Synopsis: Spaceworld... Experienced Reality... what do these have to do with a certain planet's most violent past-time?

• A Review by Stuart Gutteridge
• A Review by Richard Radcliffe
• An incoherent rambling or a homage to the Pertwee era? by Tim Roll-Pickering

A Review by Stuart Gutteridge 1/12/98

Given the lack of new Doctor Who at the time, The Paradise of Death must have seemed like a breath of fresh air. Radio seemed the obvious choice of medium as there was no television series, making this tale all the more memorable for it.

Featuring the Third Doctor, the Brigadier and Sarah Jane, this was recipe for success. The casting is good: Peter Miles as Tragen makes a great villain, the regulars faithfully recreate their roles, and although Jon Pertwee had obviously aged, it doesn`t make any great difference to the overall production. The inclusion of the character of Jeremy Fitzoliver, however, was a definite mistake; he is too reminiscent of Whizzkid from The Greatest Show In The Galaxy to be any one you care about.

The idea of using virtual reality as part of the plot actually works and isn`t lost on a ninties audience. The story moves along at a steady pace, reaching a satisfying conclusion, proving that there was hope for a new series after all, and that Doctor Who could still be a success today as it has been in the past.

A Review by Richard Radcliffe 16/10/01

Doctor Who's history with the audio medium was somewhat chequered before Big Finish. 4 official productions were made (Pescatons, Slipback, Paradise of Death, Ghosts of N-Space). Of the 4 it is The Paradise of Death which compares the most to the audios we know and love nowadays from Big Finish. It is arguably too, the only one that is any good.

Jon Pertwee is wonderful to hear as the Doctor. His TV performances established him as one of the most popular of the lot, and to have him recreate the role is great. He has aged and his voice shows that, but it is still most definitely the 3rd Doctor we are familiar with.

Sarah-Jane and The Brigadier join him on this adventure, and their inclusions are also welcome. They are also totally in character. Liz Sladen and Nick Courtney throw themselves into their familiar roles. 3 classic characters then – it should be the recipe for a great success.

The story is presented to us over 5 parts, and it just about maintains the interest throughout. For my money Episode 1 and 5 are much superior to the others, an episode in the middle could be trimmed off the story and you would barely notice. Barry Letts gives us a tale of Theme Parks, Alien planets, Virtual Reality and a strange substance by the name of Rapine. It is an okay story – but it will never top any charts of originality and imagination. The Virtual Reality parts work the best, it gives the Virtual Viewer the chance to describe to us what is going on – vital in audio.

The villains of the piece, Freeth and Tragan, are well played and effective, particularly Peter Miles. Maurice Denham gives us a very sympathetic President too, adding weight to the supporting cast. The opposite of these impressive performances is that of Jeremy. This irritating character should have been shot in Episode 1, every scene he is in brings the level right down – a pointless character.

The Paradise of the title of the story, is created well. My favourite scene was the Brigadier flying on top of the huge bat, leading the troops into battle. It would never work on screen, but it does on audio thanks to some fine Sound Effects and a good performance from Nick Courtney.

I have to say The Paradise of Death is a good addition to the Dr Who mythos. It showed how an environment can be effectively created on audio – something that Big Finish took to its limits. It is also another opportunity to hear 3 great actors, and significant contributors to the overall success of Who – entertain us again. And that is what I enjoyed most about it. 6/10

An incoherent rambling or a homage to the Pertwee era? by Tim Roll-Pickering 14/7/02

Before Big Finish came along, The Paradise of Death appeared as a 'missing adventure' for Jon Pertwee's Doctor, aided by his contemporary companions but clearly written for a modern audience. If someone listening to The Paradise of Death is hoping for a faithful resurrection of Jon Pertwee's original time in the series then they're going to be disappointed. The story instead strives to move forward with the times, with references to virtual reality (okay it now looks quaint but the obsession with this back in the early 1990s was intense) as well as to corrupt and destructive corporations, giant theme parks and the brutality of conflict and its aftermath all showing the story's more modern roots. Even the references to '£20 a head' make it hard to believe this story is fully authentically a part of the 1970s UNIT era no matter how far one stretches the dating given that prices all tended to stay low. There is nothing actually in the story or the audio tape packaging that states precisely when this adventure takes place in the series' continuity and if it is supposed to slot into a supposed 'non-gap' between The Time Warrior and Invasion of the Dinosaurs what does that matter now that numerous Missing and Past Doctor Adventures have now done exactly the same?

However what lets The Paradise of Death down is its lack of a coherent threat or constant location. The early episodes are set on Earth but ultimately serve as little more than filler material to drag the Doctor into the events ('how very like the archetypal long Pertwee story' the critics might cry), whilst once on Parakon the reasons for both the Doctor's party and Freeth trying to win over the President to their side don't become at all clear until towards the end of the story, considerably after the struggle of wills has happened. Even on Parakon the story is dragged out, with the subplot involving Waldo Rudley being ultimately redundant to the plot and serving as yet more padding. The final resolution of the story seems very coy as the Doctor persuades a brutal fighter not to kill him and then the President steps out and puts things right before the Doctor and companions depart for Earth in time for tea.

Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney all revive their roles for this production and perform well, but even this is not enough to generate interest in the story. A new companion is created in the form of Jeremy Fitzoliver who seems so clichéd that he defies belief, with a typical reverse cliché seeing him get his foot caught between two roots and panicking about it. Of the guest cast Peter Miles plays Tragen very much as he did Nyder in Genesis of the Daleks with a similar result, whilst Harold Innocent plays Freeth too humorously to take the character serious. Maurice Denham brings a strong sense of dignity as the President but otherwise the cast make little strong impact. The production is good though, with Peter Howell's music providing a strong tone for scenes whilst the sound effects are frequently highly successful in suggesting a Doctor Who story with an enormous budget. But unfortunately this is not enough to make The Paradise of Death really shine. Whilst it represented a new Doctor Who story at a time when it seemed as though no new Doctor Who at all would ever be made, it suffers from not being entirely sure of itself and as a result becomes an overlong ramble. But compared to Death to the Daleks and The Monster of Peladon it does seem an improvement and so maybe it does capture something of the spirit of Season 11 after all... 4/10