2 stars. The final third? 5 out of 5 EASILY. The final setting absolutely ruled, and the story delivered on its flashy premise in a super entertaining way!! … I just wish all of this hadn’t culminated near exclusively in the last 30 minutes.
Eddie Robson once again clearly had a lot of fun with the setting descriptions and the Casino Starship was a super cool place to hear and imagine. High stakes poker will always be a winner for me; there are few things as thrilling to read/see/listen.
But again: to get to those elements, first we had to trudge through an entire plot I really couldn’t care less about. This episode survives on its final act, but what a final act it was. Charley’s character was extremely interesting here, and she and Six have a really interesting dynamic culminating in this story’s conclusion.
Eddie Robson once again clearly had a lot of fun with the setting descriptions and the Casino Starship was a super cool place to hear and imagine. High stakes poker will always be a winner for me; there are few things as thrilling to read/see/listen.
But again: to get to those elements, first we had to trudge through an entire plot I really couldn’t care less about. This episode survives on its final act, but what a final act it was. Charley’s character was extremely interesting here, and she and Six have a really interesting dynamic culminating in this story’s conclusion.
September 23, 2026
This is a mystery upon a mystery, as the Doctor gets closer to solving his curiosity about Charley Pollard. Add strange aliens, a possible murder, the world of gambling and the nature of luck, a possible time traveler on Earth, and a fantastic floating casino--and you get a clever story. Loved the return of DI Patricia Menzies; I just can't get enough of her humorous drawl.
September 26, 2021
I like that The Doctor seems to be getting closer to figuring out some of what's up with Charley.
February 4, 2025
Fun story
December 16, 2025
3.5 Stars - it's fine. Just doesn't stand out like some of their other ventures.
July 23, 2026
Solid four part story. 3.5 stars
August 31, 2025
Another fab adventure featuring the Sixth Doctor, Charley Pollard and recurring character DI Patricia Menzies. In many ways, this story is pretty much a direct sequel to "The Condemned", and also directly addresses the obvious paradox of how Charley can be travelling with Six when Eight clearly doesn't recognise her in "Storm Warning".
I found the cast of characters here to be superb. The plot is decent, if not a little generic with the whole warring alien races dynamic, but the 'stakes', as it were, are delivered in a much more refreshing way, with the fate of everything dependent upon... A game of top trumps - It's so whacky Big Finish, I love it.
The first time we met DI Menzies, the Doctor was arrested for murder. This time, Charley is. It's a mildly funny parallel.
The addressing of the whole Charley question is great as well, as it shows the writers DO have a plan to explain her paradoxical timeline and it isn't a thread to just be forgotten about. The balance between escalating the Doctor's suspicions of his companion without letting it take over the plot is found and honed brilliantly.
Also, some of the staging in the script here is brilliant, such as when Charley and the titular Raincloud Man are escaping the police and you can actually hear rain in the background.
I found the cast of characters here to be superb. The plot is decent, if not a little generic with the whole warring alien races dynamic, but the 'stakes', as it were, are delivered in a much more refreshing way, with the fate of everything dependent upon... A game of top trumps - It's so whacky Big Finish, I love it.
The first time we met DI Menzies, the Doctor was arrested for murder. This time, Charley is. It's a mildly funny parallel.
The addressing of the whole Charley question is great as well, as it shows the writers DO have a plan to explain her paradoxical timeline and it isn't a thread to just be forgotten about. The balance between escalating the Doctor's suspicions of his companion without letting it take over the plot is found and honed brilliantly.
Also, some of the staging in the script here is brilliant, such as when Charley and the titular Raincloud Man are escaping the police and you can actually hear rain in the background.
November 29, 2015
A follow-up to the excellent The Condemned, this doesn't manage to be quite so good, but is nonetheless an entertaining story. Once again we are in Manchester (look - it's not London! Or even Cardiff!), with the Doctor on the trail of a mysterious coin and Charley joining up with DI Menzies from the previous story to help solve an alien murder.
You'd think the latter would be more important, but, of course, the two do turn out to be linked, even if one suspects that this may be a further excuse to keep the companion apart from the increasingly suspicious Doctor for as long as possible. Still, there is rather a lot going on, and the story moves quite seamlessly from the streets of Manchester to an alien casino in Rio de Janeiro with a good mix of drama and humour in between.
The supporting cast is particularly strong and well-scripted in this one, with Anna Hope's DI Menzies being as much a star of the show as either of the regulars. Here, the weirder elements are not quite so effectively offset by the mundanity of Mancunian life, but the story never stops being believable even as it deals with more fantastic concepts - including the title character himself.
