Doctor Who: Valhalla by Marc Platt
01/11/2007 . Source: Sue Davies 
CD. pub: Big Finish ISBN: 978-1-84435-198-5. 120 minute CD. Price: £10.99 (UK). Non UK £14.50) - voices: Sylvester McCoy, Michelle Gomez, Susannah York, Philip Jackson, Fraser James, Donna Berlin, Duncan Wisbey, Dominic Frisby and Jack Galagher. Buy Doctor Who: Valhalla in the USA - or Buy Doctor Who: Valhalla in the UK  check out website: check out web sites www.BigFinish.com
The Doctor Number 7 gets another outing in this off-planet adventure. He's without a companion this time and arrives on Valhalla, capital of Callisto, Jupiter's biggest moon. He finds an odd situation where everything is up for sale. He seems to be adrift to as he visits the job centre looking for some sense of direction. Here, he gets a swift update on the poor termite-infested condition of Valhalla from a clerk who has a barcode on his tongue. The Doctor hasn't been registered yet but the Registry is very interested in him.
It doesn't take long though for the Doctor to get back his missing mojo as he uncovers some very odd behaviour from the city's termites. Then there is Mayor Teddy Laxton who seems to be in thrall to the Registry, a mysterious voice that instructs him on exactly what to say in his pre-riot speech. Riots are traditional on a Thursday.
The Doctor teams up with Jevvan but this is a race against time, against the termites and there's never an exterminator when you need one.
For those into starry casts this one has the 70s Superman's mother, Susannah York, playing the Big Bad - the Termite Queen who wants to take over Valhalla and use the humans as useful nesting facilities. Philip Jackson plays the cringing Laxton and there is the marvellous Michelle Gomez from Channel 4's 'Green Wing' who is Jevvan, a potential companion for the drifting Doctor.
CD extras include a good in-depth interview with Sylvester McCoy on the character development of the Seventh Doctor. I love the way the audio dramas go shooting off on their own sweet direction. Eschewing too many action-packed scenes, this drama attempts some in-depth development of the Doctor's motivation. We have a lot of two-handed scenes and a major amount of introspection from the previously underdeveloped Number 7. There are also some satisfying termite noises for those of you that like a good special effect.
Sue Davies
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