Colin Brake wrote The Mind’s Eye, the November 2007 main range release for the Fifth Doctor. As this is an older release (I am still catching up via the odd sale) I will be slightly more spoilery (not a real word) than normal. The Doctor is accompanied by Peri and Erimem in this three-part story (the other part is Mission of the Viyrans); I generally (with exceptions) don’t enjoy Erimem stories, so how did I get on with this one?
Let’s find out…
The story
First the Big Finish blurb:
This is a warning to all space farers. You must keep away from this planet. It’s hostile, repeat, hostile.
On a planet with no name, the Doctor finds himself confronted by a faulty memory and some killer plants.
In a distant galaxy, Erimem leads a troubled empire.
Back on Earth, Peri tells her son about the good old days when she used to travel with a man called The Doctor.
In a nutshell Peri and Erimem have been taking over by strange plants causing them to live a dream as they lie comatose waiting to be absorbed. The Doctor has to enter their dreams to save them before it is too late. In the meantime there is a scientific expedition looking to use the plants for military purposes. The Doctor has to save his friends and weather some local attempts to hijack proceedings along with a government agency looking to close things down.
If that all seems rather abrupt a description, there are reasons…
The storytelling
[pullquote]Erimem and Peri are good in this[/pullquote]
As Barnaby Edwards (director) explains in the extras, the story had an odd genesis and I get the sense it was hacked to fit three parts. The cast are all good and there are several strong scenes but the whole thing seems rushed. As Erimem herself says when woken from her dream, how do we know this isn’t another dream? While that might have been obvious, the whole story doesn’t have enough content in for my tastes and needs more to raise the stakes. Both Erimem and Peri are good in this, and Peri has some great moments in her fantasy life.
Overall I was disappointed and felt this was a missed opportunity.
