Doctor Who: The Stones of Venice

Big Finish: Monthly Range #18

by Paul Magrs, Paul McGann (Narrator), India Fisher (Narrator)

The Doctor and Charley decide to take a well-deserved break from the monotony of being chased, shot at and generally suffering anti-social behaviour at the hands of others. And so they end up in Venice, well into Charley's future, as the great city prepares to sink beneath the water for the last time...

Which would be a momentous, if rather dispiriting, event to witness in itself. However, the machinations of a love-sick aristocrat, a proud art historian and a rabid High Priest of a really quite dodgy cult combine to make Venice's swansong a night to remember. And then there's the rebellion by the web-footed amphibious underclass, the mystery of a disappearing corpse and the truth behind a curse going back further than curses usually do. The Doctor and Charley are forced to wonder just what they have got themselves involved with this time.

Chronological Placement: This story takes place after the 1996 TV Movie, and after the Big Finish audio adventure Sword of Orion.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Time Travel, Media Tie In, British Literature

2 pages, Audio CD

First published March 1, 2001

Reviews

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As long as we get a cup of tea. I don't care where we go."- 8th Doctor

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the surface this is quite an enjoyable Eighth Doctor story with some really nice ideas.
If you examine the plot to closely then it starts to fall about, the big reveal becomes pretty obvious!

A crumbling Venice in the far future is destined to submerge into the water due to an ancient curse.
In the meantime a strange cult is hopefully of the arrival of a dutchess who's been missing for over a hundred years.

This romantasise fairytale fits perfectly with McGann's incarnation of the Doctor, that is one of the strongest selling points of this adventure.

While the ending is a little weak it still fits on the right side of being an entertaining listen.

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was the point of all that? I hate to rate this so poorly, but . . . I just didn't care one stinkin' bit about what happened to these people.

So, plot in a nutshell: it's some unspecified date in the far future, and Venice is about to sink into the sea and the waves cover it forever. While the aristocracy gets in one last revelry and prepare to go down with the city, the underclass -- a race of amphibian-humanoids who act as the gondoliers, prepare to take over Venice once it meets its watery doom.

The Duke of Venice (not Doge?) has had his life abnormally extended because . . . er, something about his lost love, Estella, who is dead, and who cursed the city so it would fall. But the Cult of Estella says she'll rise again, and . . . the amphibians make Charley impersonate Estella for . . . some reason I didn't quite understand. Maybe it was to drive the old man crazy. Strangely, she barely protests her role. Supposedly because she's hypnotized, but really she's not. Or at least, not very well.

The Duke, who you'd think would recognize his long-lost love, goes along with it, but the Cult of Estella wants to prove she's still dead by opening her tomb, but it's empty. And . . . oh, heck, none of this matters. This could have been a one-episode story, but it's padded out over four tedious half-hours, and it really takes until the last 15 minutes before anything happens.

Paul McGann is good, as usual. Everyone else is adequate, and the actress playing Miss Lavish is often quite dreadful.

So, so happy to be moving on to the next episode.

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor and Charley are back for a descent into the labyrinth that is Venice, a city that is about to sink for the last time.

I've really enjoyed listening to both Paul McGann and India Fisher and under the pen of Paul Magrs The Stones of Venice is a quick, fun romp that takes a while to get going but truly kicks into second gear in the second half. It's an enjoyable enough listen that speeds by quickly - almost too quickly - and everything flows together nicely with a colourful cast of characters that play off each other well. Its ending lets it down but it's a better Venice-set storyline than Vampires of Venice and a strong addition to the 8th Doctor's back catalogue.

[Emilija · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019 52 Book Challenge - 33) A Book About A Cult

This was a really fun read because of Paul McGann and India Fisher and their talents with narrating these books. They were very good.

The plot barely makes sense. There's a cult who make Charley pretend to be a duchess for some reason, Venice is sinking under the water due to some 100 year old curse and the aristocracy is partying as Venice sinks.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this made absolutely no sense and i love it. is the plot good? not really! did i start cackling by myself in the car? yes. thank you paul mcgann's comic timing and thank you india fisher's comic timing. may venice continue to not sink.

[Lady Nerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Paul McGann and India Fisher saved this one for me. The other cast members sounded as if they were reciting Shakespeare, which just didn’t fit. The setting was great, but the more it went on the more I wanted it to end. Characters (!) do things just because, and there’s a lot of exposition being given in a not-so-subtle way.
I won’t be listening to this one again.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

at first i thought this is good but average, a solid 3 star until the doctor said, "i don't care where we go as long as I get some tea" and after that my British side won and it was a 4 star listen, sometimes it's that simple 🤣

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much liked this and would highly recommend it

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, this was more like it. The Doctor and Charley take a trip to Venice for a bit of a holiday from all the running and the disaster -- only to find themselves in Venice on the day that the city is finally poised to slide back into the water. Trouble, of course, ensues.

