No Ghouls in Goule's Gallery Of Ghouls? Bit of a bummer....

I kind of enjoy stories that are a bit of a misnomer. Those stories hat make you think it's going to go one way, but then pull the rug out from under you. I thought I had a feeling of where this story was going to go, and I got it completely wrong. Ah well, nice to be surprised every once in a while.

DOCTOR WHO FOURTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES REVIEW

5.05: GALLERY OF GHOULS

By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Brighton, England, 1833. Right place, right Doctor, wrong time. Arriving far too early for the Doctor's intended trip to the Pavilion, the TARDIS crew instead discover the travelling waxworks display of Madame Tissot. Only Madame Tissot has competition, in the form of Goole's Gallery of Ghouls. Tensions are heightened even further when an important waxwork of Tissot's is defaced. Literally. Does the enigmatic Mr Goole have anything to do with this? Or is there something even more waxy and sinister at work?

So firstly, the title is a bit of a deliberate misnomer, as there are no ghouls in Gallery Of Ghouls. That shouldn't deter you however. Alan Barnes' tale is a nicely woven tale touching upon the gothic nature the Fourth Doctor era is known for. Although it doesn't go as far as The Labyrinth Of Buda Castle, it is still a delightfully unique take on a mainstay of current British culture and French history, with few but decent twists within its narrative, directed with ease by BF regular Ken Bentley.

The cast list for this story is small but stellar, with the three regulars of Baker, Ward and Leeson, alongside Straxus actor Nickolas Grace, The Yes Men's Stephen Critchlow and the impeccable and astounding Cellia Imire as the stiff-upper-lipped Madame Tissot. Sadly I haven't been able to find out who voices a key character of the story but hopefully Mr Barnes and Mr Bentley can shed some light on the subject. (UPDATE: Mr Bentley has informed me that the brains of this operation is performed by the criminally overlooked Helen Goldwyn, who not only makes her character sound haunting and devious, but as the story progresses, succeeds in showcasing a very human element of her character. Still not spoiling it for you though.)

Once again, the music and sound are impeccably created and composed by the genius that is Jamie Robertson. Perfectly capturing the music of the era with hints of English and French vibes, and knowing exactly how each and every little thing needs to sound to capture the imagination, Robertson, once again, makes it seem effortless.

This here, whilst not big or epic, is a nice and welcome story and distraction from the large arc driven stories that Big Finish currently have planned. Not saying that means this or they are bad, just that if you need a nice bit of escapism for an hour, there's a whole world of worse that you can do than listen to this little gem.

VERDICT: 4/5 Nothing big or exciting, but a nice little story with a cracking cliffhanger. ;D