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Big Finish Monthly Range #265
Doctor Who: The Lovecraft Invasion
The Doctor, Constance and Flip join forces with 51st-century bounty hunter, Calypso Jonze, to hunt down the Somnifax: a weaponised mind-parasite capable of turning its host's nightmares into physical reality. Chasing it through the time vortex to Providence, Rhode Island in 1937, they arrive too late to stop it from latching onto a local author of weird fiction... Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
With time running out before Lovecraft's monstrous pantheon breaks free and destroys the world, the Doctor must enter Lovecraft's mind to fight the psychic invader from within.
Can he and Flip overcome the eldritch horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos? And will Constance and Calypso survive babysitting the infamously xenophobic Old Gentleman of Providence himself?
With time running out before Lovecraft's monstrous pantheon breaks free and destroys the world, the Doctor must enter Lovecraft's mind to fight the psychic invader from within.
Can he and Flip overcome the eldritch horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos? And will Constance and Calypso survive babysitting the infamously xenophobic Old Gentleman of Providence himself?
Audio CD
First published July 30, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 5, 2022
The author is an idiot.
So you hate Lovecraft and think he deserves to die? LOL
How to alienate people who enjoy Lovecraft stories? Read it.
"if i knew he was racist I wouldn't have read it" LOL then stop reading everything publish... because everyone is a racist accordingly to twitter even doctor who... why he didn't had a black character from the first 6 or 8 incarnations? He may be a racist... and gays? hmm homophobic?
You, the author, have no problem milking Lovecraft ideas while judging the person WHO lived in a different era which was "normal" to be like that. But sure you are almighty in your throne of righteous.
So everyone that loves Lovecraft WRITINGS is a racist? Yeah, that's why I don't bother say the racist homophobic doctor...
Go away bad human being called Robert Valentine.
How to start the year - it can only become good.
So you hate Lovecraft and think he deserves to die? LOL
How to alienate people who enjoy Lovecraft stories? Read it.
"if i knew he was racist I wouldn't have read it" LOL then stop reading everything publish... because everyone is a racist accordingly to twitter even doctor who... why he didn't had a black character from the first 6 or 8 incarnations? He may be a racist... and gays? hmm homophobic?
You, the author, have no problem milking Lovecraft ideas while judging the person WHO lived in a different era which was "normal" to be like that. But sure you are almighty in your throne of righteous.
So everyone that loves Lovecraft WRITINGS is a racist? Yeah, that's why I don't bother say the racist homophobic doctor...
Go away bad human being called Robert Valentine.
How to start the year - it can only become good.
October 17, 2020
After reading a few reviews beforehand, I approached this release with some trepidation. Luckily, despite a slightly bumpy start, it pays off in the end. I'm only familiar with a few elements of Lovecraft's lore such as the Necronomicon and Cthulu and an even briefer and more recent knowledge of his prejudices. To introduce a character into the TARDIS crew just to exemplify those prejudices seems a little heavy handed and as a while I was not a fan of Calypso Jonze. When Lovecraft says something inflammatory, she hits him and later just yells at him about his prejudices with little provocation. Colin Baker has a scene tackling these issues and does a much better and more nuanced performance giving lovecraft something to think about rather than just confirming those prejudices like I felt Calypso did. Anyhois onto spooky stuff and this is where the sound design and music really do there stuff. It's a really good story and gives you lots to think about. It tackles issues a lot better than recent TV who and Colin Baker is on brilliant form here.
October 12, 2020
Being a massive Dr. Who and H.P. Lovecraft fan, I was super excited to learn that the good Doctor time travels to 1937 Rhode Island to finally meet Lovecraft himself in this latest 6th Doctor audio. Tiny bit sad that it's Colin rather than Tom Baker, but you can't have everything I guess. Fans will know that Classic Who has flirted with Lovecraftian ideas for years - The Nestene consciousness - very Elder God like and episodes like Fury of the Deep and the Power of Kroll.... Getting the Doctor to finally interact with Lovecraftian monsters and indeed go into Lovecraft's head is pretty much a dream come true.
