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On 19th-century Earth, artist Edvard Munch hears an infinite
scream passing through the universe. Centuries later, his
painting of the Scream hangs in a gallery on the barren dust
ball that is Duchamp 331. But what is a colony of artists
doing on such an inhospitable world?...
And
so writer Mike Tucker continues to develop what is now almost
exclusively "his" era: that of the Seventh Doctor and Ace.
Musician Russell Stone helps to evoke the tone of their TV
tenure with some distinctly Mark Ayres-style signatures.
A
number of other old favourites are back as well. These include
the deadly Krill from Tucker's co-authored BBC novel, Storm
Harvest (I'm not giving away any surprises here - there's
one on the front cover). Bev Tarrant (Louise Faulkner) from
the writer's previous audio drama The Genocide Machine
also returns. Faulkner works very well as a kind of ready-made
extra companion, allowing Tucker to split the action between
various refuelling stations, the artist's colony and an approaching
space cruiser.
Also
among the guest cast is the unrecognisable voice of Caroline
John (who played the TV companion Liz Shaw) as the heavily
accented art dealer Madame Salvadori. She is exquisite as
this domineering "luvvie" of the art establishment. Meanwhile,
the actress's real-life husband Geoffrey Beevers plays the
sinister masked man, Seta. His menacing tones are every bit
as spine-chilling as they were in the role of Melkur/the Master
in The Keeper of Traken. However, the explanation for
Seta's current condition stretches credulity somewhat.
The
gimmick of setting up a powerful menace, in this case the
Krill, and then introducing an even deadlier threat has been
done before in science fiction, especially in the various
Star Trek series. However, once the dust has settled,
this drama emerges as an effective variation on the classic
"isolated base under siege" formula of Doctor Who.
It boasts some corking cliffhangers, too.
Richard
McGinlay
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