The latest eighth Doctor offering from Big Finish Productions, The Skull of Sobek is another fantastic story and yet further evidence that Marc Platt should really be given a shot writing for the current TV series. This is a taught thriller and unfolds at a satisfying pace. I’ll just go ahead and say that Paul McGann is my favorite Doctor so I may be slightly biased in this instance. Also, I think the eighth Doctor and Lucy are on of the best Doctor-Companion pairings ever. Sheridan Smith is simply fantastic as Lucy in this outing and she really gets a chance to stretch her legs a bit, as it were. I think that the eighth Doctor and Lucy team is right up near the top of best Doctor/Companion matches and their chemistry is magic here. The Doctor and Lucy find themselves on the planet Indigo 3, a literally blue planet with blue people. The TARDIS lands them on the roof of the Sanctuary of Imperfect Symmetry, a place of comtemplation besieged both from within (by mysterious visions that make a violent mark in the physical world) and without (by a legion of pilgrams there to find the source of the visions). Soon an ancient conflict manifests itself, threatening everyone and it’s up to the Doctor and Lucy to solve the mystery of the Skull of Sobek. Sounds like your usual Who romp, but Platt deftly avoids making this an adventure-by-numbers with some interesting twists, dynamic characters and snappy dialogue. The able direction of Barnaby Edwards keeps this story going at a brisk pace. The only thing that I don’t like about this audio play is the American accent by Mikey O’Connor. It just sounds like his efforts at sounding American detract from his voice acting, enough so that it’s nearly cringe-worthy and very out of place. That’s really only a minor gripe, though and this play hits all high marks otherwise. Mention must also be made of the cover illustration by Grant Kempster, possibly his best yet and a nice image to go with a terrific tale. All in all, I highly recommend you check this out.