Sadly though The Lovecraft invasion is an insult to Lovecraft/who fans. For a start it clearly hates Lovecraft. He is depicted as a racist, bigot and thoroughly unlikeable man and the rant the Doctor gives at the end is the final nail in the coffin, he calls him a worse monster than his creations and is practically happy that he's going to die of cancer in two months. Talk about alienating your audience.
The story wasn't great either. An alien mind parasite attaches itself to Lovecraft's brain causing anything in his head to become real. It wants to summon Cthulhu to become a more powerful being to conquer the universe. MEH. This tries to cover practically everything Lovecraft wrote so the Doctor and companions meet all manner of Lovecraftian monsters, characters and locations and honestly, this would have been far better just to focus on one thing rather than throwing in references thick and fast.
It tries to be post-modern, Randolf Carter, encountered in the dream realm learns that he is in fact a construct of Lovecraft and we also get lectures on disassociating an author from their work. The other thing this does is something I loathe about the BBC (and modern Who) at the moment and that is ram political correctness down your throat. So as well as the clearly preachy anti Lovecraft rants we have Calypso Jonze: a mixed race, pansexual, trans, non-binary bounty hunter who hates Lovecraft with a passion.
If you are going to do a Lovecraft story then do a Lovecraft story and acknowledge that it's going to be sought by Lovecraft fans. This is an anti-Lovecraft tirade who's PC bias far out-shadows its narrative content.
I will grudgingly acknowledge that it is well done in terms of voice cast and production values. My attention did not waver once in its two hour run time. The voices are great and the characters are easy to identify and interesting. Colin Baker is on top form, I'm not his biggest fan, but I thought he actually did an excellent job in this one. It's just a shame that I found the content so offensive, and the story such a huge disappointment.
Sadly though The Lovecraft invasion is an insult to Lovecraft/who fans. For a start it clearly hates Lovecraft. He is depicted as a racist, bigot and thoroughly unlikeable man and the rant the Doctor gives at the end is the final nail in the coffin, he calls him a worse monster than his creations and is practically happy that he's going to die of cancer in two months. Talk about alienating your audience.
The story wasn't great either. An alien mind parasite attaches itself to Lovecraft's brain causing anything in his head to become real. It wants to summon Cthulhu to become a more powerful being to conquer the universe. MEH. This tries to cover practically everything Lovecraft wrote so the Doctor and companions meet all manner of Lovecraftian monsters, characters and locations and honestly, this would have been far better just to focus on one thing rather than throwing in references thick and fast.
It tries to be post-modern, Randolf Carter, encountered in the dream realm learns that he is in fact a construct of Lovecraft and we also get lectures on disassociating an author from their work. The other thing this does is something I loathe about the BBC (and modern Who) at the moment and that is ram political correctness down your throat. So as well as the clearly preachy anti Lovecraft rants we have Calypso Jonze: a mixed race, pansexual, trans, non-binary bounty hunter who hates Lovecraft with a passion.
If you are going to do a Lovecraft story then do a Lovecraft story and acknowledge that it's going to be sought by Lovecraft fans. This is an anti-Lovecraft tirade who's PC bias far out-shadows its narrative content.
I will grudgingly acknowledge that it is well done in terms of voice cast and production values. My attention did not waver once in its two hour run time. The voices are great and the characters are easy to identify and interesting. Colin Baker is on top form, I'm not his biggest fan, but I thought he actually did an excellent job in this one. It's just a shame that I found the content so offensive, and the story such a huge disappointment.
April 8, 2021
Two big issues with this episode. First, it's one of those episodes where the entire thing plays out in a sort of virtual reality world. In this case, it's H. P. Lovecraft's head. Flip and the Doctor have their consciousness put inside Lovecraft to do battle with an alien that's manifesting monsters from Lovecraft's imagination. And these dreamscape kinds of stories never work for me. They often feel very contrived -- a way for writers cheat and break rules so that they can have anything happen.
