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 | This actually jolted me at the very end! |
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After the superb build up of the first half of this special Syndicate Masterplan set, I was just keen as mustard to listen to the second half. And as youd expect it didn't disappoint at all. Big Finish have definitely made series 8 of the Fourth Doctor adventures very very distinctive indeed.
Time's Assassin builds on the bonkers aspects of the first half of the story and if anything adds a new layer of delicious stupidly funny stuff to proceedings. This is not the out and out totally serious adventure. This is like a gung ho adventure youd read in a comic. But there are most certainly some very dark moments if you pay attention. And one that was very surprising and unexpected indeed but it was a good and interesting surprise, not a bad one.
Fever Island has us get the chance to hear Tom Baker in baddie mode, and its an absolute delight. He sounds like the leader of the Mysterons! And I just find this highly amusing. Indeed this story again doesnt overtly take itself too seriously, although there are some very good scenes aplenty. This really isnt just a funny set at all, but it does have more than the usual amount of ripe and funny moments though. Jonathan Barnes has woven a really enjoyable tale that is solidly entertaining and didnt let me down at all. But its the Baddie Tom Baker that is this episode's best segment. Tom is delightful!!
And then N was chuffed to see Joh Dorney be given the task of closing this brilliant series of eight stories with a very fine two disc four parter. The Perfect Prisoners actually is a lot more serious than the last three adventures in the set, and does have plenty of grim moments. And it also has superb characters. And to say the least our Ann Kelso turns out to be more than I thought she was going to be. It was a very good cliffhanger to Part 2 of this lasts tory in particular, and I like how the impact of this cliffhanger is left open at the end of the story and there is still a little mystery left with Ann's character.
And throughout all of it Jane has been thoroughly impressive indeed.Together with Tom Baker and John Leeson its just Doctor Who perfection and I for one am glad I had this set for my 33rd Birthday. Man Big Finish are just so amazing and their work just seems to keep getting better and better. So strap yourself in and get ready for a brilliant and epic journey indeed. Everything about this set is just wonderful.
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| Absolute awesomeness personified! |
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I am a huge fan of Jane Slavin. She has done some brilliant work for Doctor Who before on Big Finish for several years before someone had the inspired notion to make her a companion! She is awesome. But a warning: this review contains some serious spoilers!
I am so delighted that Tom Baker came back to the role of the Doctor for Big Finish, and its been so delightful hearing him spar with all his old friends. But the chance for a new companion had to be done properly. And thank goodness Big Finish did do it properly with this set.
Firstly they wonderfully let Andrew Smith introduce the character of Ann Kelso in The Sinestran Kill. Which also features the delightful Frank Skinner as a DCI too! And this story is a brilliant intro to the character of Ann. Jane steps into the role as if she'd already been playing it for years. And the Sinestrans make for a very strong alien menace and this first story comes over like a Sweeney meets Die Hard kinda action fest! Its a sublime intro to a great character.
Planet of the Drashigs is an awesome follow on to Carnival of Monsters. And this time we have THREE types of the screaming outsized caterpillars to deal with! And along with that we have the wonderful Fenella Woolgar adding absolutely the icing on the cake on what is wonderfully rather like a Jurassic Park outting meets Doctor Who! Whilst some may say this doesnt seem all that original, this story to me still is brilliant, and has a great pace and John Leeson also joins the fun and he just adds to an already brilliant mix.
The Enchantress of Numbers is one of those wonderful stories where you have to pay attention, or else plot elements could seem a little confusing. But no, this story is very cleverly plotted and has a superb sound design and Tom and Jane just make it unmissable. This has the featuring of yet another historical figure, and again the Big Finish team see that the actress does the part full and superb justice. The lady this time being one Ada Lovelace. This story is definitely the most serious and bendy wendy of this first half of the Syndicate Master Plan set, but it is a very very strong story indeed.
