When the TARDIS materialises on a barren planet the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe encounter an Earth survey team led by Commander Harlowe. A distinctive shard of rock has been troubling the group, and three of the original team have vanished without trace.
As other crewmembers become sick, Zoe develops a debilitating headache. Could there be a link with the strange buzzing that only certain people can hear?
The Doctor’s investigations are hampered by the disappearance of the TARDIS’s interior dimensions, and with Jamie’s help he realises that humans may not be the only ones sizing up the planet as a new home.
Then the shard begins to crack open…
“This Happened a Lot. They would Arrive Somewhere in The Tardis, There Would Be a Mystery, And The Doctor Would Somehow Be Drawn into It.”
So ‘thinks’ Zoe Heriot, as written by David Howe. But whether it is sensible to be so on-the-nose with your script when it concerns a basic storytelling formula that is essential to the character you are writing for is very questionable. It unintentionally sends a signal to the reader and listener that you as writer are not taking this very seriously, and are lacking any real investment in what you are writing here.
That quibble aside though David J Howe has shown in the past he IS an able storyteller and writer, and this new release from the BBC Audio Originals series shows that grounding as a Prose writer. You see, it is written as prose, not an actual audio script, and so having an actor as capable as David Troughton to narrate your story and bring the characters to life is a real advantage.
It also makes for a powerful asset to the finished result on disc.
With a very basic plot that proposes a scientific base on a dead planet, a small group of scientists and archaeologists stationed there who have started to go missing, and strange phenomena manifesting on the Planet’s surface. There isn’t anything going on here that is new to anyone who has bought these BBC Audio stories – last year’s What Still Remains with Sophie Aldred treads the exact same ground as this for example.
It’s simple, it has little original to offer, and yet it does its job of entertaining for an hour. Naturally, the skill of David Toughton as reader and a performer adds life to the character involved, and lifts the published story above just being a set of familiar plot clichés strung together.
It’s a serviceable release, entirely disposable yes, but that is the very nature of these budget BBC releases. Although very formulaic and familiar it still makes for an ideal a distraction for an hour, and has superbly designed cover and interiors!
As such I can recommend!
“There’s something going on here, Jamie. And I need to get to the bottom of it.”
Shard of Life is by David J Howe, and read By David Troughton. You can buy it on Amazon now.