The second issue is also an issue of contrivance. This episode is infamous for being delayed so that Big Finish could add more dialogue making it clear that "racism is bad, m'kay?" Because I guess there wasn't enough. The Doctor's been around some awful people, but always manages to have some sympathy for even the worst. Even now I'm listening to The Headless Ones, and when Peri suggests that one of the characters is rather sexist, the Doctor brushes it off as him being "a product of his times." But not here. He pretty much tells Lovecraft that he is a terrible racist and xenophobe, a horrible person with no redeeming qualities. Oh, and when another character asks if there's any hope for Lovecraft, the Doctor says "Ah, well, he's gonna die in a month anyway." Brutal. Might even call it character assassination. (See also Medicinal Purposes, in which the Doctor speaks positively of grave-digging, for another bit of character assassination.)
Part of the trouble is that we never really see this racist/xenophobic attitude from the character of H. P. Lovecraft. There's one scene where he reacts strongly to Calypso Jones, but there's no indication that he's repulsed by her race. For all we can tell from the dialogue, he's upset that she's messing up his suit. Mostly he's a bit snotty and condescending. So if we'd actually had scenes hammering home how terrible Lovecraft was as a person, the Doctor's attitude might have made some sense. But all we have is the Doctor saying that Lovecraft was a horrible human being. As soon as he arrives in Providence, the Doctor starts speechifying about how awful Lovecraft was before he even enters the picture. Whatever happened to "Show, don't tell"?
Then there's Calypso Jones, who might be an interesting character if we learned more about her. The whole episode starts in media res with the Doctor, Flip, and Constance already working with her to capture the alien baddie. So we never really get an introduction to her. But when she angrily confronts Lovecraft with a line like "I'm a trans-pansexual-non-binary multiracial partly human and everything you despise!" it comes off more like a spoiled brat trying to see how much she can frighten grandma. "I'm back from college and now I'm an atheist! Take that, old lady!"
Yeah, yeah, whatever. Adopting a set of categories doesn't make for character development. Don't tell me about your group identities, tell me about you! And unfortunately she's a pretty flat character. Again, "show, don't tell." You want to create a trans-pansexual-non-binary-whatever, create a character in such a way that I don't have to be told.
But I gotta say, Big Finish, you jammed it all in there! I've repeatedly mocked you for your obsession with lesbians, and you said "Hold my beer!"
(By the way. You can't be "trans" and "non-binary" because to be "trans" requires the existence of a biological binary. Not that I expect logic from the people who invented this word salad.)
There's a slight theme here of trying to separate the art from the artist, and this is a worthwhile theme to address. I've long grown used to having to do exactly that. If I could not, then I wouldn't be able to enjoy most art, books, music, or movies that I like. But here the Doctor strongly suggests that one cannot separate art from artist, pretty much tells Flip she's wrong to find enjoyment in any of Lovecraft's novels, and bemoans how learning about one of his favorite authors (not Lovecraft) meant he could never read one of his books again. Way to ruin everything for me, DAD!
Frankly, this is childish. And it's also ironic for Big Finish to endorse such a view. Because if I were to do as the Doctor suggests, there'd be very few Big Finish releases I could listen to. It's attitudes like this that have given rise to the evils of Cancel Culture. (Which Big Finish itself is guilty of, so I guess it's fitting.)
Alas, this ends up being a wasted opportunity to do something interesting with H.P. Lovecraft, and instead is just a vehicle for bullying him while feeling smug. I mean, what's the point of virtue signalling if you can't get high on the self-righteousness?
The second issue is also an issue of contrivance. This episode is infamous for being delayed so that Big Finish could add more dialogue making it clear that "racism is bad, m'kay?" Because I guess there wasn't enough. The Doctor's been around some awful people, but always manages to have some sympathy for even the worst. Even now I'm listening to The Headless Ones, and when Peri suggests that one of the characters is rather sexist, the Doctor brushes it off as him being "a product of his times." But not here. He pretty much tells Lovecraft that he is a terrible racist and xenophobe, a horrible person with no redeeming qualities. Oh, and when another character asks if there's any hope for Lovecraft, the Doctor says "Ah, well, he's gonna die in a month anyway." Brutal. Might even call it character assassination. (See also Medicinal Purposes, in which the Doctor speaks positively of grave-digging, for another bit of character assassination.)
