Reviews

Written By: Eddie Robson
Directed By: Nicholas Briggs

Cast

Tom Baker (The Doctor), Lalla Ward (Romana), Kate Bracken (Celia Soames), Mark Bonnar (Zoltán Frid), Peter Barrett (Guard-Major Priskin), John Dorney (Ensign Kanta), Anjella Mackintosh (Anita Kereki)

Other parts played by members of the cast

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor John Dorney
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and
Nicholas Briggs

Released by Big Finish February 2016
(order from Amazon UK)

 

Well, it had to happen, a Big Finish tale that really didn't grab me. 

In The Labyrinth Of Buda Castle, we find the Doctor and Romana in Budapest, enjoying some time off from saving the Universe. Here they stumble across a man who, it would appear, has been bitten by a vampire - which they discover as the story unfolds, is just the latest in a series of similarly nasty and gruesome attacks. As well as possible vampirism, the Doctor and Romana also discover an army up to no good, rampaging monsters, creepy caves under the city and a young vampire hunter who believes that she is on the trail of one Count Dracula. 

The story sounds exciting enough on the page, but unfortunately it is more or less a rehash of the US television series The Strain. The main villain Zoltán Frid  (Mark Bonnar) is for the most part, so underplayed and dull, that I almost expected him to fall asleep part of the way through. I also had a
problem with a chase scene that seemed to go on forever...and the ending....please don't talk to me about the ending!

On the plus side Tom Baker and Lalla Ward are still a joy to listen to. Tom has some great lines, my favourite being "You've made the common mistake of finding me kneeling by a body, and presuming I'm the killer." which made me chuckle. The supporting cast are good, with Kate Braken (Misfits, Being Human) standing out and having a lot of fun as the over-eager would be vampire killer Celia.

TheLabyrinthofBudaCastle is for the Big Finish die hards. It is unfortunately let down by a poor, very unoriginal story, a not too compelling villain and a let down of an ending - but saying that, there are still a few moments for a fan to enjoy.