The Eighth Doctor is back in fine form here. Eight reminds me a bit of Alice (of Alice in Wonderland): good-naturedly facing off again the dangers and oddities, with more than a little love for the bizarreness and danger of it all. Charley, too, is given more to do here, and more of her personality comes to the surface: bold without being reckless, romantic while still being level-headed. She's a strong character, and I liked her a lot in this outing. The stand-alone characters were fairly well-developed, and that helped make for an enjoyable listen, too.

I knocked off a star simply because the theme of the story ultimately becomes Religion Is For The Weak-Minded, and I'm becoming a bit wearied by that particular theme as a matter of personal preference. (Also, having the Doctor expand that into "all legend and myth is silly, and humans are silly to waste time on it" -- which is sort of, y'know, what "Doctor Who" IS -- was a bit odd.) But the mystery was fun, the characters engaging -- and the sci-fi used sparingly but effectively. Wonderful stuff.

[Willemina Barber-Wixtrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly some of the best mood and tone work in any doctor who

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was close to 3 stars, because there's lots of bits with the Doctor or Charley that I like, but there were just a few too many things that I couldn't get my mind to sync up.

* It's the end of Venice. Which suggests a distant future.
* There's humans who have genetically changed enough to be able to live underwater (secretly). This also suggests a very distant future. And for reasons that don't make sense they decide to agitate on the night before the city will be theirs.
* But there's a Duke of Venice who was so old old skool that he lost his wife, Estella, in a game of cards. This suggests a previous century, not the present or future.
* There's an alien in the mix, but not one who is out - and people seem shocked to hear about an alien among them. This suggests not that much into the future.
* There's no image of the gambled-off wife, as if images are only made on canvas, not with cameras. Which suggests the past.
* In the space of 100 years, a religious cult has sprung up over Estella. Which really seems doubled unlikely in a distant future. And much more likely in the past. (At least with this one the Doctor commented on the weird of it.)

[Devin Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Stones of Venice started off really good, and had a lot of potential, with a wonderful and eerie setting, in the final days of Venice before it sinks into the waters it sits upon, and has a lot of atmosphere, but great setting and atmosphere does not make up for a mediocre plot and writing. I found myself falling asleep quite a few times throughout this audio, mainly after episode 1. If anything Episode 1 and 4 are deserving of at least 3 stars but the two in between, not so much. The other thing is that it isn't even conceptually bad, but something went wrong with the writing, making it extremely predictable and just overall mediocre. While there was quite a bit of bad, Paul McGann and India Fisher are amazing as usual, and the setting and atmosphere is wonderful. It's not so bad an audio that I would beg you not to listen (like Scaredy Cat) but it is not one I would recommend for a first time listener.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I could see the twist coming a mile away (Miss Lavish is obviously Chekov's gun), but this is still by far the best 8th Doctor adventure in this series yet. Charlie and the Doctor travel to Venice in an archaic future that has a real Dying Earth feel to it. They are soon separated, and flung into complex, thrilling perils that eventually interlock. Amphibian gondoliers, a doomed art collection, revellers determined to party on as Venice sinks for the last time beneath the waves, cultists, missing relics and more make for a most exciting adventure. The pay-off is the usual Doctor Who leap from the supernatural to the extraterrestrial, but this is a story that wins points for its overall brio and atmosphere rather than the rigours of its plot.

[Kate Sherrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a cool Dying Earth-ish story struggling to emerge from this script, which seeks to combine the brooding moodiness of a J.G. Ballard environmental apocalypse with a Lovecraftian tale (half Cthulhu cultists, half Sarnathian doom) -- but that story has a lot to struggle through.Mark Gatiss as the cult leader, for instance, so over the top he's growing extra mustaches to twirl. Ditto Elaine Ives-Cameron. These are two magnificent voices but they are given such preposterous dialogue that they can't help but sound like ham so badly canned it'd give you botulism. Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor is similarly afflicted, but McGann manages to preserve his signature light-heartedness through all the portentous foolishness. It's still fun, but oh my goodness.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t much care for the plot but hey, it’s was the eighth doctor so..


Some much enjoyed commentary.