Part of the trouble is that we never really see this racist/xenophobic attitude from the character of H. P. Lovecraft. There's one scene where he reacts strongly to Calypso Jones, but there's no indication that he's repulsed by her race. For all we can tell from the dialogue, he's upset that she's messing up his suit. Mostly he's a bit snotty and condescending. So if we'd actually had scenes hammering home how terrible Lovecraft was as a person, the Doctor's attitude might have made some sense. But all we have is the Doctor saying that Lovecraft was a horrible human being. As soon as he arrives in Providence, the Doctor starts speechifying about how awful Lovecraft was before he even enters the picture. Whatever happened to "Show, don't tell"?
Then there's Calypso Jones, who might be an interesting character if we learned more about her. The whole episode starts in media res with the Doctor, Flip, and Constance already working with her to capture the alien baddie. So we never really get an introduction to her. But when she angrily confronts Lovecraft with a line like "I'm a trans-pansexual-non-binary multiracial partly human and everything you despise!" it comes off more like a spoiled brat trying to see how much she can frighten grandma. "I'm back from college and now I'm an atheist! Take that, old lady!"
Yeah, yeah, whatever. Adopting a set of categories doesn't make for character development. Don't tell me about your group identities, tell me about you! And unfortunately she's a pretty flat character. Again, "show, don't tell." You want to create a trans-pansexual-non-binary-whatever, create a character in such a way that I don't have to be told.
But I gotta say, Big Finish, you jammed it all in there! I've repeatedly mocked you for your obsession with lesbians, and you said "Hold my beer!"
(By the way. You can't be "trans" and "non-binary" because to be "trans" requires the existence of a biological binary. Not that I expect logic from the people who invented this word salad.)
There's a slight theme here of trying to separate the art from the artist, and this is a worthwhile theme to address. I've long grown used to having to do exactly that. If I could not, then I wouldn't be able to enjoy most art, books, music, or movies that I like. But here the Doctor strongly suggests that one cannot separate art from artist, pretty much tells Flip she's wrong to find enjoyment in any of Lovecraft's novels, and bemoans how learning about one of his favorite authors (not Lovecraft) meant he could never read one of his books again. Way to ruin everything for me, DAD!
Frankly, this is childish. And it's also ironic for Big Finish to endorse such a view. Because if I were to do as the Doctor suggests, there'd be very few Big Finish releases I could listen to. It's attitudes like this that have given rise to the evils of Cancel Culture. (Which Big Finish itself is guilty of, so I guess it's fitting.)
Alas, this ends up being a wasted opportunity to do something interesting with H.P. Lovecraft, and instead is just a vehicle for bullying him while feeling smug. I mean, what's the point of virtue signalling if you can't get high on the self-righteousness?
August 1, 2020
As someone who has learned quite a bit on Lovecraft as a person and the mythos he created as an author I was beyond excited when I heard this was coming out, I've always wanted The Doctor to meet HP Lovecraft and Robert Valentine has written not only a satisfying story but an incredible two-hour length that went beyond my own expectations.
Now, this is a story that could have fallen flat since Lovecraft as a person whilst having a tragic past was a most repulsive person who had every bigotry view imaginable which is not only an issue with the man himself but an issue that hangs over his literary work, and how the story handles this is very well done it does not at all glorify the man which is what many were worried of, but instead we can get some lovely moments from the Sixth Doctor on his views of HP Lovecraft and bigotry and whilst he is a man who understands different times, different cultures, but even then he is repulsed and when HP Lovecraft dares to say that he and The Doctor are very similar intelligent men, both the dialogue and the performance from Colin Baker is incredibly powerful and not only shines out who The Doctor as a character is but is also a definitive moment for the Sixth Doctor.
