‘SHADOW OF A DOUBT’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Bernice Summerfield meets Daughter of Mine

‘Shadow of a Doubt’ is the second story of what is arguably the ‘shadow’ trilogy by Paul Cornell (the first story being ‘The Shadow Passes’). Originally, this story was presented on YouTube in April 2020 and is read and performed by Lisa Bowerman who plays Benny Summerfield in the Big Finish audios.

In the story, Bernice Summerfield finds a mirror from Earth in the ruins of Andromeda. In the mirror, Benny speaks to Daughter of Mine from ‘Human Nature’/’The Family of Blood’. Daughter of Mine talks about the Doctors who have met her and she’s struggling to say ‘sorry’ about what she’s done.

Now it’s interesting how Benny meets Daughter of Mine because apparently she has met her before. Albeit, she clarifies that this is a different Daughter of Mine. You see, before the TV story, there was a ‘New Adventures’ novel called ‘Human Nature’ which featured the Seventh Doctor and Bernice. 😀

So, I assume there was a ‘family of blood’ in that ‘Human Nature’ novel as well as in the TV version. It’s very ironic how there are different versions of ‘Human Nature’ coexisting with each other in the same universe, much like how there are varying versions of ‘Shada’ and the Mary Shelley story here.

The story ends with Benny coming back to the ruins of Andromeda to find that the mirror has gone. I assume the resolution where the mirror has gone happens in the next ‘shadow’ story ‘The Shadow in the Mirror’. Overall, I did enjoy ‘Shadow of a Doubt’ read by Lisa Bowerman as well as in prose form.

‘Shadow of a Doubt’ rating – 8/10