The False Guardian for me was a true treat to end the first set on. Not only is this story bonkers and delightful, and full of what seemed to me total echoes of Douglas Adams but it also has John Shrapnel, who has long been another of my favourite actors. And its great to see him in a funny role for once, and he certainly delivers the goods as the False Guardian! But this story is a really zany and actually very amusing effort from Guy Adams. Hes long since shaping up to be another favourite Big Finish writer for me.
I couldnt have been more pleased with this set if I tried. Ann Kelso makes a brilliant and wonderful entry...and yet there are some wonderful darker moments that bring on a sense of foreboding....and Jane is absolutely the right choice for the new companion. Shes just totally awesome and this set just wetted my appetite for more of the Syndicate!!!!!
Yes, Big Finish have done it again!
| What: | Shada (BBC prestige novels) |
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| By: | Earle DL Foster, Invercargill, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Wednesday 15 May 2019 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
What you are now perusing online is the methodically and harmoniously conceived summarisation of what the like-minded reader would doubtlessly classify as the most indispensable publication ever crafted within the currently functional universe (hence this individual's attempted homage to the original writer of the hitherto original epic story. Not that the most modernistic writer of the aforementioned hasn't produced a first-grade effortless homage to the aforesaid original writer, either).
The person known as Mr Gareth Roberts has majestically and magically compacted literally countless eons of history, creative production, and now successfully fulfilled ambition into what the invaluable right-thinking bibliophile would most likely recognize as a page-turning triumphant tribute towards a true galactic event. Formerly ravaged by an incalculable meteorite incursion of socioeconomic magnitude, this event has eventually achieved an absolutely astronomical rebirth.
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| The Whole is Better Than the Parts |
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An interesting concept this time. We get the obverse of Doctor Who. The Master, now inextricably pulled into the Time War, must try to do what The Doctor would try to do - end the war. Smartly, Big Finish has made this not an imposition, but rather a logical conclusion that The Master comes to on his own. Thus, the producers have realized that The Master is not simply maniac who like killing, but rather, from his own perspective, a pragmatist. "Only the Good," then, proceeds in parallel fashion Doctor Who. First up is "Beneath the Viscoid," with The Master on his own, separated from his TARDIS, and pretending to be The Doctor. It provides many opportunities for the audience to hear both how The Master is similar to The Doctor, but also significantly different, mostly in how he goes about achieving what in a typical Doctor Who story would appear to be honorable goals. Next is "The Good Master," with The Master again pretending to be a doctor, a surgeon this time. We find out how, when circumstances suit him, The Master can actually do much good - saving lives, providing hope, giving sound advice. And all the while, he is still The Master, still the schemer, still mostly after protecting himself. At the end of this one, The Master picks up a companion, Cole, who, like Charlie Pollard, is alive when he should be dead. The parallels mount. "The Sky Man" is Master-lite, focusing mostly on Cole. The Master allows Cole to try to save a world, while The Master watches from a discreet distance, always appearing strangely benevolent even when not being helpful. Cole's desperation and failure serves two functions - the audience sees the universe as The Master sees it, that "saving worlds" is a fool's game causing more harm than good; and that The Master, unlike The Doctor most of the time, really does have a plan and really is kind to his companion only because it suits him to be so. This is my favorite of the four stories from a pure story point of view. Last is "The Heavenly Paradigm," where The Master's plan is finally revealed and we get The Master in full Master mode. Each story by itself is good and enjoyable, but each on its own does not feel brilliant. The best aspect of the set is how the stories are put together, how the hidden plot underneath it all ties the set into a single entity. Derek Jacobi is, of course, brilliant, switching from charm to menace so quickly one hardly sees it happening. He brings a fullness to the character that was missing from the Big Finish attempt to psychologize The Master in "Master." Here, with Jacobi's help, the audience really does get to see the universe as The Master sees it, and to understand why he acts as he does. Jonny Green is great as Cole, convincingly showing us that he is naïve, but not stupid. All in all, well worth the listen.
