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Tales From The Vault


The first in series six of the Companion Chronicles


Charlie Sato meets Ruth Matheson at the UNIT vault - a place where all the alien artefacts are kept. Is he ready for his new job and the horrors that lie in the Vault?


I was a few minutes into this before I remembered it was a companion chronicles release. Usually these adventures start with an old companion telling a story. Here it begins much more like any other full cast audio. Set in the present without any bookends.


Charlie Sato and Ruth Matheson maybe familiar names, I had to look it up but I’ve heard them in the Screaming Skull - one of the Worlds Of Doctor Who episodes. These two characters are played by Yee Jee Tso and Daphne Ashbrook - the Eighth Doctor companions for the TV Movie. Though they’re not playing their original roles it does fit in the the Companion theme.


As Ruth shows Charlie around the vault we get to find out more about some of the artefacts, and get to hear past companions. A voice recording of Jo Grant, an Interview with Romana I,  an orb containing a copy of Zoes consciousness and not to mention a recording made by Steven Taylor.


The fact that each ‘adventure’ only lasts for a few minutes means that they’re not too in-depth. Having so many companions in one story is quite nice and rewarding for long tern fanes. The fact that Mary Tamm was a nice surprise, I had thought I’d heard all her Big Finish audios as Romana, so this was great but just too brief. 


There are some great ideas behind the artefacts - a painting that shows you your death, meaning that its different for each person, and also you dare not to look at it. A haunted jacket thats under guard - just in case Etc.


Everything comes together for the final part and ties up stuff nicely, its a good story, well done, and something that you don’t have to have extensive knowledge of Doctor Who to enjoy.

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