The other characters were pretty stellar too, Flip knowing who HP Lovecraft was and his work goes to travel with the Sixth Doctor in a world of nightmares filled with Lovecraft's creations and she is just as incredible as always, funny, intelligent and provided with a great performance from Lisa Greenwood. Constance is also great in this having to take care of Lovecraft who is forced to look upon him as a person who needs their help even with all his hatred and blindness but she more than anyone else realizes why men like him are the reason why the world is a rotten place and why the war happened which is brilliantly highlighted in this and Miranda Raison gives an incredible performance as always. Calypso Jonze was a great guest star in this story who really feels like they could be a potential companion, they are very three dimensional with obvious faults but positives that outshine her negative side. She is definitely more repulsed by HP Lovecraft than anybody else because of her background. Robyn Holdaway gives a stellar performance and would love to see her return in another story whether that be a new character of Calypso.
However, I would like to address HP Lovecraft, he is in no way a black and white character in this, in fact Robert Valentine has made sure that he is far more complicated than that, even with his horrific morals and world views, he was a frightened man with a tragic past and I couldn't have thought of anyone better than Alan Marriott to bring this character to life on audio with an incredible performance.
Everyone else was great as well, particularly the villain who was very different even if they did have the typical end the world masterplan but in this instance, it works really well and feels like it belongs in a story like this.
But enough of the characters, this was also a masterfully told tale with some incredible imagination with some very interesting ideas of its own, whilst also being a huge homage to Lovecraft's works. I can not fault this story in any way in my opinion it is absolutely perfect. I can imagine some people not liking this however because of it's more political nature which in my opinion is what Doctor Who has always been in the first place, but here it is truly something else, and it's glorious! 10/10
Now, this is a story that could have fallen flat since Lovecraft as a person whilst having a tragic past was a most repulsive person who had every bigotry view imaginable which is not only an issue with the man himself but an issue that hangs over his literary work, and how the story handles this is very well done it does not at all glorify the man which is what many were worried of, but instead we can get some lovely moments from the Sixth Doctor on his views of HP Lovecraft and bigotry and whilst he is a man who understands different times, different cultures, but even then he is repulsed and when HP Lovecraft dares to say that he and The Doctor are very similar intelligent men, both the dialogue and the performance from Colin Baker is incredibly powerful and not only shines out who The Doctor as a character is but is also a definitive moment for the Sixth Doctor.
The other characters were pretty stellar too, Flip knowing who HP Lovecraft was and his work goes to travel with the Sixth Doctor in a world of nightmares filled with Lovecraft's creations and she is just as incredible as always, funny, intelligent and provided with a great performance from Lisa Greenwood. Constance is also great in this having to take care of Lovecraft who is forced to look upon him as a person who needs their help even with all his hatred and blindness but she more than anyone else realizes why men like him are the reason why the world is a rotten place and why the war happened which is brilliantly highlighted in this and Miranda Raison gives an incredible performance as always. Calypso Jonze was a great guest star in this story who really feels like they could be a potential companion, they are very three dimensional with obvious faults but positives that outshine her negative side. She is definitely more repulsed by HP Lovecraft than anybody else because of her background. Robyn Holdaway gives a stellar performance and would love to see her return in another story whether that be a new character of Calypso.
However, I would like to address HP Lovecraft, he is in no way a black and white character in this, in fact Robert Valentine has made sure that he is far more complicated than that, even with his horrific morals and world views, he was a frightened man with a tragic past and I couldn't have thought of anyone better than Alan Marriott to bring this character to life on audio with an incredible performance.
Everyone else was great as well, particularly the villain who was very different even if they did have the typical end the world masterplan but in this instance, it works really well and feels like it belongs in a story like this.
But enough of the characters, this was also a masterfully told tale with some incredible imagination with some very interesting ideas of its own, whilst also being a huge homage to Lovecraft's works. I can not fault this story in any way in my opinion it is absolutely perfect. I can imagine some people not liking this however because of it's more political nature which in my opinion is what Doctor Who has always been in the first place, but here it is truly something else, and it's glorious! 10/10
April 6, 2021
This could have been a good one, but there was way too much time spent on repeatedly pointing out how Lovecraft was a racist and lecturing about it. Mention it as a fact if you want to add that element in there, but it doesn't add to a story about a parasite turning his stories/nightmares into reality.