| What: | Burning Heart (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 12 May 2019 |
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| Rating: |  6 |
"Burning Heart" was a difficult read for me. Doctor 6 and Peri arrive on a colony world, a satellite of a larger world, in which the multicultural society is breaking down. The society is run by the Church of Adjudication - government, police, and official religion rolled into one. The church has been taken over by essentially a psychopath who is instigating increasingly harsh rules. Against them are the group known as "White Fire," run by another psychopath, a "humans first" nazi-like organization. Caught in between are the downtrodden non-humans, who are gradually rising up against both oppressors. And influencing it all, ratcheting up the hate, is an intelligence located in the main planet's equivalent of Jupiter's red spot, which has taken over the church's main computer and taken over bodies of various human and non-human people to "feed" it. The situation, which is never fully clarified in the book, gives Stone essentially a closed thunderdome of all out violence, which Stone gleefully throws himself into with vivid, gory, obscene-language laden abandon. The Doctor and Peri get split for most of the novel, with The Doctor out of the main action for so much of the novel one begins to wonder whether this is a Doctor Who novel at all. Stone also, in my view, mis-writes Doctor 6 as too irritating and seemingly uncaring. The end of the novel is somewhat similar to that of "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy," where The Doctor just apparently "knows" what is going on, but how he knows what is going on never gets clarified. Stone does know how to write a good sentence, how to keep the action moving, and to avoid absurdly over-the-top plot twists.
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| Another Ice Warrior Story |
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| What: | Deimos (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2019 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Deimos has the usual elements of an Ice Warrior story. A bunch of frozen Ice Warriors are foolishly unfrozen. They choose to find some kind of ionizer or other device to terraform somewhere, Earth-colonized Mars in this case, to restore their home planet. The story has some great character performances, but otherwise does not escape from pro forma story.
| What: | Shada (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2019 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The 10 stars are for the actual animation and story. I give 1 star for the US DVD release. Where WE have NO Blu-ray. (We might get it in Tom Baker: Complete Season Six, Season 17)
But come on, I regret owning the DVD now! Sure we the 2003 "sequel" animated webcast with the 8th Doctor, Paul McGann. But that's the only thing different to the UK DVD. Other than WE DON'T GET A BLU-RAY. So, if you're in North America, don't buy the classic animated releases that have Blu-ray (or even Steelbook Blu-ray) releases in the UK. They're region free (and they are for a reason). The Steelbooks are the ones that region-free, the standards are Region B locked. Needless to say, I'm getting them instead.
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| The Blossoming Greatness of Solomons |
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| What: | The Secret in Vault 13 (Miscellaneous original novels) |
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| By: | Earle DL Foster, Invercargill, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Sunday 5 May 2019 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The official introductory novelisation of the somewhat revolutionary Thirteenth Doctor and her newest trio of companions can be overall classified as an updated and renovated "Key to Time" series of universal protecting explorations. The tyrannical Black Guardian has been replaced by equally monstrous and hybridized plant-like warmongers, and the precious individual segments are now three specialized keys (an intriguing twist being one hidden in plain sight!)
The entertainingly well-structured daisy chain of narratives planted and carefully nurtured amongst these pages more than justifies the creative decision to expand the companion seed bank, as Mr Solomons accordingly grants each of them (Ryan, Yaz, and Graham) equal opportunities to both artistically and courageously shine in the adoring sunlight.
A promising cultivation and harvesting towards an altogether bumper crop of literary adventures which will assuredly compliment the televised instalments, as Season 12 progresses from here (and maybe to infinity?)
| What: | Return of the Daleks (Big Finish subscriber bonuses) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 3 May 2019 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Return of the Daleks is mostly here to cement a link between the Doctor Who series and the Dalek war series. As such, there is much less of The Doctor's presence than is typical. This is a "return" story in a number of ways. Mainly, it is a return to the Doctor 3 story "Planet of the Daleks." This is kept well hidden until about halfway through the story. The Doctor is visiting a planet where he pretty much knows what will happen to make sure that it happens in the right way. This involves pushing along two people who supposedly work for the Daleks, but are secretly stirring up rebellion against the Daleks. As such, this is much more their story than The Doctor's. So, not much happens outside the parameters of the basic premises, and the story proceeds pretty much as one expects it to.
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| Not a Retread But Doesn't Add Much |
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| What: | The Feast of Axos (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 3 May 2019 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
We obviously have to have every "monster" return. That Big Finish could get the original voice of Axos, Bernard Holley, is a definite treat. Wow, what a voice. This story finds Doctor 6, Evelyn, and Brewster visiting Axos, still locked in the time loop that Doctor 3 put it into. This time, at least at the start, it's not Axos trying to steal Earth's energy, but humans trying to steal Axos' energy. Of course, this is, as The Doctor points out, a really stupid idea, but greed overrides sense. The scenario allows for exploration of Axos as a living being, which is certainly a more contemporary touch than would have happened in the 1970s on TV. However, Axos is still Axos, and that means trouble. There is some questionable playing around with time at the edge of the time loop, questionable mainly because it is used as a get out of jail free card, but otherwise serves little purpose in the plot. This story has large amounts devoted to understanding Brewster, essentially to the effect of saying he isn't so bad, just misunderstood. I remain not much of a Brewster fan, though. The Feast of Axos is a reasonably entertaining story.
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| Rehash Ice Warriors Story |
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| What: | Frozen Time (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 May 2019 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Frozen Time pretty much covers the same ground as the Troughton-era Ice Warrior stories. We get frozen Ice Warriors, whom a human scientific investigation team stupidly thaws out. The Ice Warriors want to take over the world and transform Earth by changing the weather. That they can do this virtually instantaneously by "sonic cannon" defies sense. Writer Nicholas Briggs tries to throw in a few twists, such as that this bunch of Ice Warriors are war criminals, though we have had the renegade Ice Warrior story a couple of times, too. So, the story proceeds through the paces that we have seen (or heard) before. The nostalgia glow is fine, but a little more ingenuity would be even better.
| What: | Valhalla (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 30 April 2019 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Valhalla is typical Marc Platt - needlessly confusing. We find Doctor 7 without companion trying to retire sort of by interviewing for menial jobs at space colony Valhalla. This colony is in decline, run by petty criminals and outcasts, facing cutbacks, with protest safely contained through scheduled and controlled rioting. However, something is eating away at the works from the bottom out. We find an example of a regular theme for Doctors 7 & 8 in Big Finish: the Doctor wants out. He wants to give up being The Doctor. He's fed up and wants no more involvement. However, he can't help himself. Involved he gets. Problems for me with Valhalla are that none of the characters is all that interesting or likeable. Especially annoying is Gerium, who is one long running series of suspicious and self-serving complaints. The cast is fairly impressive, though.
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| A very very enjoyable selection of tales |
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| What: | The Memory Bank (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 30 April 2019 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
What I like about these selection of half hour stories for Big Finish is they seem very in the vein of Tales of the Unexpected. In that they are totally random and different and yet all display equally brilliant sections of what it is that makes Doctor Who so great. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson are a brilliant pairing, and I for one wish Mark didn't have such an eclectic schedule so that he could do a few more audios!
This selection are all very very good indeed. These are on a par with Forty Five and Circular Time. They all have markedly different tones, but are all amazingly quick and easy to follow and superbly written. They are tension packed snippets that somehow don't even particularly suffer in the characterisation department. These characters in these tales are surprisingly very well rounded, and none feel superfluous to the story.
The Memory Bank is perhaps maybe the least gripping of the lot, but it is still a very strong story indeed. Its great to see a little of Turlough's past crop up again even if its this time not a huge snippet. But the story never bores and is suitably cool.
The Storyteller is yet another little Paul Magrs marvel. He always paints the best characters ever in his stories. They are always so larger than life and some of the dialogue is very whimsical and amusing indeed. This joins all his wonderful successes for Big Finish.
Repeat Offender seems like its over in a flash. It is a strikingly strong little episode and the performance of Peter Davison in this story is particularly brilliant. There is some strong tension in this story. Its actually its a bit of a shame its so short, this could have been expanded so easily. But as a snippet its really very impressive.
The final story is very very fine indeed. Its a very very small cast, but its extremely thought provoking and intelligent. The sound scape is as usual of the epic Big Finish sound design and production. And I really enjoy Helen Goldwyn's direction. I am so glad to see more female directors emerging for Big Finish recently. This selection gets a full recommendation from me. Big Finish always deliver in the entertainment department. And The Memory Bank and Other Stories is certainly no exception at all!
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| A sublime finale for a superb companion. |
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| What: | The Entropy Plague (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 30 April 2019 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Nyssa during the fifth Doctor's era frequently suffered from TARDISing, meaning she was always relegated to TARDIS duties. When she was allowed out of the box, one can see how caring and decent and lovely a character she is. And Sarah Sutton has long been one of my all time favourite companions. Aside from Barbara I think I would name her my second fave ever! And it is awesome with Big Finish that they have totally fleshed out Nyssa and she has now had one heck of an epic ride. I have been very very thrilled to hear Nyssa getting to be centre of attention every now and then and Sarah acting her socks off!
The Entropy Plague is very emotional to listen to for me. It has all the usual brilliant Jonathan Morris ingredients. This guy is one heck of an awesome writer, and he gives Nyssa such a monumental and superb sendoff. It really is a roller coaster ride of the highest order. And that does not mean that its only Nyssa who gets to shine in this story, because Peter Davison puts in a damned fine performance too as the Doctor. And Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson are the cherry on the cake of this excellent TARDIS crew that to me remains criminally underrated indeed.
This story never pauses for breath either, I honestly thought this story felt more like a two parter than a four parter. It flows that well. The Sandmen are a terrifically creepy and effective menace, and Pallister is an interesting character too. Jonathan always gives his characters such beefy back stories that are beautiful and often heart rending. The macabre and oppressive tone of the story doesn't dampen the emotional impact though. This story is about as good a goodbye to a companion as we get in the series. Nyssa of Traken shines like a jewel and this is a definite highlight story for her. This is as far from the TARDISized Nyssa of the 80s as its possible to get.
I am so glad that Nyssa has been one of the most frequent appearers for Big Finish. Sarah continues to really tick all the boxes of the perfect companion for me. This story may be her journeys end for now, but long may the tales with Nyssa continue!!
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| A Bit Preposterous at the End |
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| What: | Synthespians™ (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 19 April 2019 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Synthespians," Craig Hinton's final Doctor Who novel, is probably his best Doctor Who novel. However, because the others are not particularly good, I am merely saying that this one is somewhat more tolerable than the others. The problem of Hinton's writing, in my view, was that he tried to go too big, but was rather limited in his imagination of what big was. This led to trying to write from the perspective of godlike beings, but only imagining them with flimsier motivations and more adolescent emotions than the human characters had. Thankfully, Hinton resists this impulse here, though he had the opportunity to do so had he wished. The story itself is a camp sendup of late 20th-century television, and in some ways anticipates the "Bad Wolf" episode that would be broadcast a year later. The TARDIS is dragged off course, arriving on Reef Station One in the 101st century. Here, a long isolated human colony has been reshaped to conform to Earth television broadcasts that are only just arriving. The station has zones set up like sets for various kinds of TV drama - a gritty, depressed 1960s style noir London, a glitzy night-time soap opera land of mansions full of bickering billionaires, and so on. At the heart of all this is Walter J. Matheson III, the owner of virtually everything, who is ruthlessly destroying the remaining owners of what he does not have. He is in league with the Nestene Consciousness and the Autons (no giveaway there to anyone who knows Doctor Who lore). Doctor 6 and Peri get separated for most of the novel. The early parts work as a slow buildup of menace - things seem normal, but something is lurking there. The action slowly picks up pace toward a melodramatic and gory conclusion. The plot is fairly predictable. Hinton, as is his wont, drops in dozens of throw-away cultural and Doctor Who references, and sometimes awkwardly breaks his role as third-person narrator to make ironic asides. It is readable enough. The superficial characterizations and predictable plot drag it down.