“charley, and he’s the doctor, asleep over there.”
“Not asleep. I’m thinking profound thoughts.”
“Of course doctor.”

“You’re some sort of neurotic aren’t you?”
“Certainly not, I just don’t like nastiness and people getting away with it.”
“That’s sounds a rather, if you’ll forgive, an innocent view.”

“Let’s travel in style
Let’s raise a glass
As we steam down the canal.
And before the world ends, it turns completely, upside down.”

The fates you encounter are your own.


“Doctor.”
“Yes?”
“Are we alive?”
“I should say so. Do you feel alive?”
“I feel rather sore..and my ears are ringing.”
“Then you’re definitely alive.”

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I wouldn't lose you in a game of cards, you're my best friend."-The 8th Doctor.

Not one of Big Finish best stories. I listened to this years ago and remember not liking it but Paul McGann and India Fisher are the highlights of this story and the strongest characters/actors over all despite the poor script.

Paul Magrs writing is very hit or miss for me but nothing ground breaking.

[Sara Habein · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was much more interesting than the second. The second more or less spelled out the ending, but there were still 15-20 minutes to get through. Good story, but not outstanding.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Very good story, good acting, great production value. Everything wonderful about this. I would certainly listen to this again.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

あらすじ
Part1

命からがら逃げるはめになっているドクターとチャーリー。ようやくターディスにたどり着くと、危ない目にあってばかりと愚痴るチャーリーに今度こそ楽しめるとヴェニスに連れて行く。

ところがターディスが到着した未来のヴェニスは明日水の中に水没するため、最後の宴が繰り広げられているところだった。しかもドクターとチャーリーが出会ったミス・ラヴィッシュによるとヴェニスが沈むのは呪いのせいだという。チャーリーはそんな場面に居合わせたくないと嘆くが、ドクターとゴンドラに乗り、それでもヴェニスは美しい、来てよかったと気持ちを変える。ドクターの希望で美術館を訪れた二人。キュレーターのチャーチウェルのことをドクターは知っているようだった。ドクターはコレクションも水没する運命にあるときき、ターディスで救済したがる。絵に興味のなかったチャーリーはこっそり抜け出し、ゴンドラの漕ぎ手ピエトロに街を案内してもらう。ドクターはチャーチウェルからコレクションの主オルシノ伯爵が100年前に亡くなったヴェニスの女王エステラが明日復活すると信じているという話をきく。そもそも水没も女王が恋に破れた呪いのせいだとも。呪いを信じないドクター。チャーリーがいないことに気がつき慌てて探しに美術館の外へ。コレクションを救済してもらいたいチャーチウェルもドクターに同行する。日も暮れる頃、チャーリーはピエトロにヴェニスの女王エステラに成り済ますよう迫られる。その頃、ドクターとチャーチウェルはエステラの復活を信じるカルト集団に捕らえられる。

Part2

カルト集団に監禁されたドクターとチャーチウェル。カルト集団の狙いはエステラ復活必要と信じられているポートレートだとチャーチウェルは予測。しかし、ポートレートは存在しない。ドクターとチャーチウェルは脱出を試みる。その頃チャーリーはピエトロに薬を飲まされ、エステラになりすましてオルシノ伯爵に結婚を申し込むよう説得される。薬によって自分の意思で身体を動かせないチャーリーに断る術はなかった。。宴会中のオルシノ伯爵の前に連れていかれたチャーリー。ピエトロに促されるとエステラとしての言葉がスラスラと口からついてでる。ドクターとチャーチウェルは脱出しようと地下道を進む中、黄金の棺を発見する。エステラの棺と推測し、蓋をあけるが中身は装飾品のみだった。しかし、カルト集団に見つかってしまい、死かポートレートを渡すか選べと脅され、ドクターはポートレートの元に案内することを選ぶ。一方、オルシノにエステラの生まれ変わりと信じさせることに成功したチャーリーは結婚式の準備のためピエトロと共にエステラの屋敷へ。同じくエステラの屋敷を目指していたドクター達は途中で水の中から現れた化け物に襲われる。

