Doctor Who: Whispers of Terror by Justin Richards

Doctor Who: Whispers of Terror Reviews

• 
  Ken

  An early Big Finish audio adventure with The Sixth Doctor and Peri, it really fits in seamlessly with their characteristics of Season 22.
  The pair find themselves at a Museum of Aural Antiquities, where every sound is stored for posterity.
  
  The story really fits this incarnation of The Doctor and makes perfect use of the audio medium to tell the story.
  A great little mystery as the recordings appear to have changed, this really does feel like a televised adventure.
  
  The cast also includes Peter Miles as the Museums creator and its fun to hear Lisa Bowerman amongst the supporting cast.
  
  Big Finish will later expand The Sixth Doctor and give Colin Baker a chance to expand the character into a fans favourite, but this is a great starting point!
• 
  Polly Batchelor

  "Something grand and theatrical from the old school of acting no doubt, loud, bombastic, not my sort of thing really." - The Doctor
• 
  April Mccaffrey

  Really enjoyed this one.
  
  Justin Richards never lets me down on his writing skills and I enjoyed the concept of this by using a sound alien.
  
  I also liked how he made a reference to the Good soldiers play which will be later used in Theatre of War as a heavy plot line for Benny and Brax.
• 
  F. William Davis

  Currently updating my reads for the end of 2023, I listened to this and a bunch of other Big Finish Doctor tales (some twice) towards the end of the year, mostly because I was too busy thinking about other things to focus on new stories and the comfort of the familiar voices was a welcome relief from other stresses. Unfortunately I have left it too long to give any story-specific details, but I will inevitably listen to these many more times in future and will hopefully be able to say something more substantial. Suffice it to say that these are just excellent. Production quality is top notch and the storylines are as good and sometimes even better than the TV episodes.
• 
  Luke

  Not really one for me! I love the 6th doctor and peri together but this story didn't feel like doctor who, no matter how much they tried, it just felt annoying and repetitive.
• 
  Devin Harvey

  Whispers of Terror was the earliest actually entertaining audio, for me. I felt like Sirens of Time, while it did bring the 5th, 6th, and 7th doctors back well, was just plain old boring, and Phantasmagoria was alright, but again just a bit boring. Justin Richards, however was quite smart and really took advantage of the "Audio Medium" by making a creature based purely around sound, with no form or image, just sound waves, and ended up with a wonderfully creepy audio. It did have a somewhat underwhelming twist, it still worked really well and made for a good audio, with an interesting ending. Also something I thought Big Finish has improved upon is the relationship between Six and Peri. While I loved both of them on the show, their bickering and attitude towards each other could occasionally sound quite hostile and unfriendly, but from what I have seen in this audio as well as others is a improvement on their relationship, without removing the wonderful snark and bickering they can share between each other. You know they like each other and are not enemies, but you can also tell they like to tease each other and its just quite entertaining and nice. Overall I would definitely recommend this audio, especially for a first time Big Finish listener!
• 
  Noah Soudrette

  One of my favorites, and Colin Baker's first big finish audio. I really like the story of the living sound wave. Not only is it original, but it lends itself perfectly to the audio medium. As for Colin and Nicola, this is finally their chance to show how good their tenure on the TV show could have been. They are a resounding success here and it's simply a joy to listen to.
• 
  Jayaprakash Satyamurthy

  The basic concept here is very cool, especially for this format - a creature that exists purely as sound starts preying on the archives in an aural museum. The political plot overlaid on this conceit is rather convoluted and obvious at the same time and it's hard to tell apart many of the supporting characters, making for a rather muddy, muddled experience.
• 
  Wendy

  A good, suspenseful story that makes great use of the audio medium. I found it a bit heavy-handed. It features the 6th Doctor at his most bombastic, which is an interesting contrast to his mellowed demeanor in more recent audios.
• 
  James

  Neither my favourite Doctor, nor my favourite companion. However, it's an enjoyable story that feels more crime thriller than Whovian adventure and the idea of a living creature in a sound wave that's able to interact with the environment and exact its revenge is certainly an interesting one.
• 
  Paul Stanis

