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The Multihaven a vast array of doctrines and faiths housed
in one harmonious community appears to offer the perfect
sanctuary in which the distressed C'rizz can convalesce. But
under the guidance of the charismatic Laan Carder, one religion
seems to be gathering disciples at an alarming rate...
As
if to compensate for the over-long gap we were forced to endure
between the second and third "seasons" of the Eighth Doctor's
audio adventures, Big Finish has only made us wait six months
this time around. The main reason for these stories being
brought forward is in order to get the Divergent universe
storyline resolved and out of the way before the beginning
of the new BBC television series starring Christopher Eccleston,
and thus avoid confusing any potential new customers with
complicated ongoing story arcs.
However,
Faith Stealer is actually quite restrained by Divergent
universe standards, being more akin to The Twilight Kingdom
than Scherzo or The Natural History of Fear
in terms of its overall weirdness. But that's just a relative
judgement. This is still idiosyncratic stuff, as you might
expect from the pen of Graham Duff, co-writer of Steve Coogan's
Dr Terrible's House of Horrible.
What
is most refreshing about this tale is its frequently jocular
tone. This isn't an out and out comedy, but its lighter moments
offset the heaviness of traditionally touchy topics such as
organised religion and deadly cults. For instance, in order
for his party to gain admittance into the Multihaven, the
Doctor (Paul McGann) claims that they are followers of the
Tourist faith, who begin each day with a ritual cup of tea!
Bizarre faiths encountered along the way include the Serendipitists,
who believe that any accident, even tripping up, is a happy
one. Later on, C'rizz (Conrad Westmaas) submits himself to
a "mind-bleaching" therapist (Neil Bett) who comes across
like an over-enthusiastic dentist: "Open your mind wide..."
I
haven't really appreciated the Divergent universe arc until
now, but this adventure has renewed my faith in the series.
Richard
McGinlay
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