August 1, 2020
Well, overall, it is a good story.
The plot did not really do a lot for me. I thought a straight up confrontation with Lovecraft would have been better, without all that battle in the mind and using a literal alter ego as a more heroic proxy.
IMO that was a bit clumsy- I suspect it was done so that Lovecraft does not become centre stage in this story.
So what they do instead, they just show Lovecraft as a pathetic little person all the main characters look down upon.
And the Doctors words concerning him.... were a bit on the nose.
Now for the positives-
since I have listened to the (German) audio plays on Lovecraft's stories (I did not read any of the actual books myself and am not particularly interested), I was surprised how much this helped in following the story. I am not sure how much someone who does not know any of the Lovecraft mythology would be able to follow who all the creatures and characters are, but if you have a little knowledge, this becomes quite an imaginative setting.
I think all the mythology elements are used well, at least as best as they could in the frame they used.
And of course the performances of the leads were great. I have come to really looking forward to new stories with Sixie.
So, this release is not as good as the previous 2 in the trilogy and a bit of a mixed bag for me.
The plot did not really do a lot for me. I thought a straight up confrontation with Lovecraft would have been better, without all that battle in the mind and using a literal alter ego as a more heroic proxy.
IMO that was a bit clumsy- I suspect it was done so that Lovecraft does not become centre stage in this story.
So what they do instead, they just show Lovecraft as a pathetic little person all the main characters look down upon.
And the Doctors words concerning him.... were a bit on the nose.
Now for the positives-
since I have listened to the (German) audio plays on Lovecraft's stories (I did not read any of the actual books myself and am not particularly interested), I was surprised how much this helped in following the story. I am not sure how much someone who does not know any of the Lovecraft mythology would be able to follow who all the creatures and characters are, but if you have a little knowledge, this becomes quite an imaginative setting.
I think all the mythology elements are used well, at least as best as they could in the frame they used.
And of course the performances of the leads were great. I have come to really looking forward to new stories with Sixie.
So, this release is not as good as the previous 2 in the trilogy and a bit of a mixed bag for me.
January 26, 2023
The
Doctor Who
spinoff media has done H.P. Lovecraft before. Back in the early '90s, some of the tie-in novels used his Mythos quite extensively and there's the obvious pastiche Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge from Big Finish themselves. Here, however, they are taking aim directly, not just at Lovecraft's writings, but at the man himself. The result, I think it's fair to say, is somewhat mixed.
The premise is that the Doctor is in pursuit of a mind parasite that can infect a person and bring their darkest imaginings to life to wreak havoc. Which, when it picks on Lovecraft in 1937 Providence, has the potential to create a lot of havoc indeed. The resulting story is full of references to his work, with several of his creations and characters making an appearance. It's implied early on that Flip is going to be the one delivering the exposition - she supposedly has a better knowledge of the Mythos than the Doctor - but it doesn't turn out that way with the Doctor remembering far more detail of the stories than she does.
Against this, we also have the examination of Lovecraft's life. Some of this is good, linking things in, for example, to his parents' tragedy. However, the elephant in the room is Lovecraft's racism. It's not an issue that can be ignored, but the repeated hammering on the point is overdone to the point of being intrusive. Honestly, he gets a worse time of it than Krasko did in Rosa and he was a mass murderer. (Lovecraft does use a racial slur at one point and rightly gets called on it, but that's the extent of what we see him do or say, making the extreme criticism come across as over-the-top).
Sure, perhaps it's deserved, but, in this sort of story, I don't think we need quite so many speeches as it gives us. Indeed, if Valentine felt he had to paint him as quite so awful, he probably shouldn't have picked him as a semi-protagonist. If you're coming into this as a Lovecraft fan, you're probably not going to enjoy it - not least because his fans also come in for an implicit bashing when we're told you should never separate an artist from their work and his should therefore be unreadable.
