Updated April 22, 2002.
SERIES SYNOPSIS The Dominie (Sylvester McCoy) and his friend Alice (Sophie Aldred) are time travellers who get themselves into and out of trouble. The series started with the character names of The Professor and Ace, but these were changed during the story Ghosts. Any resemblance the Dominie and Alice may have to a certain other time travelling duo are strictly coincidental.
SERIES TITLES For more details on each story, click on the title.
- Republica
- Island of Lost Souls
- Prosperity Island
- The Left Hand of Darkness
- The Other Side
- Guests for the Night
- Ghosts
- Only Human
- Blood Sports
- Punchline
- Island of Lost Souls
SERIES PRODUCTION INFO Currently produced by BBV.
SERIES AVAILABILITY Currently available.
by Mark Gatiss
SYNOPSIS The Professor and Ace arrive in the present day to find that England is now a Republic and has a Lord Protector. Why has time twisted in such a manner? It's up to the travellers to find out.
REVIEW Yes, this story could very well have been a Doctor Who story. Mark Gatiss even wrote a BBC Past Doctor Adventure for the second Doctor which took place just after the English Civil War. But if you suspend your belief for a bit, you'll find a pretty entertaining story. It takes awhile to get used to people calling Sylv "the Professor" instead of "the Doctor," but the chemistry which made Sylv and Sophie a great team in Who is present in this audio story.
BBV started off their series with a good time travel story. Considering they were limited to audio only, they did a great job with the special effects. The characters are easily understood and mostly distinguishible from each other. (This is crucial in an audio story. Nothing is more confusing than having two actors with a similar voice in the same story.) And it was wonderful to hear Sylv and Sophie working together again.
by Mark Gatiss
SYNOPSIS It's World War II and the Professor and Ace have arrived in Greenland. They meet up with an Ally base and are first suspected as spies. But when people start turning into monsters, they turn to the Professor to save their souls.
REVIEW If you've ever seen The Thing or the beginning of The Seeds of Doom, some of the plot will be familiar to you. But despite the similarity of situation, the story is still entertaining. Once again, sound effects are used well. I could visualize setting quite well. And beware of people you would normally befriend... They may not be all they seem to be.
by Tim Saward
SYNOPSIS The Professor and Ace stow away on a luxury liner heading for a pleasure planet which usually costs an arm and leg to get in (literally). The planet is Millano, but before the duo has a chance to enjoy a quiet game of golf, they are captured as stowaways. But that's no matter, because the ship is crashing into the planet anyway. And even if they DO survive the crash, there's a gentleman on Prosperity Island just waiting to exact his revenge on someone.
REVIEW If the last story's inspiration was The Thing, then this story's inspiration is Shakepeare's The Tempest. Even the names are similar. But whereas The Tempest is a comedy with tragic tendencies, this is a tragedy with comedic tendencies. This story benefits from being 2 CDs in length and so is better developed than the previous two stories. Peter Miles (Nyder from Genesis of the Daleks) is both funny and frightening as Projoy, a man exiled to Prosperity Island. (However, because Peter's voice is so distinct, I picture the thin actor when he speaks, yet Projoy is described as a very fat man...)
I have to admit it. This is my favorite Time Travellers adventure of them all. It has several scenes where I laugh out loud (in particular the courtroom scene). However, the bits with the board of directors of Millano are the bits I like the least. The Professor, it seems, enjoys playing golf, and I felt this was a good addition to his character. It's a shame none of the other authors has seen fit to include it in their stories. The more they separate this character from the Doctor, the better the series will be, I feel.
NOTE This story, being a two parter, costs nearly twice as much as the other stories.
by Mark Duncan
SYNOPSIS Ace awakes to find herself blind and alone. Well, not quite alone. Who is the man who insists on keeping her prisoner, and yet still takes care of her? What happened to get her here in the first place? And where is the Professor?
REVIEW This is the better of the two Ace-solo stories. Left Hand allows Ace some time to develop more as a character. But let's face it, I'm listening to these stories for Sylv. Sure, I'm a bit selfish, but that's the truth. He does show up by the end of the tale to rescue Ace.
by Mark Duncan
SYNOPSIS Ace gets hit by a car and dies. No, seriously, that's the plot. Well, the start of it, at least. While she's in limbo, her Grandmother tries to talk her over to the Other Side. But Ace refuses to believe she's dead. Can she make her way back to the living?
