Doctor Who: Bang-Bang-a-Boom! Review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

Released in December 2002, Bang-Bang-a-Boom! was the 39th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Bonnie Langford as companion Melanie Bush. It is written by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman and directed by Nicholas Pegg.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"Dark Space 8 - an advanced monitoring station floating serenely among the stars. Its crew - a dedicated and highly-skilled group of professionals, calmly going about their vital work. Its mission - to boldly 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, the 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 null points for the entire universe?"

I was really looking forward to this story since it's written by the same two people who brought us The One Doctor a year ago. Then I noticed it gets next to no love from fans. Is it as good as it's predecessor? No. Is it disappointing? Yes. Is it still decent? Yes. Just keep in mind, if you're expecting something incredibly funny and brilliant like The One Doctor, you're going to be disappointed.

The story starts with The Doctor and Mel attempting to get to France but ending up on some kind of spaceship where they notice what seems to be a bomb. Soon after that, they find themselves transported to some other spaceship called Dark Space 8. In an attempt to stay out of trouble, The Doctor and Mel decide to pretend they are the now-dead commander and pilot. They then learn of the Intergalactic Song Contest. Shortly after this, people start dying. Can The Doctor find out what, or who, is causing the deaths?

So, as for the acting... Sylvester McCoy is brilliant as usual, Bonnie Langford is pretty good and Mel isn't really annoying in this story. Actually, all the actors in this are very good.

I love the setting - an spaceship where an intergalactic talent contest of sorts is being hosted. It sort of reminds me of the Series 1 TV episode The End of the World although Bang-Bang-a-Boom! is probably the better story.

My favourite character featured in this story other than the Seventh Doctor is Gholos. Just hell yes, a very cool alien.

My favourite line... Hmm, that's a tough one. Honestly, it'd have to be "If we don't stop him, it's bang-bang-a-boom!" - the reason for the story title.

Another thing I like is how in episode 4 when The Doctor and Mel are about to leave, the ending theme comes on then goes off with The Doctor saying "It's too easy" then it goes back to the story.

Bang-Bang-a-Boom! features some very interesting scenes such as the Seventh Doctor dining with Queen Angvia which results in him... Falling in love with her? What? Isn't that a little out of character? Alright, something really is wrong with him. I didn't want anything like that to happen but the scene where he tells Mel about it is quite funny so it's forgiven, I guess.

Something I really didn't like was the way I had to listen to Nicholas Briggs recap the episodes. I know it was meant to be a joke and they were almost funny but as cool as Nicholas is and as awesome as his voice is, I just want to get on to the next part of the story - they're not broadcast in the form of weekly episodes here so the ridiculous recap is just unnecessary. The story was also a little slow and there are a couple of moments that make me cringe just thinking about them (the pits of Angvia...) but it's got just enough good things to make it a decent story.

I definitely wouldn't recommend this as your first Big Finish audio. It's not really bad but they've produced so many better stories. I'd recommend getting into Big Finish through something like Storm Warning, The One Doctor, The Chimes of Midnight, Blood of the Daleks, Spare Parts, The Holy Terror or Flip-Flop.

Overall Rating: 6/10

You can buy Bang-Bang-a-Boom! for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.