There’s trouble on the line for the Doctor and Bernice…

Lani Woodward’s closing tale for this box set of adventures for Benny and the “Unbound” Doctor again uses Bernice’s background to good effect, as well as giving us yet more insight into this still moderately unfamiliar incarnation of the Doctor, who, as the extras remind us, really shouldn’t be in this universe at all. Woodward separates the pair for much of the story, leaving Benny at times at the mercy of an automated intelligence that brings back memories of Stephen King’s loco choo-choo in the Dark Tower books. There’s also a cheeky peril for the Doctor, potentially recreating for David Warner one of his most memorable on-screen deaths…

Woodward has created an engaging story, with some very intriguing world-building, and plenty for both Lisa Bowerman and Warner to get their teeth into. Laura Aikman, Julia Deakin and Richard Lumsden all provide suitably enigmatic characters, and Steve Foxon’s sound design and music really help to sell the enclosed environment.

This has been a very enjoyable set of tales for Benny – in many ways feeling as if it’s gone back to the basics of the character, and the new writers (working in tandem with ‘old hands’, in this case Guy Adams) have been able to shed new light on a character whose stories have been told now continually for nearly 30 years!

Verdict: A fine conclusion to an enjoyable set. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order Buried Memories from Big Finish