Yes, some of this needed to be said, but not quite so heavy-handedly as it is. A pity; if they'd got the balance better on this one issue, this would have been a good story that I'm sure I would really have enjoyed.
The premise is that the Doctor is in pursuit of a mind parasite that can infect a person and bring their darkest imaginings to life to wreak havoc. Which, when it picks on Lovecraft in 1937 Providence, has the potential to create a lot of havoc indeed. The resulting story is full of references to his work, with several of his creations and characters making an appearance. It's implied early on that Flip is going to be the one delivering the exposition - she supposedly has a better knowledge of the Mythos than the Doctor - but it doesn't turn out that way with the Doctor remembering far more detail of the stories than she does.
Against this, we also have the examination of Lovecraft's life. Some of this is good, linking things in, for example, to his parents' tragedy. However, the elephant in the room is Lovecraft's racism. It's not an issue that can be ignored, but the repeated hammering on the point is overdone to the point of being intrusive. Honestly, he gets a worse time of it than Krasko did in Rosa and he was a mass murderer. (Lovecraft does use a racial slur at one point and rightly gets called on it, but that's the extent of what we see him do or say, making the extreme criticism come across as over-the-top).
Sure, perhaps it's deserved, but, in this sort of story, I don't think we need quite so many speeches as it gives us. Indeed, if Valentine felt he had to paint him as quite so awful, he probably shouldn't have picked him as a semi-protagonist. If you're coming into this as a Lovecraft fan, you're probably not going to enjoy it - not least because his fans also come in for an implicit bashing when we're told you should never separate an artist from their work and his should therefore be unreadable.
Yes, some of this needed to be said, but not quite so heavy-handedly as it is. A pity; if they'd got the balance better on this one issue, this would have been a good story that I'm sure I would really have enjoyed.
December 1, 2021
Doctor Who: The Lovecraft Invasion by Robert Valentine - 5/5 stars :
6, Constance and Flip meet HP Lovecraft and have to stop projections from Lovecraft's mind from becoming real.
I like how this story, where the Doctor meets a controversial person from history, instead of ignoring the controversy, the writer has actually bothered to have the characters discuss it. You have a character from WWII mention how they’re from a near future where racist views have fueled an entire world war, the Doctor and companion from 2006 say how they avoid Lovecraft's work ever since they found out that he was racist and a character from the far off future who is Pansexual, Trans-Non-binary and Mixed race who is gets enraged by Lovecraft’s views.
6, Constance and Flip meet HP Lovecraft and have to stop projections from Lovecraft's mind from becoming real.
I like how this story, where the Doctor meets a controversial person from history, instead of ignoring the controversy, the writer has actually bothered to have the characters discuss it. You have a character from WWII mention how they’re from a near future where racist views have fueled an entire world war, the Doctor and companion from 2006 say how they avoid Lovecraft's work ever since they found out that he was racist and a character from the far off future who is Pansexual, Trans-Non-binary and Mixed race who is gets enraged by Lovecraft’s views.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2023
With these types of stories, especially when released in our modern era, I sometimes wonder how the writers will work around how racist certain historical figures were. I was honestly expecting that this story would shy away from that. But to my surprise, it addresses the problematic aspects of Lovecraft head on, even talking about how difficult it can be to enjoy a work of art once one knows how problematic the artist is. It also makes you think about how one might react if they found out their god was heavily flawed. I especially love the stern talk The Doctor gives Lovecraft at the end. It’s almost damning, but doesn’t completely shut the door on how one who is prejudiced has the power to change as one might hope.
September 15, 2020
As a Lovecraft Mythos aficionado, I was SO EXCITED about the existence of this audiobook. Two of my favorite fictional worlds collide! I enjoyed it very much. I’m guessing the better acquainted you are with the Mythos, the more you’ll appreciate this story.