Part3

ピエトロの身勝手さに腹をててたチャーリー。これ以上、協力する気はないと伯爵の屋敷を去ろうとする。ピエトロとミス・ラビッシュもついてくる。そのころ宴会場のオルシノ伯爵の元にドクターとチャーチウェルがカルト集団のメンバーと共に訪れる。エステラの棺について伯爵に話し、棺とポートレートを交換するように交渉しようとするが、伯爵はなかなか耳を貸さない。しかし、チャーチウェルの証言から棺の話を信じ、棺をみたがる。しかし、ポートレートは知らないと言い張る伯爵。ドクターは伯爵の美術コレクションは地球外のものと指摘。その時、チャーリーがエステラの生まれ変わりとして現れ、面食らうドクター。伯爵とともに全員でエステラの棺を見に行くことに。ドクターとチャーリーは逸れていた間のお互いの状況をアップデートしあう。チャーリーは面倒に巻き込まれたことで、そもそもホリデーと言いながらここに連れてきたドクターに腹を立てていた。エステラの棺の間についた時、ドクターとチャーリーはピエトロの機転で逃げ出す。しかしゴンドリアンが攻めてくるのを見て、再び棺の元に戻る。ドクターは棺を開けるのを止めようとするが...。

Part4

棺をあけたことでヴェニスが沈みだす。ゴンドリアンの暴走も止まらずヴェニスの外は阿鼻叫喚に陥る。ドクターは伯爵にエステラのポートレートが街を救う鍵になるかもしれないといい、伯爵はついにエステラからポートレートを受け取ったことを告白。全員で屋敷に急ぐ。そこで待ち構えていたのはミス・ラヴィッシュだった。



感想

劇場のお芝居の録音を聴いているのかと思うぐらいにドラマチックに展開する。沈みゆくヴェニスの雰囲気にあっていて聴いても楽しいのだが、肝心のクライマックスでテンポが停滞してしまう。”異星人と人間の100年の恋“という設定にやや酔いすぎの感が否めず、伯爵のせっかくの盛り上がりもくどいだけのように感じられ残念だ。終わってみれば、チャーリーのなりすましエピソードも無駄とというか意味がなかったし。そのせいで伯爵の純愛の純度がかえって霞んでしまったような。伯爵がしゃべりすぎだったのが敗因かも。あとはチャーリーがやたらと見捨てられたとドクターに怒るのだが、そもそも美術鑑賞に飽きてドクターを見捨てたのは彼女の方なのになぁとドクターを弁護したくなる。とはいえ、ドクターとチャーリーのバンターは悪くない。せっかくのドラマチック設定だったのにカタルシスが味わえなくて残念だ。

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of running to and forth, characters who do things for no logical reason and with no internal consistency, and a mystery that wasn't.

First thing, if I got it correctly, this is supposed to happen in the 23rd century, so I'm supposed to believe that in that short time Venice will become an isolated city-state ruled by a Duke with no technology and no connection to the rest of the world. It's the kind of retro future that Doctor Who likes to make, but it works best in the year 3200 or 32000 rather than 2200, especially since things are supposed to have been this way since at least a century.

Then, as someone else pointed out, why would the gondoliers uprise, if the city is going to be theirs anyway the next day? And why would Pietro try to stop the curse, since he didn't seem too keen on saving the revelers either?
(Side note: please consult a pronunciation guide when using non-English names. It's Pie-tro, not Pi-e-tro.)

Which brings us to the worst macguffin ever: Estella. look, I know that Big Finish was/is working on the cheap and had to limit the number of voice actors in any given story, but if your plot hinges on figuring out what happened to the duke's dead wife, try at least to make sure that there are two women in your supporting cast.

McGunn and Fisher try to do their best with what they're given, but sadly it isn't much at all.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook was just plain FUN. The Doctor was, of course, on par, written completely in character- he was charming, sarcastic, witty, smart, charismatic and curious. Paul McGann played him flawlessly, as he is bound to do. India Fisher was also spot on as Charley, even if she was a little on the whiny side in this installment. The Stones of Venice felt like a rather light-hearted story, even though Venice was on the brink of disaster and a curse was being played out. The universe wasn't at stake, all of time and space wasn't threatened, but it was still good old fashioned Doctor Who fun- the companion getting herself into places she shouldn't, and the Doctor's curiosity and need to assist others embroiling them both in a local mystery, rife with curses, cults, and mer-men. The story itself wasn't deep or earth-shattering, and could have been a little longer and been a little more fleshed out. All in all, it was a good time, and I enjoyed listening to it, as I always do with Big Finish.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between a 3 and a 4, and probably nearer 3 than 4.
Overall the main plot is at heart an interesting one, with some good twists in it, and the Eighth and Charlie are mostly pretty good here, helping cement their overall relationship and thirst for adventure.
The one off characters are certainly an interesting bunch, and I have a certain fondness for Churchwell, and while certainly not one dimensional, all of them tend to monologue more than necessary, three characters particularly so, which is at least two characters too many.
The Doctor himself seems to fall into this trap a couple of times, and a couple of times seems a bit too willing to ramble on, with the only purpose to extend the plot as his own rambling prevents him getting to the point fast enough to stop the next plot point occuring.
Generally it felt like this could have been a very good 1 hour story, but got too stretched trying to make it fit 4 episodes instead, to it's detriment.

