Benny: ...and The Plague Herds of Excelis

[Anthony Williams]

Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Plague Herds of Excelis
Starring Lisa Bowerman and Katy Manning

Prior to this story (and since), I'd never heard another Benny audio. Which makes this a rather strange place to jump on - after all, there appear to be some domestic issues surrounding the character at this point in her story. But, because it came with the other three Excelis audios, it made sense to listen to it and hear how Big Finish were dealing with the epilogue to the Excelis trilogy.

And, to be honest, I have to wonder why they bothered. There's nothing overly offensive about this audio, but surely they must've known that for a good number of people, this would have been their first Benny audio? Perhaps that's why Benny is so secondary to Iris through the whole thing. Yet, we're still bulked down with a certain amount of Benny-baggage. I can understand why they had to include continuity from the Benny audio line - they'd have been damned by the Benny fans if they hadn't. But then they're damned by the newcomers. Which just makes me question the wisdom of having this as a Benny play in the first place.

Still, those gripes aside, there are some very interesting ideas in this play. Firstly, continuing from the nuclear apocalypse at the end of Excelis Decays, life has not been entirely wiped out, but society has regressed. But this is all part of a bigger plan to destroy an evil Galactic Queen, using the planet as some huge bomb with the Relic as a handbag. Erm... what? Well, that makes everything with Grayvorn/Maupassant/Sutton seem all nice and irrelevant. I'm not sure I like that, really.

Of course, Katy Manning is just fabulous through this as Iris. I know her character is divisive, but I think Stephen Cole writes for her extremely well. It's amazing that the man who wrote the dullest audio of all time (Land of the Dead) wrote something with so many interesting ideas in it. But Benny is criminally underused here, given that it's meant to be a play in her range. If they wanted to avoid too much Benny-baggage, rather than sidelining her, then why didn't they just start the Iris Wildthyme range back in 2002 with this play? Ho hum!

Anyway, I found this to be a rather strange and unnecessary epilogue to the Excelis saga, trying to change it from one thing into something else. It's not overly offensive, but I do feel that it somewhat spoiled the whole saga with Grayvorn, by making him relatively inconsequential. This is only a 5/10 for me, I'm afraid!

[Si Hunt]

This is an obscure one to start a thread on. I really enjoyed it, and I hooted at the line "Oh, the Universe is full of old Queens!"

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

This is an obscure one to start a thread on. I really enjoyed it, and I hooted at the line "Oh, the Universe is full of old Queens!"

Well, I just finished listening through the Excelis trilogy of four - since it was cheaper to buy the three Who ones with the Benny one, than without!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

This play is a bit of an oddity and yes the trio of Doctor Who plays that preceeded it worked well enough on their own. It's quite fun even though it only really serves to deal with the outstanding Iris and the handbag stuff from Excelis Dawns. From the Benny side it does fit quite well into Season 3 but in general terms it's not really representative of how good Lisa or the Benny range as whole can be. There are some much better Benny plays out there by a country mile!

[Anthony Williams]

There are some much better Benny plays out there by a country mile!

I'm sure there are! When I've caught up on Big Finish's Who output, I'll be looking into the spin-offs, including Benny - but that won't be for a few years yet, I imagine! (Unless I win the lottery...)

[Rob McCow]

I'm sure, SURE that I've heard this one. I MUST have heard it. It's only logical.

You could tell me what happens in it and it would slip out of my mind like slurry off the bonnet of a Volkswagen Beetle.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

In addition to Iris another character from Excelis Dawns makes a surprise reappearance - does that help?

[Rob McCow]

It'd be a suprise to me. In fact, anything you told me about this story would be a surprise.

[SiHart]

I remember hearing it, so you must have heard it too, cos I didn't do any Benny's without you...

[Si Hunt]

There's a scene in a bar where Benny meets Iris isn't there? And lots of kind of rotting meat monsters.

Si.

[SiHart]

Were the rotting mean monsters cows of some kind? I seem to recall that...

[Rob McCow]

Is it the one where they go to England and meet Richard Branson?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

That was a season 9 story wasn't it