SNS: The Surest Poison

Season 2 audio, ep 2: The Surest Poison by Richard Dinnick.

SAPPHIRE: This is Mr. Steel, and you may call me Sapphire.
WEBB: That's a beautiful name.
STEEL: Thank you.

So, let's start with the story. A creature is trying to make the famour watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet make a watch so that people become fascinated with time and then Time takes over. Um... what?... sure... whatever.

And already we hit the first of my two problems with this story. Sapphire and Steel is known for its confusing plotlines, but this one sets a new standard. Not only do I have no real idea as to what the hell that creature was on about, I also don't know how that ending resolved anything, and moreover what was the point of all the present day material? It may just be me, but I'm also thinking that from the very beginning of this audio, the creature has already been defeated (and most of the story is about how), so the threat is somewhat lessened. (And, um, where is this disease that strikes down Sapphire as promised by the back cover blurb?)

Which leads to the other problem of most of this audio being padding of the horrendous sort. Episode 3, for example, could easily be missed (and indeed is missing Steel being involved anywhere but in the teaser). Also, a lot of this story involves time travel (which one would think S&S would be right against from the outset, but there's not even a pause before they go time jaunting), but on their first time escapade, what is their great discovery? I'll paraphase the dialogue. Webb askes "What have you discovered?" Steel replies "That we can get back to the present." Well, thank you Richard Dinnick for that fascinating WASTE OF TIME!

Sigh. But at least we have David and Susannah. And Richard Franklin, whom I would have thought that Big Finish would have played up as a special guest star. Does Captain Yates not cut it any more? We are also treated the the French accents of Tom Bevan, Eric Maclennan and Big Finish regular Helen Goldwyn. It's just as well they were speaking English with French accents, or who knows what the listeners would have done. (And before anyone complains that the dialogue is being translated for the listeners, I give you the scene with Webb.)

Still, if we are to say one good thing about it, I do want to thank Richard Franklin for his role, which was quite enjoyable.

The "bonus" (and the quotes are definitely intended) for this audio is a discussion with Nigel Fairs and John Ainsworth about The Lighthouse story, in which we find out that Nigel is incrediably incestious with his ideas.

Ultiamtely, a sub-par story, and one that doesn't speak well to the idea of getting rid of single disc releases.