REVIEW Well, the answer, if you can't guess from the upcoming plots, is yes, she'll survive. This is probably the shortest of all of the Time Travellers stories and features an interview with Sophie at the end. And it just doesn't work for me. The lady voicing Ace's Grandmother just doesn't sound the grandmotherly type. And I saw the conclusion of the story coming from practically the start. Not one of my favorite stories. Very little Sylv in it too.
by Nigel Fairs
SYNOPSIS The Professor and Ace and an innocent bystander enter a house that Scooby Doo and the Gang would stop to ask directions at. Inside are 4 very odd people. Why has time stopped while they're in the house? Why are the hosts so insistant they stay for the night? And why wasn't Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, invited as well?
REVIEW Despite the silly technobabble explanation for the time bubble and Instant Angst at the end of the story, this is my second favorite tale. Yes, it's gory and sometimes predictable (though the hosts' secret surprised both me and the Professor), but I found it a fun Scooby Doo-ish romp. Oh, and it has the best line of any BBV adventure. "I'm having the cute little man. [intakes breath] Did you see those eyebrows? Delicious!" Never a truer word spoken...
by Nigel Fairs
SYNOPSIS The Professor returns to a place to investigate a memory lapse that he's had. But during the course of this investigation, he is apparently killed. So it's up to Ace to find the Professor and save his hide. And then they change their names to the Dominie and Alice.
REVIEW First off, let me say that this is probably my favorite cover. My, Sylv looks fine... But enough of that, let's look at the story. Alas, I find the story rather forgettable and have to constantly remind myself what happened. This is another Sylv-lite story, but not as light as the Ace-solo stories were. I would have said that the less Sylv in a story, the less I like it. But then Only Human goes and stuffs that theory down the garbage chute.
by Mark J. Thompson
SYNOPSIS The Dominie and Alice encounter a species of shape-shifters who want to eat them. But they befriend one of them and the three escape. They encounter an artificial life form (played by Sammie Winmill from The Tomorrow People and the last human alive. So what caused the human race to become nearly extinct? And what secret is Alice hiding about her past.
REVIEW Sigh. I want to like all of these stories. I really do. But this one still makes me cringe. I think that the series works best when it doesn't pay tribute to Doctor Who, but this story had so many asides to the other series that it was distracting. And ever since Guests for the Night there's been a growing artificial angst between the Dominie and Alice. It usually lasts about 5 minutes during the course of the story and then ends abruptly. And it just doesn't work. This story should be taken as a template of what not to do when making a Dominie and Alice story.
by Nigel Fairs
SYNOPSIS On a train bound to somewhere, the Dominie and Alice stumble across a murder mystery. Can they solve it before the train pulls into station?
REVIEW Ah, another story which leans heavily on a famous plot. This time, it pays tribute to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Unlike the book, however, I found this story rather forgettable. I'm not sure which is worse, a story that's hard to remember after you hear it, or one that you remember but dislike intensely. This story features a return character from Ghosts who hasn't actually met the Dominie or Alice yet. The cover, however, is quite fab, even if the story leaves much to be desired.
by Jeremy Leadbetter
SYNOPSIS This is a Dominie-solo story (and no, Sylv is not naked on the cover). Dominic Perkins has an ideal life. Loving wife, happy-go-lucky son, and a matching laugh-track. Yes, welcome to Yet Another Sitcom. But as the episodes play on, Dominic begins to wonder about another life he might have had. Or is he just going mad?
REVIEW The cover says it's a Dominie story, but this is a Doctor Who story pure and simple. And as a Who story it works. If I think of this as a Dominie story, all the obvious Who references annoy me. So let's just say that this story is really about the Seventh Doctor and occurs sometime during his travels with Ace. Maybe it can be set after The Fearmonger.
The small cast works great for an audio play. Only 4 voices to distinguish between. Sylv's Dominic Perkins is as cloying as the worst sitcom dad, but that only goes to contrast with the real Dominie (or Doctor) realizing his situation. I liked Kevin, the layabout son, best of the rest of the cast. His imitation of Dominic is one of the highlights. And the crew did a fine job making things go from silly to sinister with little transition. The ending wasn't nearly as angsty as several of the recent Dominie tales have been, and I hope this trend continues. All in all, a fun romp.