Companion Chronicles 6.1: Tales from the Vault
By Jonathan Morris
Featuring Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso
A new arrival at UNIT’s top secret Vault gets more than he bargained for…
David Richardson isn’t the sort of producer to rest on his laurels, and while Tales from the Vault may not be to everybody’s taste, it’s certainly yet another way of pushing the envelope of the Companion Chronicle format. It would be unfair to call the sections with Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso the bridging material between the regular companions’ cameos, but at times they do feel a little padded (and quite why we needed the trick at the end explained a second time is lost on me.)
Each of the four regular companions does their usual sterling work – Peter Purves’ spot-on Hartnellisms, Wendy Padbury’s rejuvenated Zoe, Katy Manning’s doty Jo, and Mary Tamm’s ever-so-slightly-snooty Romana all ring true – but the problem is that, with the exception of Padbury, we don’t really get much interaction between them and the other two.
Although clearly aiming for an anthology feel, Tales from the Vault comes across a little too bitty, as if there isn’t quite enough story to go round. The Vault is a great concept, and Jonathan Morris has taken the brief and given it a good shot – but this is one that, to my mind, doesn’t quite gell.
Verdict: Great to hear Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso again, but next time maybe just put them with one other companion? 6/10
Paul SImpson
Click here to order Tales from the Vault from Big Finish
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