CC6.9 – Binary

Synopsis

A damaged alien computer is being guarded by UNIT troops, but the soldiers simply vanish…

Usually the Brigadier would call in the Doctor but on this occasion the Time Lord is being kept out of the loop. Instead, it’s up to Elizabeth Shaw to oversee the project to repair this alien technology, and recover the missing men.

And then Liz vanishes too.

Trapped inside the machine, Liz faces a battle for survival against a lethal defence system. And this time, she must save the day without the Doctor at her side…

Review

Enigmatic alien computer repair /*pseudo-*/ meets pseudo-tech Carnival of Monsters in quirksmode. Lower-level programming ultimately, yet binary indeed. Good with intriguing setting and real-time mode acting from Caroline John. Another excellent Caroline John performance. A better ending would have ranked this higher. +1 bonus point or on my preferred 5-star scale, +1 invisible point at 3/5. Only the ending was a bit trite as the author obviously is probably not familiar enough with contemporary tech to be more imaginative. Nonetheless, the actual mise en scene is very good. Caroline John was a treasure. I grew up with the Pertwee episodes and took her for granted (there’s a bad pun in there), but this was one of my first Companion Chronicles and I rated it and reviewed this then. In hindsight after listening to many Big Finish (which are either dreadful in writing or more rarely excellent generally – see my other reviews no holds barred), I really appreciate John here and sorely miss her. All here audioplays but one are excellent (Sentinels, which is trash due to writing). This one rides the middle but is still essential regardless as it is still in classic molding.

This was 3/5.

Director: Lisa Bowerman
Writer: Eddie Robson

Cast:
Caroline John (Liz Shaw)
Joe Coen (Childs)
Kyle Redmond-Jones (James Foster)