‘BOUNTY’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Rhiptogans with the Eighth Doctor and Sam

This is an exclusive audio story that features the Eighth Doctor and his companion Samantha ‘Sam’ Jones. It’s read by Paul McGann and it’s the first of three stories in the ‘Earth and Beyond’ collection – the other two stories being ‘Dead Time’ and ‘The People’s Temple’.

‘Bounty’ is by Peter Anghelides, who I’ve come across a few times before. This happens to be the first chronological audio story to feature the Eighth Doctor. It’s also the first audio story to feature Sam Jones, who was introduced in the book story ‘The Eight Doctors’.

In ‘Bounty’, the Eighth Doctor and Sam come across small alien objects in the sand – in Seychelles, I believe – whilst playing a game of Never Have I Ever (also known as I’ve Never…). The Doctor is deciding whether to keep Sam on as a travelling companion or not.

They encounter a Rhiptogan – Rhiptogans are a race of shapeshifters – who swiftly takes the alien items from Sam. He also takes the Doctor’s TARDIS key in the process. The Doctor and Sam soon discover that two Rhiptogans have fled to Earth to escape a bounty.

There’s also a bounty hunter that’s hot on the two Rhiptogans’ trail. I must admit, I can’t say this audio story excited me. It was a challenge to identify where we were in the story and who was who, especially as the Eighth Doctor and Sam interacted with the Rhiptogans. 😐

There are some nice continuity references featured in this story, including the Doctor mentioning having been to Pluto before in ‘The Sun Makers’. Plus, when the Doctor looks for a spare key in his shoes, this is a callback to both ‘Spearhead From Space’ and ‘Robot’.

‘Bounty’ rating – 5/10