#19 Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code

I exit 1900 Paris via Randomoid Selectortron and arrive in...

Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code

Starring: the seventh Doctor (narrated), Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield and as narrator
Format: one narrated two-actor CD (or download) as two half-CD episodes
Silly? No. The main science-fiction plot device of the story could have easily gotten silly but doesn't.
Standalone? Yes.

Recommended? To Lisa Bowerman fans.

My reactions to this story include spoilers for it and brief mention of a metaplot detail of the Virgin New Adventures novels.

Before listening

I believe I've previously listened to this story once. I remember setting elements but very little of the actual plot. I think I remember finding it a bit lightweight but entertaining, and I think I remember enjoying Lisa Bowerman's narration.
Frequently in Doctor Who media, especially Big Finish, something seemingly magical ends up being something scientific that just happens to work exactly like the magical thing. Sometimes this is because the phenomenon happened before in Earth's past and stories grew up around it attributing it to magic, and sometimes it is just an unexplained contrivance. From what I recall, Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code is a rare Doctor Who story in which the fact that things are working that way comes with a full science-fiction explanation and that explanation is important to the plot, not just an obligatory device to make the story count as sci-fi rather than fantasy.
I recall the TARDIS translator being explicit in the story, though not quite plot-critical. Stories that involve the operation of the TARDIS translator are fun, partly because none of them ever agree on anything about how it works, much like Star Trek's universal translator.
I am looking forward to hearing this story again. I like Lisa Bowerman's audio performance, and both narrating and starring means there'll be a lot of her in it. I think I'll also enjoy refreshing my memory about the plot, since from what I do remember it's likely to be a fun ride.

After listening to part 1 of 2

I hadn't remembered this was divided into two episodes; I had expected to listen to it all as one chunk, but I will be dividing my listening according to the episode break. I realize Big Finish doesn't necessarily intend for people to actually stop at every episode break, but it gives me a natural point at which to make finer-grained comments.
It is narrated in the first person by Bernice Summerfield, in the past tense with no discernable frame tale and no particular time point when the narration is taking place. Some early narration presents a time of action: it is after specifically the second time Ace has parted ways from the Doctor and Bernice. I don't know what that actually is, but I assume it's a particular period of the publication history of the Virgin Books novels from which Bernice Summerfield originated.
The story begins in medias res, with Bernice and the seventh Doctor already on the same planet and the Doctor already trying to mediate a peace conference. This is the proactive, scheming seventh Doctor of Virgin Books novels, who planned to visit this particular planet for this particular peace process and called in favors to get appointed mediator. The Doctor's plot seems to be almost a background detail at first, and even at the end of the first episode it hasn't intersected with the mystery Bernice wants to solve in any way other than happening at the same time.
Bernice is in her element: the planet has a mystery in its ancient past that the government has forbidden archeologists from investigating. The planet's archeologists mostly think of the law as a quaint relic, but Bernice's surprise about it leads them to more active dissent, and she ends up making contact with one of the few archeologists who has been actively studying the "forbidden language".
The episode goes out of its way to mention the TARDIS translation circuit: the Doctor, stymied in the peace talks, wonders if the TARDIS is failing to translate nuance. Bernice thinks this unlikely, and from what I recall of the plot it is, the real point of the scene is just to remind the listener that Gallifreyan technology is automatically translating what Bernice hears and reads into a form she understands as though it were English.
Lisa Bowerman is in good form as usual. Her Seventh Doctor voice is just a faint variation from her normal reading voice, but sufficient to identify the character. Charlie Hayes gets few lines as a native archeologist on the planet, leaving the story almost entirely in Bowerman's capable voice.
The cliffhanger is an abrupt twist as Bernice is shocked out of her own mystery by an event at the Doctor's peace talks. It's a good turn and I am eager to listen to episode two.

After listening to part 2 of 2

The two plotlines converge, of course; some of those seeking the "forbidden language" are under the control of surprise sinister forces the first episode gave no indication of whatsoever, and those forces have the provocation of interplanetary war on their agenda. The lack of fair play about the villain annoys me a little.
Clarke's Law is invoked quite directly in this story. Something I found interesting is that, despite the use of an occult language to control magic-equivalent technology, the "magic" is not of the exact-words careful-what-you-wish-for variety. The speaker just needs to use a word or two of the language denoting a vague general description of the effect, then mind-reading technology figures out the details of actual intent and acts accordingly, including doing nothing if the words weren't intended as an invocation (or if the speaker's mind is unreadable). This makes the "magic" far more powerful to wield, and less dangerous for the user, than similar powers in other stories. On the other hand, the story does include a case of subconscious intent, and if the plot device were revisited I'd be interested in hearing more about that issue.
While the story did not open with any indication of a frame tale, it does close with one: Bernice, still on the planet of the action, has been recording what has happened to her at the Doctor's prompting in the hope that the record will help guide the planet's future. The explanation of the need for this record ties in with the origin of the villains and feels muddled to me.
This story's setup is better than its resolution, but the resolution doesn't ruin it. It's well-performed and almost entirely well-paced. The suddenly revealed and inadequately explained villain is the only writing problem I picked up on.
I would recommend this story if you like Lisa Bowerman in general. If you're not familiar with her, this probably isn't your best choice of a first Bernice Summerfield story.