A
century after the revival of the sleepers on board Space Beacon
Nerva and the defeat of the hostile insectoid Wirrn, human survivors
continue to reconstitute the genetic stock of all the Earth's
animal and plant life. But an unwanted genetic code is about
to be activated...
As
with the Autons and the Sontarans, stars of previous BBV audio
and video ventures, the rights to the Wirrn are owned not
by the BBC but by the estate of their creator Robert Holmes.
This has allowed writer Paul Ebbs to craft a clever sequel
to Holmes' popular 1975 Doctor Who serial, The Ark
in Space.
Points
of continuity are keenly observed by the entire creative team,
with Keith Drinkel's character Parker doing a very good impersonation
of the Wirrn-infected Noah from Ark, as Parker similarly
succumbs to Wirrn influence. Sarah Sutton, best known as Doctor
Who companion Nyssa, here plays another level-headed scientist,
a gene technician also called Sarah. The use of this Christian
name suggests that another of the Doctor's companions, Sarah
Jane Smith, went down in history following her participation
in the events of The Ark in Space. Mike Neilson's post-production
also provides a pretty accurate approximation of the laser-gun
sound effect used back in 1975.
Initially
reconstituted as regular-sized Earth wasps, rather than the
giant Wirrn variety, the insect threat also pays homage to
the "killer bee" genre of horror movies to good effect.
Richard
McGinlay
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