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Benny is using an archaeological expedition to the famed Latrines
of Baladroon as a pretext for a crafty bit of retail therapy
at the local Gigamarket. She hadn't anticipated running into
monsters and time anomalies, though. But then, running would
be quite out of the question in the shoes she has set her
sights on...
Following
the tension and trauma of the complicated birth of her son
in The Glass Prison, this audio adventure is intentionally
frivolous and comical. The voice of the Gigamarket's shopping
software and Benny's insatiable desire for new shoes are both
reminiscent of the second radio series of The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, while a drooling alien (Toby Longworth)
brings to mind the slobbering Spitting Image puppet
of Roy Hattersley.
David
Benson's portrayal of the administrator Keelor, a licentious
coward with the hots for Benny, hits the right mark. Steven
Allen hams up his performance as a time-displaced soldier,
Tarband - one presumes deliberately - but unfortunately he
does not ham it up enough for Tarband to truly work
as a comic character. Steven Wickham brings Benny's electronic
porter Joseph to life for (I believe) the first time on audio,
but, since the device is affected by temporal disruption in
this story, he spends most of the time just saying "Boing!"
Another
effect of the time anomaly is that Lisa Bowerman's voice briefly
sounds like that of Karra the Cheetah Person, the role she
played in the Doctor Who serial Survival back
in 1989. Truly a blast from the past!
This
CD is good fun for the most part, though it is rather lightweight.
Richard
McGinlay
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