2 episodes. Approx. 145 minutes. BBC Audio, 2 CDs. Written by: Stephen Cole. Produced by: Kate Thomas. Read by: David Tennant.
THE PLOT
The HMS Ascendant is lost at sea, with all hands assumed lost - including Jay, the brother of Rose's friend, Keisha. The wreck is brought back to London, but there are neither corpses nor survivors. While Rose is paying her friend a consolation visit, the image of Jay appears in front of both girls, calling on them to come to him. To save him. "Before the feast."
Friends and relatives of the ship's crew have received similar visitations all over the country. People are literally hurling themselves into the Thames, trying to reach their loved ones. The Doctor pays a visit to Stanchion House, the research facility housing the wreck under the watchful eye of Rear Admiral John Crayshaw. He soon discovers that the visitations are the result of an alien consciousness in the water, a consciousness that has taken control of Crayshaw. If the menace gets the chance to spawn, it will spread its influence all over the world!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Rose treats him like an idiot child during the opening scenes. Given his behavior, I can't say that I blame her. Sure, the Tenth Doctor is prone to intermittent streams of babble. But I don't think there's much of anything in the actual series comparable to the "Jack Dusty, the Jack Dusty" bit. It's unamusing as a gag; and given that it's directed at a woman in mourning, it is anything but endearing.
When the Doctor is investigating, or standing up to the evil alien consciousness, the characterization works much better. David Tennant's performance is also at its best during these moments, particularly when the Doctor is conveying grim determination or anger. But the flippancy, fairly well-handled by Jacqueline Rayner in The Stone Rose, spins out of control here - and brings out the worst in Tennant, as well.
Rose: Somewhere along the lines, Stephen Cole slips from a characterization of Rose as a strong, smart young woman into Rose as a Mary Sue. Within a twenty minute span, we hear the Doctor and Jay both talk about how ultra-super-special she is. I half-expected her to sparkle and levitate during the second half. Rose can be a good character, when well-written. Unfortunately, Cole has an even weaker grasp on Rose than he does on the 10th Doctor, and the characterization fails miserably.
Mickey: Cole does a very good job with Mickey, however. Mickey shows quite a bit of courage and resourcefulness in helping to deal with the Water Hive. I liked that his helping himself to a grenade is mocked by the Doctor, yet ends up being the key to solving the problem at the end. As in The Stone Rose, David Tennant does a good job of suggesting Noel Clarke's performance. Given a larger role for Mickey in this story, the results are extremely pleasing.
THOUGHTS
David Tennant is a natural-born audio book reader. Though his Doctor gets annoying in the overwritten flippant bits, he is outstanding when the Doctor is grimly focused on the problem at hand. In the narration, he has a way of increasing or decreasing his pace to reflect the beats of the story. Action scenes are brisker, character scenes slower. Tennant the reader has a strong sense of pace, which keeps the flow going. He once again brings unique flavors to each major guest character, as well. His Vida (pseudo-companion of the story) is highly appealing, brought to life with a lovely light Welsh lilt, while his Crayshaw is suitably deep-voiced and menacing.
The story has one genuinely outstanding set piece. About two-thirds of the way through Disc 1, the Doctor has infiltrated Stanchion House but has been found out. The entire sequence as he escapes is terrific. There's a vivid mental image as the Doctor pilots a ship out of the military control, through the Thames, while Rose follows his progress from the shore. It's tightly paced, highly visual, and stuffed to the brim with activity. As good as the Colisseum sequence in The Stone Rose was, this is even better. It would not be out of place in a bigscreen Doctor Who movie.
The problem with having a scene like that relatively early in the story is that it provides a challenge: How do you top it? The Feast of the Drowned never manages it. At least one later set piece, involving Mickey using a door to essentially surf over the alien-controlled water, tries for a similar level of excitement but lands more on the side of self-parody. The story remains competently-crafted and structured throughout. But after that early peak, the rest of the running time is basic, generic Doctor Who. Not bad by any means, but it never recaptures that early level of excitement.
