When Ringpullworld was first released in November 2009, I was a little disappointed with the release because it just didn’t really click for me. I thought that the strange way it was structured was not what should be. This story follows on from the 2009 free Companion Chronicle story The Mists of Time. Mark Strickson appears in his second story but according to the Doctor Who Magazine it was the first to be recorded. This story is set after Terminus whilst the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are running from the Black Guardian.
Arrive Buzzard Creek in Arizona in 1905. Turlough leaves the TARDIS after he gets sick of Tegan. He comes across the town and its not long there after before he comes across a fairground and in it there is a figure called Mr Winklemeyer. There is something sinister about Winklemeyer. Who is a Vomar and is on Earth to promulgate his species. He is using the elixir of life and is going to use the people of Buzzard Creek to get what he wants. The elixir contains micro organisms to together will make a Vomar. Whilst inside the stomach of their host they basically eat their way out. Turlough befriends a creature called The Wild Man is a creature that Winklemeyer uses in the shows. His name is actually Berman Lamizine (guessing about the spelling) and is a Krolok (again guessing with the spelling). Apparently he is been held there against his will which is quite similar to some of the horrible animal shows around the world.
The story in the second half is about the smart implants and how to override them. It becomes a game to try and outsmart Winklemeyer but eventually he manages it with Winklemeyer giving up. The Doctor’s plan to introduce an anti-elixir to kill of the spawn and prevent the people of Buzzard Creek might seem like murder but then the argument could be made that to allow the humans to die would be murder. It ended with the Doctor taking all the creatures of Winklemeyer’s show back to where they belong and all’s well that ends well.
Mark Strickson was very good in this story and in fact was better than in Ringpullworld. I think because he didn’t have to stop every five seconds to deal with the other character he was allowed in this story to just get on with it. His Peter Davison impression wasn’t great and neither was his Tegan voice but to be honest that’s not a major issue for me. The character of Winklemeyer wasn’t quite what we normally get in Doctor Who. I didn’t think that his plan to try and recreate his species by using the citizens of Blizzard Creek was totally wrong. I didn’t get the feeling that he was in the group of evil people like Mavic Chen, Tobias Vaughn or even Davros. I did enjoy Toby Longworth’s performance and felt that it was an entertaining performance. He has a wide range of voices and Longworth manages to do something unique in a Big Finish play. That is to do an American voice without me cringing with embarrassment. I thought that the Berman character was a very nice character. He sounded friendly and it was (if not inevitable) that he was going to die. His death was dealt with in just the right way.
There is a slight issue that I have with this story and it’s a tiny bit of continuity. The story is a testimony presumably for the Galactic Authority. Though he mentions that he is doing a testimony it is never mentioned again. I think that this may have been a mistake by someone actually editing this.
Mark Morris has written a very sharp and enjoyable story. One of the things that I wrote when reviewing The Mists of Time is that I wouldn’t grumble paying for it. With Freakshow I would definitely have no problem paying for this.
Arrive Buzzard Creek in Arizona in 1905. Turlough leaves the TARDIS after he gets sick of Tegan. He comes across the town and its not long there after before he comes across a fairground and in it there is a figure called Mr Winklemeyer. There is something sinister about Winklemeyer. Who is a Vomar and is on Earth to promulgate his species. He is using the elixir of life and is going to use the people of Buzzard Creek to get what he wants. The elixir contains micro organisms to together will make a Vomar. Whilst inside the stomach of their host they basically eat their way out. Turlough befriends a creature called The Wild Man is a creature that Winklemeyer uses in the shows. His name is actually Berman Lamizine (guessing about the spelling) and is a Krolok (again guessing with the spelling). Apparently he is been held there against his will which is quite similar to some of the horrible animal shows around the world.
The story in the second half is about the smart implants and how to override them. It becomes a game to try and outsmart Winklemeyer but eventually he manages it with Winklemeyer giving up. The Doctor’s plan to introduce an anti-elixir to kill of the spawn and prevent the people of Buzzard Creek might seem like murder but then the argument could be made that to allow the humans to die would be murder. It ended with the Doctor taking all the creatures of Winklemeyer’s show back to where they belong and all’s well that ends well.
Mark Strickson was very good in this story and in fact was better than in Ringpullworld. I think because he didn’t have to stop every five seconds to deal with the other character he was allowed in this story to just get on with it. His Peter Davison impression wasn’t great and neither was his Tegan voice but to be honest that’s not a major issue for me. The character of Winklemeyer wasn’t quite what we normally get in Doctor Who. I didn’t think that his plan to try and recreate his species by using the citizens of Blizzard Creek was totally wrong. I didn’t get the feeling that he was in the group of evil people like Mavic Chen, Tobias Vaughn or even Davros. I did enjoy Toby Longworth’s performance and felt that it was an entertaining performance. He has a wide range of voices and Longworth manages to do something unique in a Big Finish play. That is to do an American voice without me cringing with embarrassment. I thought that the Berman character was a very nice character. He sounded friendly and it was (if not inevitable) that he was going to die. His death was dealt with in just the right way.
There is a slight issue that I have with this story and it’s a tiny bit of continuity. The story is a testimony presumably for the Galactic Authority. Though he mentions that he is doing a testimony it is never mentioned again. I think that this may have been a mistake by someone actually editing this.
Mark Morris has written a very sharp and enjoyable story. One of the things that I wrote when reviewing The Mists of Time is that I wouldn’t grumble paying for it. With Freakshow I would definitely have no problem paying for this.
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