[Isaac · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a weird little story. I really liked the sort of gothic atmosphere. Gothic apocalypse is a genre there should be more of. The apocalyptic bits were good too. Eight and Charley were fun as ever, though not especially noteworthy. I liked what it had to say about the mythologisation of events, idolatry, and how tragedy and superstition prevents people from living their lives. The little anti-classism bits were good too. But my god did it not pull these threads together well at all. It tries to do way too much, so the plot ends up being at once predictable, with some subplots being absolutely pointless. And the climax was a rushed deus ex machina. Also there was some quite bad voice acting from the side-characters. This story coasts by well on atmosphere for a lot of its runtime, but atmosphere can only help so much.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5

The Stones of Venice was a nice little adventure for The Doctor and Charley. I think this story really solidifies the Eighth Doctor's sense of curiosity and the reckless abandon he throws himself into these situations. Charley also gets to romp around pretending to be the dead duchess that cursed the city of Venice to sink into the ocean, which was great fun. India and Paul are both fantastic as usual, and the audio was very atmospheric and properly 'doomed' feeling. Not necessarily the most engaging of plots, and it did feel scattered at some points, with the amphibian gondoliers and the whole cult thing being a bit distracting. A solid entry in the audio dramas.

(Archived in 2017 as to not interfere with the Reading Challenge, actually listened in 2018)

[Kathryn Houghton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t say I particularly cared about what happened to the people in Venice- it was very hard to relate to the characters like Pietro. I just couldn’t. But I did like some of the interactions between the Doctor and Charley. They try and take a much needed holiday only to end up in another twist. They get separated for a bit and you can tell the Doctor already feels quite attached, especially when he tells her he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and she’s his best friend. Which seems like a big thing to say, but for this Doctor it’s fitting. I think he might be someone who gets attached easily, and he’s a big romantic to start out with. It was lovely hearing them banter and chat back and forth.

[Moko Anggoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

It certainly got an interesting premise, however not the one that I expected. It was set on dystopian Venice, though I felt like it was more like an alt-Middle Age era Venice. It has everything a Middle Age-ish story elements: an ancient cult, peasant uprising, and mythical figure of a Goddess. Honestly, if the Doctor didn't tell that it was located in the future, I wouldn't know it.

Charley still became the damsel in distress, for the third time since her debut, which means in all her appearance so far. It really got me disappointed since India Fisher brought a lot of distinctive traits for Charley. Hopefully, in the next audio play, it'll get better.

Overall, pretty good Doctor Who story.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the harder Doctor Who dramas to get into and it probably didn't help that a lot of the voice acting (as more or less appropriate for the time-place setting) was very theatrically dramatic, like they all had experience in a Greek chorus or something. The acting was bad, don't get me wrong. But it was a little distracting or at least created a very particular tone that I'm not sure if I was on board with.

The story was just okay - very standard Classic Doctor Who fare despite this being an Eighth Doctor story. It matches the sort of overall romantic tone we've associated with this particular instance of the Doctor but may not be the best showcase of this unique take on this character.

[Reggie A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical romp set in the future that still feels like a historical romp AND there’s a curse, a cult, and a masquerade? Perfect. Awesome. No notes.

I absolutely loved listening to this one. Not even my distaste for Venice (sorry; Renaissance scholar who has a Florentine bias. It’s incurable) could dissuade me from having a grand ole time listening to this.

Generally I found the characters fun, and the Duke especially had a fantastic character VA. While I guessed the twist before the reveal, it frankly made the reveal all the more satisfying due to the structure of the story.

This thing is wacky, intriguing, lighthearted while retaining it’s emotional core, and all together fun to listen to. A solid stand alone story!

[Gail Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 18th Doctor Who Big Finish audio and the 3rd one starring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. It was originally released on 19th March 2001. This is my second time listening to it since I bought the CD 21 years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by it.

The story takes place in the 23rd century as Venice is sinking. Why is it that there are no boats or planes out of Venice is never explained. Also one gets the impression that it is taking place in the Dark Ages as no one has ever heard of aliens or outer space and everyone appears to be ignorant of technology. Despite these drawbacks I liked the story very much. In the end it was a love story and I am a sucked for love stories.