You'd think the latter would be more important, but, of course, the two do turn out to be linked, even if one suspects that this may be a further excuse to keep the companion apart from the increasingly suspicious Doctor for as long as possible. Still, there is rather a lot going on, and the story moves quite seamlessly from the streets of Manchester to an alien casino in Rio de Janeiro with a good mix of drama and humour in between.
The supporting cast is particularly strong and well-scripted in this one, with Anna Hope's DI Menzies being as much a star of the show as either of the regulars. Here, the weirder elements are not quite so effectively offset by the mundanity of Mancunian life, but the story never stops being believable even as it deals with more fantastic concepts - including the title character himself.
February 8, 2011
I liked this one too. Actually, the secondary characters (and I usually don't care much for them) made this one as great as it was. D.I. Menzies (sp?), Kelter(?), and Lish-the Raincloud Man himself. Very interesting or engaging in their own right. Actually, I would love to see more of Kelter, though I'm sure that won't happen. And Menzies too. I've never seen episodes of "Torchwood", but it seems to me she's sort of got her own little branch, Torchwood Manchester, going. :)
And the drama just keeps growing between Charley and the Doctor. I noticed he's calling her "Charley" more, but he's almost using it as a weapon now. Using it to challenge her, to draw her out. He's saying, "Here, see, I trust you. Now won't you get straight with me?" It's a bit menacing, and I credit that all to Colin Baker's (not unusually) wonderful performance as the Doctor.
And the drama just keeps growing between Charley and the Doctor. I noticed he's calling her "Charley" more, but he's almost using it as a weapon now. Using it to challenge her, to draw her out. He's saying, "Here, see, I trust you. Now won't you get straight with me?" It's a bit menacing, and I credit that all to Colin Baker's (not unusually) wonderful performance as the Doctor.
Read
April 8, 2009We have Six and Charley arriving in today's Manchester where they meet up with a memorable detective character who apparently features in one of the earlier audios I haven't heard yet, Anna Hope's D.I. Patricia Menzies. Here she is investingating odd goings-on in a casino that turns out to run by aliens. The Raincloud Man of the title has a special ability which I believe originates in a Douglas Adams novel, and operates here rather for the convenience of the plot. Charley is urged by another character to reveal her secret to the Doctor, but doesn't do so. However the sparks from Anna Hope's Mancunian policewoman very much keep it going.
November 2, 2015
Another terrific Six and Charley story, this one is almost stolen by a character from a previous one: Manchester policewoman Patricia Menzies, who has come to understand that aliens and time travel are real and incorporated it quite matter-of-factly in her world-view (with the help of a working knowledge of science fiction cinema). The main plots concerning a mysterious other time traveler and a freakishly powerful gambling table pale beside the Six/Charley/Patricia/Lish (the titular Raincloud Man, whose power is to afflict others with fatally bad luck). Fun!
January 1, 2009
A convoluted but fun story from Eddie Robson, with a welcome return of Patricia Menzies from The Condemned. We inch a bit closer to the Doctor finding out what Charley's secret is. Charley also comes up with an unusually harebrained scheme for saving the day, which makes me wonder if she's really got other motives. Can't wait for the next installment in this story!
January 22, 2014
OMG they are solving this by playing Top Trumps!!!
Ahem.
This was good fun. It was nice to have the Manchester detective back. The minor characters were all very strong and it was nice to have a story with so many women. This reminded me a lot of Torchwood with aliens and the police. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Ahem.
This was good fun. It was nice to have the Manchester detective back. The minor characters were all very strong and it was nice to have a story with so many women. This reminded me a lot of Torchwood with aliens and the police. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
February 2, 2014
The Doctor and Charley land in Manchester for breakfast and end up running into their old pal Detective Menzies. Menzies is investigating strange goings on that turn into a interplanetary war. Can the Doctor stop the war from spreading to earth and stop him and Charley from losing their memories on games of chance.
July 4, 2015
Sixie still hasn't gotten Charley figured out yet. High stakes gambling can take more than your money. A coin from a decade in the future puts an end to a leisurely breakfast. Well, they finish breakfast and then they investigate.
December 9, 2012
The Doctor and Charley return to Manchester and discover its complicated link to transient aliens.
November 2, 2016
I'm very much liking the 6th/Charley adventures. The writing is better than on some of 8's adventures.
July 26, 2011
Entertaining, but a less than stellar conclusion, with too many loose ends left unresolved.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews