19. Minuet in Hell

Eighth Doctor meeting the Brigadier for the first time is probably the most interesting aspect in this story. The rest is sadly a bizarre, poorly written and badly acted hodge podge of a mess.

After deciding to work my way through the Eighth Doctor back catalogue – I got to Minuet in Hell today, and wondered if other people thought it was as dire as I did. I hate accents done badly (at this point I’m still reeling from Rathbone in Storm Warning), and the clichéd and overblown ones on view here simply make me want to tear my headphones off, followed by my ears. The whole Hellfire Club – Dashwood idea transplanted to America was stupid and unconvincing. The idea that a southern evangelist state would be named ‘Malebolgia’ really destroyed the credibility for me from the outset. Did the authors just think this was a really cool name that – hint, hint – secretly indicated Dashwood’s sympathies? So, no-one in the US is supposed to realise that their new state is named after Dante’s Eighth Circle of Hell, and is therefore Satan’s dominion? Absolutely ridiculous and patronising (but then the entire cast of US characters are as well). And the Brigadier is suddenly an expert on devolution, having helped set up the Scottish parliament? Really? About as much sense as him becoming a Maths teacher. Add to that everything mentioned above – the rubbish amnesia plot (clichéd even when this was released), the frustration of having the Brig and the Doctor not sharing the adventure, and the hamfistedness with which the ‘hard science’ and devil worship plots were shoehorned together

Absolutely terrible. Terrible accents, terrible story, terrible characters. There are a few uncomfortable scenes to sit through here, especially in the club and with the demons. Even the Doctor is wasted in this story, sitting around with amnesia again doing nothing. The Brigadier is completely wasted and the whole thing just feels so amateur.

“Minuet in Hell” (“Menuet en enfer”) est un recyclage d’une histoire plus ancienne écrite par Alan W. Lear pour la série officieuse Audio Adventures in Time and Space (pour plus détails, www.justyce.org). Peu aimée, cette histoire est pourtant riche en thèmes abordés et son côté foutraque lui procure un charme particulier.

Niveau de difficulté : +++
Résumé détaillé : http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_bf19.htm

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Français anglophone et Doctor Who-phile, je me suis lancé en 2017 dans l’exploration des productions de Big Finish. J’espère que mes avis aideront d’autres « whoviens » francophones à sauter le pas.
Voici mon échelle de difficulté :
+ : facile à comprendre
++ : quelques détails m’ont échappé mais cela ne nuit pas à la compréhension générale
+++ : quelques détails clés de l’intrigue m’ont échappé (à compléter par la lecture de résumés en ligne) / peut demander des connaissances en histoire britannique
++++ : une large partie de l’histoire m’a échappé / histoire difficilement audible (déformation de voix, etc.)

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As an English-speaking French Whovian, I threw myself into the exploration of Big Finish productions in 2017. I hope my reviews will help other French-speaking Whovians to take the plunge.