Friday, August 14, 2026

OUT NOW FROM BBC PHYSICAL AUDIO: 'THE PARADISE OF DEATH'!

The old gang is back on audio.


When is a theme park not a theme park? When it's the staging point for a unique alien invasion of Earth! The mostly Earthbound Third Doctor with his relatively new companion in plucky magazine reporter Sarah Jane Smith and his trusty UNIT sidekick in Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart investigate a mysterious and savage murder discovered within the spacious and intriguing grounds of the brand-new Spaceworld theme park, full of diverse alien creatures to wow the potential crowds and two strange behind the scenes managers orchestrating unusual events during the pre-opening press launch for the much-anticipated attraction, located on the grounds of the popular Hampstead Heath. Soon enough, our heroes go beyond Earth and find themselves in all kinds of danger on the far-off realm of Parakon...

Barry Letts' radio drama turned novelisation from 1993 (which fondly brought back icons Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney, this time to a London recording studio) - The Paradise of Death - enjoyably translates itself to an all-new BBC Physical Audio release. Despite his once producer-ship position, Letts' story doesn't quite fully re-capture the nostalgic flavour of the Pertwee era to which he once held such a firm and capable creative grip during the early seventies, and it also proves a little overlong in its plotting (breaking established TV series continuity in several places), but there's enough fine sequences to carry it through (including the idea of the TARDIS not landing in the right place when vitally needed (and the consequences that follow from it!), plus the Brigadier (in best 'Colonel Blimp' fashion) going into battle on an alien planet no less, atop a Pterodactyl!). Ongoing Who fan and vocalist supremo Jon Culshaw once again does a fine job capturing the voices of our main trio within his experienced and enthused telling of the tale.

Get The Paradise of Death here:

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