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Death in Blackpool

Publisher's Details

Release Date: December 2009

Writer: Alan Barnes | Director: Barnaby Edwards

Synopsis

A Car salesman name Billy is gives a young Hitchhiker named Natasha a lift in his yellow hotrod – a gift to the son he's not seen for a very long time. Natasha is headed for Blackpool, but Billy doesn’t intend to go that far. Then Natasha turns nasty...

The Doctor and Lucie unexpectedly arrive at Bramlington services. Initially, Lucie wants to get back into the TARDIS and carry on to Blackpool, but they bump into Auntie Pat. Whilst at the services, Lucie is nearly run over by a man driving a yellow car and they meet a down-on-his-luck Father Christmas, who they agree to drive to Blackpool. On the way, they are nearly run off the road by a yellow hotrod.

On arrival at the Miller's home in Blackpool, Lucie realises that she’s arrived a year too early so decides to take Father Christmas to the local off-licence, but arrives a moment too late to buy alcohol. An angry Lucie then steps into the road and is knocked over – by a yellow hotrod.
What is the connection between Auntie Pat, Lucie and the yellow hotrod responsible for her coma, and is it curtains for Lucie Miller?

"There's nowhere to run Lucie Miller; nowhere to hide. Not from the truth."

Review

Death in Blackpool arrived unexpectedly through my letterbox on Thursday afternoon – one of the benefits of being a subscriber. So, after a long and stressful day at work, I sat down to listen to it over dinner. It's fair to say that I didn't quite figure out what was going on at first listen. My listening experience mostly concentrated on how annoying Father Christmas's frequent shouts of "It's Chriiistmaaas!" were.

Thankfully, I understood it far more after listening to it a second time. Father Christmas’s outbursts, although still irritating, didn't mask the very enclosed storyline. Enclosed because it revolved around a small group of characters (five in all) and there was no large alien horde to fight off. The enclosed nature of the storyline does mean that one has to concentrate a bit more on listening to the audio because there were short moments of dialogue very crucial to understanding the later parts of the story.

The final scene, in which Lucie Miller departs, is well played and avoided much of the melodrama that surrounded Rose Tyler's departure in the TV series. Lucie's reason to go her separate way has surprised some fans who have listened to the episode so far, but I think her loss of trust in the Doctor is a fair way to bring their relationship to an end.

If you're hoping for a relaxing, upbeat piece of Christmas easy listening, Death in Blackpool will definitely not provide it. Much like the TV series' Christmas storyline, this one will leave one with a little less Christmas spirit at the end.

Situation Vacant – the next story in the fourth series of the New Eighth Doctor Adventures – is scheduled for release in July 2010. Merry Christmas everyone!

Reviewer: Dan Ludlow