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| Possibly Cut Down Too Much |
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| What: | Original Sin (Big Finish novel adaptations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 5 April 2019 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
This adaptation of one of the more popular Doctor Who novels introduces the "new" companions of Roz and Chris. Thus, much of the story is the origin story for them. Doctor 7 and Bennie are now a comfortable pair who understand each other very well. The story itself is very much in the 1988-9 spirit of The Doctor as a man on a mission, yet stricken by conscience. Thus, we start at the end of a previous adventure about which we know very little. A dying alien tells Bennie, "don't go there," so our crusading Doctor naturally goes there. Earth is now under an expansionist imperial phase, and has destroyed the homeworld of a species that is forced to revamp their civilization as lone individuals hiding amongst the enemies. There is a mysterious person who throws his consciousness into various robots, stalking The Doctor for unknown reasons. And, a bizarre and scientifically impossible form of radiation is driving people mad, turning them into homocidal maniacs. Apparently, much cutting was done to get the novel down to a 2-hour drama, and this one feels like it. There is much skipping around, and often it feels as if the listener has missed something going from scene to scene. The authorities take The Doctor and Bennie at their word all too easily. Late in the story, there are several long monologues to supply large amounts of missing background, a technique that really slows down the pace of the story.
Philip Hinchcliffe provided the story and Marc Platt, in consultation, wrote the script. Between them, they have created a taught adventure very much in the 1976-7 vein of Doctor Who. This one involves a remote Scottish island, viking relics that aren't quite Viking relics, and an underground alien menace who messes with time in very dangerous ways. It's quite enjoyable.
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| By the Numbers Doctor Who |
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| What: | Absolute Power (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 5 April 2019 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Absolute Power is very routine Doctor Who. The Doctor takes newish companion Constance to a place he thinks will make a nice rest, but bad things are happening there. In this case, it involves an intergalactic mogul with a quasi-New York accent trying to revive a race of electricity beings who operate by occupying bodies. It is listenable, but not particularly original or different.
The second volume of the Third Doctor adventures continues the strong characteristics of the first set. Tim Treloar is magnificent in his evocation of Doctor 3, at many times making me feel that it really is Pertwee back in the role. Katy Manning still struggles a bit to get the right voice for her younger self, but she has recovered the cadences of her youthful self quite well. The set follows the Big Finish tradition of trying to evoke the period of the Doctor and characters. Thus, the stories have that feeling that they could have been played in the 1970s. Once again, we get a setting split, one story in Space, one on Earth. The first of these continues the environmental message of many Pertwee stories and adds to it some critique of novelty religions that become death cults. The second story has the hidden alien causes mischief vibe and a very strong part for Jo. If there is one idea linking both stories, it is this: don't trust sweet, little, old ladies.
| What: | Vengeance on Varos (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 24 March 2019 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Vengeance on Varos" may be the best of the season of Colin Baker's first full outing as The Doctor. It has the very interesting premise of a former prison planet that has modeled its society along the prison rules, with the officers and guards becoming the elite governing class and the prisoners becoming the oppressed labor class. Martin has introduced an added twist in that the punishment system has been turned into mass entertainment. There is some strong social commentary about addiction to television. Martin has added some elements in his novelization that make the setup more sensible. These may have been in the original script, but probably could not have been done given budget constraints for television. These include having the guards' squad cars run on a monorail rather than being glorified golf carts. The size of the Varos colony is increased, with separate domes and access ways. Martin explains why the colonists live in domes rather than on the surface. There are several limitations in the novelized version still. These include a requirement to keep it short, to write to a youngish (early teens) audience, and to keep most of the original TV story intact. As interesting as the background is, Martin's storytelling technique is less thought out. The plot is mostly a long series of "evade and capture" events. Martin goes with the A.E. van Vogt method that every so often one must introduce a plot twist no matter what the logic of that might be.
