What do you think?
Rate this book
Big Finish: Monthly Range #260
Doctor Who: Dark Universe
The Eleven has a plan. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos.
With Ace working for the enemy, the Doctor must rely on scheming Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra for help. The stage is set for an epic confrontation.
Because the Doctor has a plan to stop the Eleven. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos.
Whichever one of them wins, the Dark Universe won’t want to lose...
With Ace working for the enemy, the Doctor must rely on scheming Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra for help. The stage is set for an epic confrontation.
Because the Doctor has a plan to stop the Eleven. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos.
Whichever one of them wins, the Dark Universe won’t want to lose...
Audio CD
First published January 21, 2020
3 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 19, 2021
A great start to the monthly range for 2020!
The 7th Doctor and Ace are finally back on form with their characters because as much as I liked The Mel Arc it did seem that they regressed into their season 25 characters but here oh boy, there is some fantastic stuff here with Ace not trusting The Doctor and having built up charitable earth and The Doctor with one of his masterplans but this time it's to stop the Timelord The Eleven from all domination! The Eleven was very threatening in this, willing to risk everything for his own ends.
There were really nice ideas in this, with plenty of comedy and action. This is an epic way to start off 2020 and it's really good! 8/10
The 7th Doctor and Ace are finally back on form with their characters because as much as I liked The Mel Arc it did seem that they regressed into their season 25 characters but here oh boy, there is some fantastic stuff here with Ace not trusting The Doctor and having built up charitable earth and The Doctor with one of his masterplans but this time it's to stop the Timelord The Eleven from all domination! The Eleven was very threatening in this, willing to risk everything for his own ends.
There were really nice ideas in this, with plenty of comedy and action. This is an epic way to start off 2020 and it's really good! 8/10
March 28, 2022
This story is pretty good and has a strong first half. But it had potential to be more, it simply tried to do a bit too much on too big a scope for the limited time it had available. The Eleven is a strong villain and him teaming up with an older Ace against the doctor is a really cool concept. An older Ace reuniting with the doctor is also definitely something to look forward to in this story.
February 1, 2020
Non posso dire di essere rimasta completamente soddisfatta dalla storia, simile ad altre e una sorta di sottotono rispetto ai vari boxset con l'ottavo Dottore.
Però... le interazioni tra il settimo Dottore e una Ace cresciuta e maturata, dopo vent'anni dal loro ultimo incontro, sono perfette e coinvolgenti e The Eleven... devo ripeterlo ancora che adoro il personaggio?
Con molti riferimenti ad altri audio con McCoy e all'episodio di esordio di The Eleven (primo audio di Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 1), le cose sono comunque interessanti ma, dopo i Ravenous della serie omonima, l'Oscurità che minaccia i nostri attraverso il portale che conduce al Dark Universe non sembra poi così eccezionale.
Però... le interazioni tra il settimo Dottore e una Ace cresciuta e maturata, dopo vent'anni dal loro ultimo incontro, sono perfette e coinvolgenti e The Eleven... devo ripeterlo ancora che adoro il personaggio?
Con molti riferimenti ad altri audio con McCoy e all'episodio di esordio di The Eleven (primo audio di Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 1), le cose sono comunque interessanti ma, dopo i Ravenous della serie omonima, l'Oscurità che minaccia i nostri attraverso il portale che conduce al Dark Universe non sembra poi così eccezionale.
January 22, 2020
This was a fun release. I enjoyed myself.
Mark Bonnar is absolutely at the top of his game and the Eleven is as brilliant a character as ever.
Sylvester McCoy also does a great job and is equally good at playing the ominous voice in the background as he is at playing the court jester. He certainly has no problem going VERY dark. It certainly is his best performance for a while now.
Sophie, well, she seemed to have really enjoyed playing the older Ace. I am still amazed how little her voice has actually aged.
So yes, this was quite fun.
But, I admit, it is not really what I had expected.
After all that build up in the 8th Doctor range and the expectations we had from Doom Coalition- I am in one part happy with what they did and in one part disappointed.
The first two episodes of this release were certainly the better half. There is quite a bit of suspense and there are some really clever time shifts, framing devices and little twists in there.
This release certainly will profit from a second listen.
You definitely will keep guessing what is really going on and who is crossing and double crossing whom. I think this was very well done.
I liked Ace standing up to the Doctor and being properly furious with him.
However, in the end, I just feel this is not exactly what I had imagined when this was advertised. For a threat to the whole universe, the setting and the cast appear to be quite... microscopic in comparison. I also got the impression that not as much production values were put into making this one than in the 8th Doctor box sets- since this one will be directly compared, it just comes up as not quite there.
Which is quite sad since we get some clever writing and amazing performances.
Mark Bonnar is absolutely at the top of his game and the Eleven is as brilliant a character as ever.
Sylvester McCoy also does a great job and is equally good at playing the ominous voice in the background as he is at playing the court jester. He certainly has no problem going VERY dark. It certainly is his best performance for a while now.
Sophie, well, she seemed to have really enjoyed playing the older Ace. I am still amazed how little her voice has actually aged.
So yes, this was quite fun.
But, I admit, it is not really what I had expected.
After all that build up in the 8th Doctor range and the expectations we had from Doom Coalition- I am in one part happy with what they did and in one part disappointed.
The first two episodes of this release were certainly the better half. There is quite a bit of suspense and there are some really clever time shifts, framing devices and little twists in there.
This release certainly will profit from a second listen.
You definitely will keep guessing what is really going on and who is crossing and double crossing whom. I think this was very well done.
I liked Ace standing up to the Doctor and being properly furious with him.
