I first found out about the Big Finish audio “The Rapture” on… well, “the Rapture” day. When the world was going to end on some Saturday at 6pm or something. But, if we all survived, I said that one day I’d get it. Well, we survived. And I’ve got “The Rapture”. And it’s awesome.
The first reason why I love it is because it’s so immersed in Doctor Who continuity. SPOILERS FOLLOW! There are cuts between scenes, and that’s very reminscent of The TV Movie. The scenes blend in brilliantly. And of course there’s the revelation that Ace has a brother! It was a truly amazing twist, and I loved it. The relationship between Ace and Liam is brilliantly written and brilliantly acted.
In fact, the whole idea of the audio play is fantastic. It says in the notes that Joseph Lidster (and this was his first audio play) got the idea when he started going to night clubs. And the whole idea is executed perfectly. It’s written brilliantly and acted brilliantly. The two “angels” are brilliant, but I was slightly disappointed that they were aliens. As soon as they said they were alien soldiers, I knew that they wanted the clubbers to be soldiers. So the alien bit, while slightly disappointing, was perfectly done in the play. It was revealed in stages, and then Jude’s final twist at the end worked perfectly. I’m using that word a lot, but it’s a pretty good description of the audio play.
The characters are awesome. Jude and Gabriel fit in brilliantly, the Doctor’s old friend, and I’m not going to try and spell his name, is brilliantly and the twist with him is fantastic. Liam, while seemingly an ordinary character, has a FANTASTIC backstory. And a very important one according to Ace (yeah, he’s the brother). Katrina is… an interesting character. She’s on drugs for most of it, and yet she’s a really well developed character. Brian doesn’t last long, which is a shame cos he’s an awesome character. The Doctor and Ace are brilliant together, and it’s a shame this kind of relationship between them was never explored on TV. We don’t get enough tension on TV, and it’s done brilliantly on audios.
Back to the plot, it’s brilliant. The ties with religion work fantastically, and it’s a really really interesting concept to take. So maybe it should have been all religion, maybe Doctor Who without the aliens would’ve suited this story best. But I can’t criticise the alien side of things, as it’s the most important factor in Jude and Gabriel’s relationship, and that’s one of the key points of the story.
This story is a brilliant take on Doctor Who. It’s a 21st Century take, and it’s an adult 21st Century take on Doctor Who. There’s swearing, it’s a night club and there are drugs. The “Angel Dust” bit is very clever and it’s done brilliantly. The hallucination makes you feel weird and the surreal sounds of the audio and the whole “chat show” bit is excellent. And that brings me to the DJ. It’s a brilliant way of holding the play together.
This is 21st Century Doctor Who done fantastically. The concept is brilliant, the resolution is great, and the twists and turns keep you listening all the way through. The best bit is the characters. They’re all brilliant and really well developed. There’s only so much you can do in 1hour and 15 minutes – but it’s all handled excellently.
Really enjoyed it, and I recommend you all to go and buy it now.
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