The Water Hive, as the alien consciousness is eventually named, is an intriguing villain. An alien with total control of the water is a terrifying concept, one which the television series would eventually play with to good effect. Unfortunately, this is one of those stories in which the aliens are far too easily defeated. When it becomes time to wrap things up, the Doctor yanks some Time Lord voodoo out of an unspecified orifice while Rose and the story's requisite pseudo-companion use a MacGuffin against the water. As for all those pesky physiological changes caused to the aliens' victims? Turns out that, with the alien dead, they're self-healing. Convenient.
Stephen Cole is a good writer, and The Feast of the Drowned has a strong pace and a solid story structure. But aside from one great set piece, this is Who-by-Numbers. Briskly paced and well-read by Tennant, it will certainly pass the time. For non-completists, though, I don't think it's worth the purchase price. Maybe worth the price of a cheap second-hand copy, but certainly not full retail.
Rating: 5/10.
Rose: Somewhere along the lines, Stephen Cole slips from a characterization of Rose as a strong, smart young woman into Rose as a Mary Sue. Within a twenty minute span, we hear the Doctor and Jay both talk about how ultra-super-special she is. I half-expected her to sparkle and levitate during the second half. Rose can be a good character, when well-written. Unfortunately, Cole has an even weaker grasp on Rose than he does on the 10th Doctor, and the characterization fails miserably.
Mickey: Cole does a very good job with Mickey, however. Mickey shows quite a bit of courage and resourcefulness in helping to deal with the Water Hive. I liked that his helping himself to a grenade is mocked by the Doctor, yet ends up being the key to solving the problem at the end. As in The Stone Rose, David Tennant does a good job of suggesting Noel Clarke's performance. Given a larger role for Mickey in this story, the results are extremely pleasing.
THOUGHTS
David Tennant is a natural-born audio book reader. Though his Doctor gets annoying in the overwritten flippant bits, he is outstanding when the Doctor is grimly focused on the problem at hand. In the narration, he has a way of increasing or decreasing his pace to reflect the beats of the story. Action scenes are brisker, character scenes slower. Tennant the reader has a strong sense of pace, which keeps the flow going. He once again brings unique flavors to each major guest character, as well. His Vida (pseudo-companion of the story) is highly appealing, brought to life with a lovely light Welsh lilt, while his Crayshaw is suitably deep-voiced and menacing.
The story has one genuinely outstanding set piece. About two-thirds of the way through Disc 1, the Doctor has infiltrated Stanchion House but has been found out. The entire sequence as he escapes is terrific. There's a vivid mental image as the Doctor pilots a ship out of the military control, through the Thames, while Rose follows his progress from the shore. It's tightly paced, highly visual, and stuffed to the brim with activity. As good as the Colisseum sequence in The Stone Rose was, this is even better. It would not be out of place in a bigscreen Doctor Who movie.
The problem with having a scene like that relatively early in the story is that it provides a challenge: How do you top it? The Feast of the Drowned never manages it. At least one later set piece, involving Mickey using a door to essentially surf over the alien-controlled water, tries for a similar level of excitement but lands more on the side of self-parody. The story remains competently-crafted and structured throughout. But after that early peak, the rest of the running time is basic, generic Doctor Who. Not bad by any means, but it never recaptures that early level of excitement.
The Water Hive, as the alien consciousness is eventually named, is an intriguing villain. An alien with total control of the water is a terrifying concept, one which the television series would eventually play with to good effect. Unfortunately, this is one of those stories in which the aliens are far too easily defeated. When it becomes time to wrap things up, the Doctor yanks some Time Lord voodoo out of an unspecified orifice while Rose and the story's requisite pseudo-companion use a MacGuffin against the water. As for all those pesky physiological changes caused to the aliens' victims? Turns out that, with the alien dead, they're self-healing. Convenient.
Stephen Cole is a good writer, and The Feast of the Drowned has a strong pace and a solid story structure. But aside from one great set piece, this is Who-by-Numbers. Briskly paced and well-read by Tennant, it will certainly pass the time. For non-completists, though, I don't think it's worth the purchase price. Maybe worth the price of a cheap second-hand copy, but certainly not full retail.
Rating: 5/10.
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