However, in the end, I just feel this is not exactly what I had imagined when this was advertised. For a threat to the whole universe, the setting and the cast appear to be quite... microscopic in comparison. I also got the impression that not as much production values were put into making this one than in the 8th Doctor box sets- since this one will be directly compared, it just comes up as not quite there.
Which is quite sad since we get some clever writing and amazing performances.
May 19, 2023
I was really enjoying this story up until the last part and it kinda fell flat for me. Ace is amazing in this. The Eleven and her have a fun dynamic for the first half of the story. Ollistra was cool. The stuff with the Doctor was just not my favourite. We've seen it all before. They've lost but have they? 7 then becomes extremely manipulative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2022
This is the first of a thematic trilogy of stories that sees Seven face different renegade Time Lords. This time, it's Big Finish original character the Eleven, who has mostly appeared in Eighth Doctor stories to date - indeed this appears to be set shortly before his initial appearance in Doom Coalition. The initial setup is promising, with the Eleven joining forces with Ace twenty years after she has left the Doctor and set up the charity mentioned in the Sarah Jane Adventures.
This gives us a different version of Ace than we normally see, older and more experienced, albeit with a lingering mistrust of the Doctor that doesn't seem to fit with the lengthy travels she is portrayed as having in previous audios. But, as a story, it works well, told out of chronological order to slowly reveal pieces of the puzzle. The Doctor has a relatively minor role to play in the first half, leaving Ace and the Eleven to do the heavy lifting - both of which they are good at doing - but he takes a much more central role in the second.
Where, unfortunately, the setup doesn't really pay off. It's easy enough to work out what's going on, and there's a cameo for a pre-Time War Cardinal Ollistra thrown into the mix. But the monsters aren't particularly interesting, being essentially magic with little in the way of justification. And, while it's well acted, the story becomes unengaging and doesn't particularly go anywhere prior to the inevitable denouement. It seems to be setting something up for later, but it doesn't look as if the rest of the 'trilogy' follows on from this, so when that will be is unclear. So a good start, but it didn't quite follow through for me - although, if you're a particular fan of the Eleven, he is well-used in this, so it's probably worth a listen.
This gives us a different version of Ace than we normally see, older and more experienced, albeit with a lingering mistrust of the Doctor that doesn't seem to fit with the lengthy travels she is portrayed as having in previous audios. But, as a story, it works well, told out of chronological order to slowly reveal pieces of the puzzle. The Doctor has a relatively minor role to play in the first half, leaving Ace and the Eleven to do the heavy lifting - both of which they are good at doing - but he takes a much more central role in the second.
Where, unfortunately, the setup doesn't really pay off. It's easy enough to work out what's going on, and there's a cameo for a pre-Time War Cardinal Ollistra thrown into the mix. But the monsters aren't particularly interesting, being essentially magic with little in the way of justification. And, while it's well acted, the story becomes unengaging and doesn't particularly go anywhere prior to the inevitable denouement. It seems to be setting something up for later, but it doesn't look as if the rest of the 'trilogy' follows on from this, so when that will be is unclear. So a good start, but it didn't quite follow through for me - although, if you're a particular fan of the Eleven, he is well-used in this, so it's probably worth a listen.
January 25, 2020
So there is a lot of synchronicity with Ravenous. The Darkness feels far too similar to the Ravenous in the way they 'eat' areas of the universe.
The way it ends sort of clears that up, ish...and it's setting up something too and sort of leaves you feeling confused like a companion. And it either complicates or clarifies Ace's timeline. But it's super enjoyable and well written!
The way it ends sort of clears that up, ish...and it's setting up something too and sort of leaves you feeling confused like a companion. And it either complicates or clarifies Ace's timeline. But it's super enjoyable and well written!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2021
Even if his schizophrenic personalities lack individual depth, the Eleven is a villain to be reckoned with and one of Big Finish’s great contributions to Who. Adams scripts a story of conscious bravura that deflates with the Seventh Doctor’s usual cop-out masterminding.
August 20, 2022
A nice use of The Eleven, and interesting to see how Ace and Seven's relationship is 20 years after they've last seen each other. Ace has become more cynical with age and no longer calls The Doctor "Professor." She's willing to call him out on his strategies and beliefs, which is satisfying.
March 2, 2020
Found this one quite hard to follow, a good story none the less and very happy to hear Ace after reading At Childhoods End.
March 3, 2020
The eleven takes over the dark vault and the dr. Manipulate's ace to help him.
October 31, 2022
I love the 7th Doctor. I love NuWho Ace. I love The Eleven. This story was perfection.
October 31, 2022
Finally, we get a script that shows what The Eleven is really about. Dark Universe is another of the Doctor 7 has a plan stories. This time, it has been 20 or so years since the Doctor separated from Ace. She's a professor now, running a major ecological non-profit, and she's really not happy with The Doctor. However, The Doctor recruits her to help out with one of his devious plans. This time, The Doctor wants to trap The Eleven, and uses Ace to get close to The Eleven. Said Mr. Eleven is after an ancient Time Lord weapon that would release total disaster on the universe, and The Doctor wants him to have it. However, The Doctor's plan goes awry, because The Eleven is crazier even than The Doctor could have imagined. The story has basically a two-part structure. In part 1, The Doctor has a plan and we hear him try to outwit The Eleven. In part 2, The Eleven has "won" and taken The Doctor as a prisoner to amuse him while he sets about wreaking chaos across the Universe. Part 2 very much feels like a redo (or a foredo if we follow Doctor universe chronology) of "Last of the Timelords." The star of this show is Mark Bonnar. He gets large space in which to deliver a truly terrifying performance.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews