Doctor Who: Bang-Bang-a-Boom!

Big Finish: Monthly Range #39

by Gareth Roberts, Clayton Hickman, Bonnie Langford (Narrator)

Dark Space 8 - an advanced monitoring station floating serenely among the stars. Its crew - a dedicated and highly-skilled group of professionals, calmy going about their vital work. Its mission - to boldy host the Intergalactic Song Contest.

With representatives from myriad worlds competing, the eyes of the universe are on the station. But dark deeds are afoot aboard Dark Space 8... and people are starting to die.

The haughty Queen Angvia, the gaseous gestalt Gholos, disposable pop idol Nicky Neumann, erratic Professor Fassbinder and the icily-efficient Dr Helena Harcourt ­ all are suspects. Could old political rivalries be manifesting themselves among the contestants? Is this the work of a breakaway terrorist faction? Or has someone just got it in for singer-songwriters?

With peace in the galaxy hanging by a thread, it's vital that the mystery is solved ­ and fast! Can Dark Space 8's unconventional new commander, with the help of his personal pilot, Mel, find the murderer in time to prevent a major intergalactic war?

Or will it be nul points for the entire universe...?

Chronological Placement
This story takes place between the television adventures Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannermen.

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

Audio Play

First published December 19, 2002

About the author

Gareth Roberts has written TV scripts for various soap operas (including Brookeside, Springhill, and Emmerdale), Randall & Hopkirk (deceased), the revival of Doctor Who, the Sarah Jane Adventures, and Wizards vs Aliens.

Also for the Doctor Who universe, he has written the interactive adventure Attack of the Graske, the mobile phone TARDISODEs accompanying the 2006 series, several Big Finish audios, and multiple novels, as well as contributed to Doctor Who Magazine.

Reviews

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a seventh Doctor adventure with Mel Bush as the companion and is #39 in the Big Finish main range.

The Doctor and Mel appear on a shuttle approaching a space station, only to discover that the two people on board are dead and the shuttle is about to explode. At the last possible moment they're beamed aboard the space station Dark Space 8 and they are immediately mistaken for the new station commander and the pilot of the shuttle. Dark Space 8 is hosting the Intergalactic Song Competition and features a diverse group of crew and guests that the Doctor and Mel begin to mix with. Just in time for the murders to start.

The seventh Doctor era was a strange one for the show and this is well documented in fan history. For me personally, while there are one or two standout stories, it was mostly disappointing and not for me. In particular the seventh Doctor seemed to have two modes of story, roughly separated into his earlier stories and his later ones. The early ones were tonally off, with patently ridiculous situations, slapstick humor, yet with story-lines with substantial body-counts. The later ones got a lot more serious in terms of plot and portrayed the Doctor with a clownish demeanor that masked a Machiavellian puppet-master. This entry fits chronologically smack in the early seventh Doctor stories and this story feels exactly like it belongs in that group.

I strongly dislike the early seventh Doctor stories. Call me odd, but high body-counts don't mesh well with silly antics and clownish behavior.

As a parlor room murder-mystery this kind of works. As a spoof of 90s space station SF it kind of works (I laughed when they referred to Dark Space 8 as "the last best hope for peace", and of course the name is a reference to ST:DS9). As a showcase for the acting of Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford ... no, I'm sorry, they're both obnoxious in this one.

Another one for a very specific sub-group of fans and is highly skippable.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Mel we’re going to have one of our little chats in the Reading Room!’

[Avarill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story shouldn't work, but it does. Inexplicably, really. Seriously, it's a mash-up of Star Trek and American Idol. With Hercule Poirot thrown in. Not only does it work, it works with style. The dialogue is snappy and witty, and the plot dances along with glee. Mel (and I don't often say this) is a perfect foil for the Doctor. And Sylvester McCoy (whom I adore on general principles) gets to have the most fun I've seen (heard) the Seventh Doctor have in quite some time. Highly recommended.

In fact, I just realized that Gareth Roberts wrote it... and the similarities to The Unicorn and the Wasp are striking. Except... (whispers) this one made a whole lot more sense!

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bang-bang-a-boom: is it a star trek parody? Is it an amusing take on the Eurovision Song Contest? Is it a murder mystery? It is all of these... and yet at the same time it is none of these :( thinking about it a Eurovision murder mystery could work quite well as a concept but it's all muddled with a sort of humourous take on star trek. Yet somehow it doesn't quite gel. There's a great cast here too so you'd expect fireworks but what you get is a bit of a damp squib. The actor playing Logan (Terry Wogan) doesn't quite get the patter right and so that falls flat for sure. It's tonally all over the place too. It's entertaining but is one space station you won't want to revisit very often.

[Nicholas Whyte]

This ought to be a disaster - Doctor Who trying to satirise popular entertainment usually fails dismally. But it largely works, partly due to the all-star cast - former Goodie Graeme Garden as the doomed but slightly comical professor, former Sheriff of Nottingham Nickolas Grace as the sinister Mr Loozley, and former interstellar vampire Patricia Quinn as an alien princess (so no type-casting there then). There is also an alien which can only crackle rather than talking.[return][return]And lots of piss-taking of other sf stories - the space station where the contest is taking place is called "Dark Space Eight", and the rather colourless station doctor thinks she is in Star Trek - while at the same time the Doctor is trying to solve a murder mystery - one of whose victims is this play's Irish character, Commentator WLogan, played by David Tughan (presumably the jazz musician).

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come storia non è originale e ci sono molti effetti da sitcom... ma le musiche dedicate alla staziona spaziale fanno il verso al tema classico di Star Trek.
Tra i protagonisti ci sono Nikolas Grace (lo Sceriffo di Robin of Sherwood e Patricia Quinn (l'inimitabile Magenta di The Rocky Horror (Picture) Show... e solo loro fanno salire il punteggio.
La competizione canora è la versione galattica, ma non meno kitsch, dell'Eurovision Song Contest e l'inno nazionale terrestre replica l'effetto di Toxic nell'episodio The End of the World con qualche anno di anticipo.
E, chi conosce McCoy, può immaginare quale sarà la sua performance durante il concorso canoro.
Storia semplice, personaggi stereotipati e umorismo sopra le righe... ma, lasciandosi prendere dai vari omaggi, alla fine si rivela più che gradevole.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this is written by the absolute trash and bastard that is Gareth Roberts which is a shame as I really like this audio and the novel Shada he wrote too but I just can’t excuse his transphobic and bigotry views as a person.

Perhaps if I can ignore the fact Bang-Bang-a-boom is written by him and just focus it’s also written by Clayton Hickman, it might make it easier….

But, I do enjoy this fun story despite its rather unnecessary dramatic tone.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so weird and I know barely anything about Star Trek but... the murder mystery, the comedic sound queues, the weird characters/setting and the end of story fake out just falls together like a well-oiled machine. (If I watched Star Trek, I'd probably find the parody characters funnier but as they are? They're fine).

The only issue I would have with it is that the music part of the song contest is brushed over and considering the release after this one was the Doctor Who Pirate Musical audio drama, I just wished this one also tried to make weird alien music for Parts 3 and 4.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay. I loved the addition of the iconic Patricia Quinn, but I hated the voice she used in this. I was bummed that Bonnie Langford is a singer, and this is a story about an intergalactic singing ...and no singing for Mel.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In preparation for the Eurovision themed Doctor Who Story this Saturday, I decided to listen to the first time Doctor Who did a Eurovison themed story.

I feared this story would make a lot of references to Eurovison, which would go over my head due to me never properly watching Eurovison before. luckily, this was not the case, and instead, the story was a fun murder mystery with a sci-fi song contest as the setting.

This story is very much trying to recreate the success of the writers previous audio story, being The One Doctor. While most of the story is fun and enjoyable, there are some weird moments in which the intended humour doesn't quite land.

Overall, the story has lots of great twists and turns and perfectly fits the era it's intended for being Season 24 with 7 and Mel.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a bizarre closed room murder mystery set around a song contest on Deep Space Nine, oops - I mean the station "Dark Space Eight." The story pokes a bit of fun at itself and jokingly references similarities with Star Trek on several occasions and it even has at least one cheeky reference to Babylon 5. 

The story starts with one of my favourite classic scenarios; arriving unexpected on a vessel in Space. The TARDIS appears on a shuttle near the station, just as it explodes and Seven and Mel are promptly beamed aboard. However unlike most of the classics, instead of being presumed as intruders, Mel is presumed to have been the pilot and the Doctor is believed to be the Station's new Commander; of course he quickly assumes the role. 

They soon realise that they're in the middle of a song contest which has some galactic importance and the Doctor takes his role as Commander quite seriously. Before long the galactic idol wannabes start turning up dead around the station. 

Mel Bush is a superstar in this story, she plays a sleuth on the trail of the murderer and is written and voice acted really well. I had thought that Seven was acting a bit out of character in the earlier parts of the story but there turns out to be a reason for that. 

Thankfully, we aren't subjected to too much of the actual song contest and not until the final episode. 

An odd coincidental writer's choice, this Seven story and the previous Five short story have both featured mice (or mouse-like creatures) as main characters.

Bang, Bang a Boom! I really liked this one.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

After some of the heavier Doctor Who episodes, it’s sometimes fun to have a light comedy episode from time to time. I may be in the minority there though, as I can imagine this drama is divisive depending on whether or not you want the franchise to always be serious or not. I recall people being in an uproar when episodes such as Love an Monsters were released, so I’d imagine it’s dicey. These are rarely my favorites in any way, but serve a fine purpose. This time, we are looking at Doctor Who: Bang-Bang-a-Boom! a Big Finish audio drama that somehow manages to be both a parody of Star Trek and The Eurovision Song Contest at the same time. Starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Bonnie Langsford as Melanie Bush, this is an interesting episode for sure.

Not being from the UK means that Eurovision is somewhat alien to me, no matter what Will Ferrell films get made about it, but I at least know the general idea, and watched the clip of Lordi performing in it years ago. That said, you really don’t have to have an extensive knowledge of it to have fun with this. Now, Star Trek is something I can get behind! The whole premise behind this is to imagine that a space station not to dissimilar to Deep Space Nine is selected as the host of a galaxy-wide song contest and shady stuff starts happening. I especially loved the musical nods to the Star Trek franchise and the numerous jabs at the show’s tropes.

Overall, there’s not too much to say about this one – it’s predictable, silly, and isn’t something I can really see myself rushing back to give a re-listen to. That said, it’s funny and does a good job of poking fun at Star Trek, and for that I enjoyed it. It fits right in with episodes from this era like Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannerman, so in that way it’s perhaps one of the better thematic continuations of the classic show we’ve heard up to this point. If you like McCoy era Doctor Who, check it out! Honestly though, The One Doctor was better.

https://arcadiapod.com/2022/02/06/rev...

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part1

フランスのパリを目指していたはずのドクターとメルだったが、ターディスが到着したのは宇宙船の中。しかも2人の乗組員の死体を見つけた上、爆弾がしかけられておりドクターとメルは大パニック。宇宙船が爆発する寸前、ドクターとメルは宇宙ステーション、ダーク・スペース8になぜかテレポートする。2人をテレポートさせたのは新しい指揮官の到着を待っていたダーク・スペース8のスタッフたちだ。ドクターとメルは着任予定の指揮官になりすまし、ターディスを取り戻す機会をさぐることに。折しも、ダーク・スペース8では第398回宇宙歌唱コンテンスト開催を控えており、参加者が続々と到着しているところだった。そんな最中、コンテスト参加者の部屋で新たな死体が発見される。

Part2

エレナ・ハーコート博士は病死と診断するがドクターは毒殺を疑う。コンテストに集まったアングリア、ゴロスは長期に渡る戦争に終止符をうとうとコンテストの会期中に平和協定を結ぼうとしていた。しかし、殺人事件がお互いの不信感を煽り、一触即発の緊張感がコンテスト関係者の間に流れる。ドクターとメルはダーク・スペース8の新指揮官を暗殺した真犯人探しとターディス探しを急ぐ。しかし、またもや犠牲者が出てしまう。

Part3

メルはドクターが真相究明にあまり集中していないことに気がつく。ドクターは自分でも驚いたことにアングリアの女王に恋をしたことをメルに打ち明けると、ミドルエイジ・クライシスかとメルに呆れられる。メルはポップスターのニッキーと協力して捜査を続け、アイヴァー教授が怪しいと睨むが、その教授も殺害されてしまう。メルはニッキーとさらに捜査を続けるが、メルは重要容疑者を見つけるが、掴まえて問い詰めようとした時、容疑者は足を滑らせ頭を打って死んでしまう。

Part4

ドクターは連続殺人の真相をつきとめる。しかし、テロ計画は進行していた。爆弾がしかけられた場所を知ったドクターとメルは爆発を防ごうとコンテスト会場に急ぐ。




感想

連続殺人の犯人探しとコンテストがいい具合に兼ね合っていて楽しい仕上がり。お祭り感もたっぷりでクリスマススペシャルとかで見てみたいノリで楽しく聴けた。恋にのぼせ上がるドクターがなかなか新鮮で面白かったし、メルとポップスターのニッキーのコンビも楽しかった。特にニッキーが憎めないキャラで、これきりなのがちょっと寂しいぐらい。