  Did this audio drama from 1999 predict politically motivated deepfakes?
• 
  K

  6thドクターとペリの物語。
  
  Part1
  音声記録を収集所蔵する博物館の館内に到着したドクターとペリ。探索をはじめた途端に警報が鳴り響き、ドクターとペリは逃げ去る女性を目撃。あとに男の遺体が残されていた。男の��因を調べていると、バークレイ刑事に容疑者と勘違いされ、取り調べを受けることに。セキュリティカメラの映像から判明した死んだ男の名はファザネルといい、昨夜デントという女と共に博物館に侵入し、どういう方法でかは不明だが先日死亡した元俳優で大統領候補をする予定だったクレーンのスピーチのフレーズや話し方の録音に変更が加えている。手がかりを得るためにキュレーターのガントマンと犯行現場に赴くペリ。そこでひどく怯えて逃げてきたデントと遭遇する。
  
  Part2
  ドクターは音の生命体が博物館に潜んでいるのではないかと推理する。ペリとバークレイ刑事は半信半疑だ。だがドクターは音の生命体に逃げられないよう、博物館の通信網を完全に外部と遮断するよう指示。そして、あることを確認したいとドクターはキュレーターのガントマンを探しにいく。すると、ペリとバークレイに外部と通信を繋ぐようドクターから無線連絡が入る。さっき言ったことと全く違うと反論すると無線のドクターはさっき言ったことは間違いだったという。これまで間違いを認めたことなど一度としてないドクターのこの言葉にペリは不審を抱く。
  
  Part3
  サウンドの中に宿る生命体の正体をつきとめたドクター。目的が復讐であることも知る、これ以上の犠牲者を出さないためにCDの中に封じ込める。しかし、名優クレーンのトリビュート番組を放送することにこだわるクレーンのエージェント、ペネールとのと番組プロデューサーのスタンガードがディスクをすり替える。放送電波に乗ってサウンドの中の生命体が外に逃げ出し、災いをもたらすことを止めようとドクターは放送を阻止しようとする。
  
  Part4
  名優クレーンの死の真相とその裏に隠された恐ろしい陰謀をつきとめたドクター。殺人犯を捉え、陰謀を阻止するためサウンドの中の生命体と協力する。
  
   
  
  感想
  オーディオドラマの特性を存分に活かしたストーリーだと思うが、英語弱者の私には同時に展開する複数の会話やどれが誰の声なのかを聞き分けるのはなかなかの難行苦行だった。前半でさんざん煽られたホラー感からすれば、謎解きの点ではやや拍子抜けの感は否めない。聴いているこちら側には真犯人はすでに明らかになっていたので、ドクターが突き止めるくだりが長くて、早く気がつけよーとイライラさせられるのがちょっと残念だったりもした。しかし、6thドクターの皮肉っぽくてちょっとイラッ
• 
  MrColdStream

  ✅83% = 217 points = Great!
  
  I love the setting of the Museum of Aural Antiquities and how the story uses it and its overall sound design as a central plot point—something that only works effectively in this format. The sound design and music bring this inventive setting to life very well (listen to this with headphones for the full experience!).
  
  The story quickly establishes the setting and the sound-based threat, which ambitiously and occasionally jarringly sweeps over the listener. It then builds and maintains an interesting and slowly unravelling mystery, with a couple of great twists and marvellous cliffhangers. The threat is simple but effective, particularly for an audio adventure.
  
  Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are very recognisable here, and Bryant's Peri isn't quite as annoying as she tends to be on TV, even if he is unfairly treated by Six throughout most of this.
  
  Doctor Who alumni Peter Miles (The Silurians, Genesis of the Daleks) is great as Museum Curator Gantman. It's amazing how Big Finish managed to hire such a high-profile actor so early on in their existence.
  
  It is weird hearing Lisa Bowerman (Bernice Summerfield) as the villain, but she does it very well.
  
  The entire cast is well-utilised throughout the adventure.
  
  I love how big and majestic the tense parts are made, mostly thanks to the brilliant sound design.
  
  Knowing Sixie's softer characterization in later releases, hearing his harsher and louder TV self here is a bit jarring.
  
