“The Rosemariners” is a Doctor Who audio play released from Big Finish Productions and is from the Lost Stories Range. Donald Tosh is the writer for this installment which features Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury as they narrate as well as reprise their roles as Jamie and Zoe. Hines once again stands in for the late Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. There is not a large guest cast here, but it’s still an impressive one that has science fiction icon, David Warner, and Clive Wood.
The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe arrive aboard another seemingly deserted space lab. They have a tendency to wander into these kind of settings, especially in the Second Doctor era. The space station is in orbit over a planet known as Rose Damascena and is actually about to be shut down with the staff being relocated. The Doctor and his friends meet Professor Briggs and quickly learn that a commander named Rugosa has a few dangerous secrets involving the indigenous population on the planet below.
It turned out to be a fairly good story, but I didn’t find it to be all that unique. Fortunately, the performances of the Hines and Padbury help considerably. Hines’ still manages to capture the spirit of the Second Doctor quite well. Warner was quite good as well, but he always seems to provide a certain gravitas. The story also involved killer plants, which also has been used quite a few times in the series.
It’s one of those stories in which the history of it almost being on television and the performances make this a worthwhile listen. It is not really a terrible episode, but that may be because of the strength of the performances more than a stellar plot.
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