Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Bellotron Incident

Bernice Summerfield Audio Dramas #4.1

by Mike Tucker, Lisa Bowerman (Narrator), Miles Richardson (Narrator)

Two aggressive alien races.

A war that has raged for centuries.

A planet that orbits through no man's land.

The Rutan/Sontaran conflict has started to endanger the Terran trade routes, but when the Captain of the battle cruiser Rites of Passage finds an energy signature of artificial origin on the primitive planet of Bellotron he is duty bound to call in the assistance of a qualified academic.

Confronted by savage predators, fiendish traps and the unexpected involvement of an opportunist thief, an unwilling Benny finds herself caught up in a conflict where neither side plays by the rules—and no-one is quite what they seem...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Mike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a number of original tv tie-in Doctor Who novels (some co-written with Robert Perry), and three books based on episodes of the television series Merlin. He co-wrote the factual books Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era with Sophie Aldred in 1996, and BBC VFX - The Story of the BBC Visual Effects Department with Mat Irvine in 2010.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sono contenta che per una volta si parli dei Rutan anziché dei Sontaran, perché se i secondi hanno avuto molte apparizioni sia nella serie classica sia in quella nuova, i primi li abbiamo visti esclusivamente in The Horror of Fang Rock.
In questo caso, abbiamo un pianeta che per via della sua orbita passa dalla zona controllata dai Rutans attraverso una terra di nessuno fino allo spazio dei Sontaran. Nonostante la sua posizione molto strategica, essendo un pianeta di grado uno pre-industriale, i trattati impediscono qualsivoglia interferenza aliena. Eppure un segnale artificiale proviene dalla superficie e la presenza di artefatti archeologici ne impedisce l'analisi senza la supervisione di un esperto.
Benny viene quindi mandata in incognito insieme al comandante Ryan per investigare l'eventuale presenza di Rutans con un tempo molto limitato a disposizione.
La loro avventura prende una svolta all'Indiana Jones, cercando la fonte del segnale in un tempio pieno di trappole letali.
In più, la presenza dei Rutan con le loro abilità di prendere le sembianze di chiunque significa che non ci si può fidare di nessuno.
Questa storia inoltre introduce Bev Tarrant, ladra d'arte, all'interno della serie di Bernice, avendo precedentemente condiviso un paio di avventure con il Settimo Dottore (com'è piccolo l'universo).
Un ottimo inizio per la stagione, semplice ma avventuroso e con un bel colpo di scena finale.

[Tom Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this a lot. Like "The Greatest shop in the Galaxy" it was a fun listen.

It had nice atmosphere and performances from the cast.
It also featured the Rutons. the enemy from the first doctor story I watched and my favourite Doctor Who story being Horror of Fang Rock (along with The War Games.)

The Ruton was scary, unpredictable, intelligent and cunning in the story.
Here they sadly didn't hold any of the cards that defined their villain in Horror of Fang Rock.
Like the Krynoids, the Rutons are painfully underutilised and I hope Big Finish one day give them a memorable story in the monthly range for example. I would certainly like to see that and most Big Finish fans would agree with me.

7/10

[Daniel Author · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike Tucker is a consistent hand at writing and VFX. His VFX work is gorgeous, but his writing, on the other hand, is either incredibly bold or typical Doctor Who, but no matter what you’re going to get, you can bet it’s going to get dark.

A Rutan has been located on Bellotron and unfortunately the people looking after it can’t get involved without damaging a precious tomb. Bernice is at hand, but things might be a little complicated.

This is an atmospheric and fun listen that isn’t anything special, but at least it introduces Bev Tarrant into the series.

Overall: An enjoyable listen. 8/10

[Calum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been interested in the Rutans and it was fun seeing more of them. I think having the Sontarans completely absent was a great choice. Its cool having Bernice interact with more villains from the wider Doctor Who who universe and I think the Rutans, like the Ice Warriors, fit the tone of the series really well. I'm interested to see how they'll handle the upcoming Draconians, Sea Devils, and Daleks.
7/10

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok diversion. Didn’t feel as much like other Sontaran stories I’m used to.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgettable story - environmental sounds are cool though

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the tie in with classic Doctor Who monsters. Assuming, without checking any background info, production this season was a Tie-in to the 40th anniversary of the classic Sci-Fi show.
I'm not sure the rutans would have been my first pick as this makes a three-in-a-row of characters not quite being themselves. Still that's because I'm listening to them in close succession rather than spaced out as originally released. Good start to the season and more fun in tone than this series has been for a while...

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad Benny audio, by any means, but not likely to go down as one of my favorites. I found it slow to get moving, and the clever conceit at the heart of it was maybe a bit too clever for its own good. Still, it brings Bev Tarrant into the Bennyverse, which ought to promise interesting things to come!

[Debra Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This adventure was a lot of fun to listen to because of the action and the swapping out of bodies going on between characters that we trying to stay out of the conflict. Benny gets called in for a consult but gets mixed up in a war she was not supposed to be a part of.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relisten...

Honestly though, felt like a first time listen. I didn't remember anything about this audio upon relistening to it.

I even forgot Bev Tarrant was introduced in this audio. Nice introduction story to her for the Benny world.

[Anne Barwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable story with a nice twist at the end.