The Natural History of Fear

During my run of Big Finish’s Bernice Summerfield in 2010 I said once before that I struggled to review their main range of Doctor Who stories. This is because more than any other series the format of Doctor Who is so variable, so flexible, that pinning a consistent style in it is impossible. Doctor Who is unique in that though there are some stories I prefer over others, I struggle to call many of them truly ‘bad’, just ‘different’. Every other series I can try to judge what they’ve achieved compared to what I thought they were meant to, but the intention of Doctor Who varies so wildly from one moment to the next that this becomes almost impossible. The Natural History of fear represents this, and so much more. More than anything else it is ‘different’. In truth the reason you are seeing this review is because it is not, in any sense of the word, a traditional Doctor Who Story.

Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code

Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code is something of a slow burner. Over the course of an hour Lisa Bowerman, as Bernice Summerfield, tells us a tale that’s clearly designed to evoke memories of the ‘Virgin New Adventures’. It’s heavy on big, alien, metaphysical ideas too vague to be comprehended by puny mortal brains, although Eddie Robson has a good go at it. And by the nature of the stories huge, huge scope boiling down to an interplanetary war and the peace conference designed to prevent it, things become very heavy on the exposition.

Bernice Summerfield - Series Seven and Eight

In 2006 Simon Guerrier became producer of the Bernice Summerfield range for Big Finish, a post he held for two years and two very strong series. Have a look for yourself:

Series Seven: 6 audios, 1 book, 1 novella collection, 1 short story collection

With Irving Braxiatel gone the Collection faces an uncertain future. Series six bosts some of the best releases of the range and for the first time everything ties together fantastically to make a cohesive whole.

Series Eight: 6 audios, 1 book, 1 novella collection, 1 short story collection

Leaping back to the Collection Bernice faces a home at war. A stunning climax to the previous seven series and everything changes across six tumultous releases and a couple of seminal books.

The Wake Review

The Wake opens with a short montage; ‘101 things you should know about Irving Braxiatel’, where Lisa Bowerman and Miles Richardson effectively recreate several scenes from the books to ensure all listeners are completely up to date with our remaining characters. Braxiatel met Bernice thousands of years in the future, he was there when she married Jason, he was there when she was alone and friendless, and then many years later he was there when Jason died….

Bernice Summerfield - Series Five and Six

Bernice Summerfield series 11 has began over the summer, and if you havent been introduced to the series yet then trust me, you are missing out.
Here's what you need to know about this series fantastic history:

Series Five: 4 audios, 1 short story collection, 1 book, 1 novella collection, 1 Special Release
Although the series arguably took this opportunity to rest on its laurels, it was coming off a great high from Series Four. These are all good audios, although the real story can be seen slowly moving forwards in the books.

Series Six: 5 audios, 1 book,1 novella collection, 1 short story collection

Braxiatel has been plotting behind the scenes for a long time and here, although it takes some time, the range goes head to head with its arch-antagonist. Every release builds on the last to make this possibly the most ambitous series yet, even if things do get muddled towards the end.

Bernice Summerfield - Series Three and Four

More reviews, posted online a while ago, bring me up to Series 4 for the Bernice Summerfield marathon. Check the website linked to for plenty more coverage of Big Finish’s other ranges…

Series Three: 1 Short Story Collection, 4 Main Releases, 1 Excelis Tie In

Bernice's Life at the Collection begins to settle down, but things remain far from peacefull.

Series Four: 4 audios, 1 Short Story Collection
Monster of the Week! Bernice rushes around the universe encountering the worst it has to throw at her, but she's missed something 'big' going down at home... Probably the most consistantly strong series so far.

Bernice Summerfield - Series One and Two

Why should you care about Bernice Summerfield?

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been working through Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range since late last year. This marathon includes around fifty full cast audio dramas, at least ten full length novels and ten more short story collections and a few novella anthologies... And that's just since the range moved to Big Finish in 1999.

Big Finish have just announced that Series 11 is coming soon, and it should be an excellent place for new listeners to jump on as a major long running plot arc is drawing to a close. So if you're interested in dipping your toe into this fantastic range, here's the reasons why you should give them a go. Click on the pictures to be taken to to the Audio Reviews website for in depth analysis.

Series One - An Exquisite series of audio adaptations of Virgin's original Bernice Summerfield books

Buried Treasures - Big Finish's first ever 'Subscriber Bonus'

Series Two Books - When Big Finish considered taking over the range these stories introduced a brand new continuity for them to explore. Proudly introducing: the Braxiatel Collection.

Series Two Audios - Brand new adventures for the same old professor