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best/funniest Seventh Doctor audio I've heard. It's essentially Doctor Who meets Star Trek. The Doctor and Mel go to Dark Space 8, which is obviously supposed to be like Deep Space 9. There's a character who does the captain's log thing, and, hilariously, she accidentally presses the red alert button while recording. During her segments, the music reminds me of the notes at the beginning of the them for The Next Generation. (Or I guess that would be from The Motion Picture?) There's even a line where someone says "Dark Space 8 was our last, best hope," which sounds like almost the exact same line from my favorite sci-fi show Babylon 5. So this story felt like it was catered to me. With a music contest and a murder mystery complete with overdramatic musical cues, this is loads of fun. The Doctor Who end theme even comes in early before being cut off because there was still some stuff left to resolve. Haha!

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so this one... Where do I begin? This one is so whacky and unhinged it's insane. The Doctor falls in love after being pulled into a woman's "bossoms", Mel can't stop finding dead bodies, the 'Intergalactic Song Contest' is coming (yes, RTD probably took inspiration from this one) and a Pakhar, first introduced in the Virgin New Adventures, appears as a murder suspect.

Despite being a parody of Eurovision, the murder mystery is actually pretty good and exciting. It perfectly balances the fun, light-hearted backdrop of the story along with a compelling and sensible narrative. Maybe it's just because I'm a huge fan of this sort of thing, but I do think this is a really worthwhile audio.

By the way, the fake credits was both funny and a stroke of genius. As was the hint that "I Will Survive" is the Earth's future anthem. Oh, and I appreciate the Ice Warrior cameo too.

[Pietro Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fools rush in where horses like to drink. Good to see the mixed sayings are back, and a pre-Godlike seventh Doctor. As depicted in the 24th season.

The Doctor and Mel land on a spaceship which is hosting the Intergalactic Song Contest, and soon people start being killed off. This is a whodunnit meets Eurovision Song Contest.

Whether you like the Eurovision Song Contest or not, or whodunnits, this is a good pastiche of both genres. The ending is a tad extended (needlessly), but overall it's fun and enjoyable. 8/10

Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Doctor Who story not meant to be taken seriously. It is purposely goofy and irreverent and it works about 70% of the time the other 30 is kind of cringe-y. Also this featured Mel who was never one of my favorite companions there were times during her run when she seemed more of a caricature then an actual person. I think in the audiobooks she is much improved but not completely. Overall I ended up liking it.

[Marius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is comedy, a blatant parody of Star Trek (and possibly Babylon 5?) with a splash of Poirot. The story seems like a jab at some of the "political space opera" 60s & 70s Doctor Who stories, too. Incredibly silly. Stear clear if that's not your thing because it really is ridiculous and self aware. I liked it a lot.

[morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

terror of the vervoids style whodunit on a spaceliner with various guests as suspects. seems to be a peace conference of some sort masquerading as a song contest, and the Doctor impersonating the commander of the ship. Fairly entertaining, though the plot lost me at some point along the way. Patricia Quinn's performance as Queen Angvia is great.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This audio drama is for the kind of person that thinks that a woman who's name is an anagram for "vagina" and who has sex glands in her armpits is hysterical.
I am not that person.
Patricia Quinn tries to carry the whole thing on her back and is quite brilliant, but can't save this.

[anna]

I thought this was fun! although some of it was clearly taken to inspire the unicorn and the wasp I thought the plot worked well, the characters were entertaining and the song contest was funny overall. shame Gareth is a dickhead

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manages somehow to reflect the era it’s based on without being terrible.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

This audio adventure is an accurate recreation of the feel of the early 7th Doctor Adventures. But, it is not a great story.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crítica | Big Finish Mensal #34 a 39: O Arrebatamento e Outras Histórias: https://www.planocritico.com/critica-...

[Charles Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

American idol meets scooby doo, 7th doctor style. Nice to get some Melanie, her time in the show was too short.

[Sarajane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooo

[Stephen Higham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman are writers with a very high opinion of their intrusive sense of humour. If you’re not digging their jokes there’s not much else for you here.

[Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

very fun but not enough Eurovision

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure quite what to make of this. It's making fun of so many things. Should it be a disaster? Should it be fantastic? It doesn't quite hit the mark, and yet it's still not terrible.