  It requires some focus to keep track of some of the more intricate plot details.
  
  The climax is perhaps a bit disappointing considering the build-up.
• 
  Isaac

  This is a Six and Peri story, and though I'm aware that Big Finish tried to redeem Six in their later audios, in this he was as insufferable as he's ever been. Worse than he ever was on TV, imo. The story itself was quite interesting, but it was a simple story that was very dragged out. It had a couple of interesting characters, notably Visteen Krane, and some clever twists, but was mostly just okay. The main plot twist is super obvious but it takes the main characters so long to work out it's ridiculous. It tried to be the first audio story to play with the idea of audio as a medium, but I don't think it quite succeeded in doing that. Overall it was just okay.
• 
  Natira

  3,5
  Auch wenn mir zwei Aspekte der Story sehr schnell klar waren, gab es immer noch genügend Überraschendes für mich zu hören. Nicht besonders mochte ich das Vorführen von Peri (whom/who), aber ich wurde versöhnt dadurch, dass sie etwas zu tun bekam, aktiv beitrug - und ich mochte das Hin und Her zwischen ihr und Colin Bakers Doctor im Übrigen.
  Auch die weiteren Voice-Actors waren sehr gut; ich habe mich insgesamt sehr gut unterhalten gefühlt.
• 
  Euan M LLL

  A fantastic story that deals with radio broadcasts, sound waves, politics, and a very interesting idea and creation of a monster that is ultimately let down by its final episode.
  
  Part 4 feels like that it was trying to do to much and ultimately lead to an episode that felt really long and muddled.
  
  A shame, as this could have been an all time favourite.
• 
  Lachlan McCann

  The Doctor and Peri seem to pick up almost directly from Season 22 and Big Finish has tightened up their interactions and writing. This is a good story with interesting concepts and I found the villains and threats really engaging. Whilst no masterpiece, this is definitely worth a listen and has some great scenes in my opinion.
• 
  CJ

  A solid outing from the Sixth Doctor in his first solo outing. The plot is a fairly simple who-done-it and find-the-monster, with plenty of classic Six and Peri banter. The plot can drag a little but overall it is solid and well executed. The voice acting is top notch with a great sound design. Not a perfect release but solid anyway. 3.5/5
• 
  Darcy

  This adventure with the 6th Doctor and Peri was a fun one that deals with manipulating recordings to further a politician's agenda. The interplay between the two main characters was fun to listen too and reminded me very much of the 6th Doctor's arrogance in the series. A fun and worthwhile listen.
• 
  Susanne

  Wonderful idea for an audiobook—the Doctor and Peri visit a museum of *sound*. The mystery is cleverly constructed and makes entertaining listening. I don’t mind the Doctor/Peri bickering and the Doctor’s ginormous ego, just reminds me of watching the TV episodes. :)
• 
  Anne

  I enjoyed this 6th Doctor & Peri adventure. I thought that the mystery was a good one and the thought of a sound museum was an intriguing one. It felt like a Doctor who episode. A nicely done short story.
• 
  Heydi Smith

  I am so excited about the discovery of all the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary shorts which are done by all the authors I already love. It's like the perfect match. I have really enjoyed the variety of worlds and troubles that these adventures explore. I hope to read them all one day.
• 
  Paul

  I don't know what it is about this one but it didn't do anything for me and for whatever reason Perri American accent was harsher than what it was in the TV series, it sounded like her and it obviously is her but for me her accent sounded really deep which threw me off.
• 
  ani

  loved this as an idea. and it certainly made me like peri more—altho, why do i feel like that accent feels even worse on audio. but tho i'm almost always behind more political doctor who stories, i think this was a bit too bland and safe in the end.
• 
  R. Reddebrek

  I could see this being an episode of the show in the 80s.
  
  There's a subplot about an attempt to influence an election by creating fake speeches through editing software, pretty close to where society is now with AI deepfakes. Not bad for a script from 1999.
• 
  Danielle

  For this one I read the synopsis first so then I wouldn't be confused. It worked I was able to better follow along with the story this time. I quite enjoyed this one.