Big Finish Productions The Memory Bank

Written by	Chris Chapman, Paul Magrs, Eddie Robson, Ian Potter
Format	Compact Disc
Released	2016

Starring Peter Davison, Mark Strickson

Synopsis: Four new adventures featuring the Fifth Doctor and Turlough.

• Memories Review by Thomas Tiley

Memories Review by Thomas Tiley 10/4/26

The Memory Bank starts the anthology nicely with Turlough tricked into becoming the new Archivist of an alien world whose job it is to make sure people aren't forgotten, least they fade away. It has some nicely written scenes of reminiscences and old memories, a strange world run on memories, a nasty monster and a nice pseduo-companion performance from Suzann McLean as Max. It's a good story with an important message about being remembered and people slipping through the cracks in society. A good job from writer Chris Chapman.

The Last Fairy Tale is a story of mistaken identity set in medieval Europe with the Doctor mistaken for a famed storyteller and Turlough getting taken hostage by some aggrieved individuals who feel they have been dealt a harsh hand. In this story by Paul Magrs, I am reminded by a comment by Lawrence Miles about the stories of Terry Pratchett, that he only had one joke/story: there is a troll, but he's called Kevin, which is a bit dismissive of the late authors work but could easily apply to this story. It is completely one-note, once the initial amusement of two people annoyed at being mistaken for storybook-style nasties ('He's not a dwarf, he's just a short man with a speech impediment', 'I'm not a witch, I am just an nasty old woman with a wart') fades, nothing much is done with this twist/subversion, it's just the same joke bashed over and over until your sick of it. It's just obvious, especially the old tramp that turns out to be the real storyteller. The story is all right but very one note and predicable.

Repeat Offender is after the dire Magrs story (I think I should avoid those from now on, three bad-to-okay stories from him should be enough warning) is an improvement, starting interesting in the aftermath of an adventure, with someone walking into their apartment and finding the Doctor apparently saving the day, having defeated a alien called the shroud, only for them to call the police on him. It's an intriguing idea, with the future police officer having the power to pass sentence on people, a bit like a less lethal Judge Dredd. Mandi Symonds does a good job playing her as a by-the-books type that comes around to helping the Doctor save the day. There is a mid-story twist involving multiple TARDIS, and I don't want to spoil it, but it's a very interesting development leading to a time-wimey conclusion. Along with The Memory Bank it is a highlight of the collection.

The final story, The Becoming has the Doctor and Turlough try to help an alien tribeswoman called Waywalker. There are some nice ideas about how the alien society works and the concept of the duo trying to help but making things worse/backfiring, but I don't really like this story that much, maybe because it's a bit too strange and out there, or maybe because I don't like the downbeat conclusion. It's an okay story but not my cup of tea.

The cover looks nice, although the witch in the picture looks prettier than the one that features in the story.

The rating, well for the first and third story this could be an 8 or 9 easily, but taking the other stories into account and trying to suppress the desire to give Magrs a minus score, I would rate this 6/10