My only quibble: Many fandoms must deal with creators who are unenlightened/problematic/despicable. “Lovecraft Country” (TV) handled this in one elegant scene. This story goes with heavy-handed repetition, telling you over and over Lovecraft was A Despicable Person. As the story isn’t that long, the repetition feels like it gets in the way of the plot.
My only quibble: Many fandoms must deal with creators who are unenlightened/problematic/despicable. “Lovecraft Country” (TV) handled this in one elegant scene. This story goes with heavy-handed repetition, telling you over and over Lovecraft was A Despicable Person. As the story isn’t that long, the repetition feels like it gets in the way of the plot.
December 31, 2021
In which Old Sixie, Flip, and Constance - with bounty hunter Calypso Jonze - find themselves battling the monsters inside HP Lovecraft's head. As little as ten years ago, this might have been approached differently, more reverence given to HP's source. However, the eldritch master is presented as he probably actually was, a sad little man who had the potential to be something better but never quite used it, and you know what? It works. You can work in the Lovecraftian mythos without being forced to revere the man and his multitude of batshit bigotries.
August 1, 2020
Tried to fit too many Lovecraft references in, which on one hand I appreciate, and the other made the story a bit of a mess. Also spent too much time focusing of social justice causes, which came off of preachy instead of being helpful to the story narrative.
August 2, 2020
Loved it!
August 18, 2020
The doctor, constance and flip try to stop lovecrafts imagination from becoming reality in the real world.
September 28, 2020
A solid audio drama. For a first encounter with the Sixth Doctor I don't think it fleshed out the characters well enough as it felt a bit too plot-heavy and very reliant on the knowledge of Lovecraft work (watching Lovecraft Country helped but I have no experience with the author's fiction), but the lack of a need for budget constraints allowed for Robert Valentine to not hold back in terms of the story narrative. The set-pieces are grand - and Lovecraft gets called out on all his ugly personal views in an immensely satisfying way. Across the board the voice performances by the cast are solid and Colin Baker does a good, booming job as Six, even if I'll have to get around to watching his run on the series.
March 29, 2024
"Doctor Who: The Lovecraft Invasion" Mini Review:
• Many nods are made to the works of H.P. Lovecraft: I caught references to all of the following stories: At the Mountains of Madness, Pickman's Model, Dagon, The Dreamland Cycle, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Whisperer in Darkness, & Nyarlathotep.
• A much needed critical examination of H.P. Lovecraft's many faults as a person: Lovecraft is taken to task for his various personal prejudices including but not limited to racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and antisemitism (which occasionally show up unmasked in his writings) but Lovecraft is portrayed as a person and not a one note caricature. Lovecraft is shown to use Randolph Carter as a wish fulfillment avatar for himself and his disappointment at being rejected for military service and not attending higher education. Lovecraft is depicted as a lonely man who considers trying to reconnect with his ex wife, almost exclusively communicates with people through writing letters, and tries to get the Tardis crew to stay for awhile after the adventure is over before being bluntly rebuffed. Calypso correctly points out that Lovecraft had homophobic and antisemitic sentiments in his letters, but that his best friend was gay and his ex wife was Jewish, which either made him a massive hypocrite or embarrassingly unobservant. Lastly, Howard has a crippling fear of ending up in an insane asylum and dying there like both of his parents. At one point Lovecraft tries to appeal to his near contemporary Constance but she shuts him down immediately.
• The sensational Calypso Jonze 🏳️⚧️: Calypso Jonze is a mixed race, pansexual, trans, non-binary, human hybrid bounty hunter from the 51st Century that gives Howard a well deserved telling off for his numerous prejudices and even gives him a good smack when Howard refers to Calypso as a mongrel. Calypso has a great back and forth with Constance in this story and is portrayed as being tough, smart, and pragmatic. I really enjoyed Calypso as a character and not just as Trans and Non-binary representation. Unfortunately as of this writing Calypso has only shown up in one other audio play aside from this one. I can only hope their potential as a cast member doesn't go to waste.
• The Lovecraft Invasion tackles the thorny issue of influential problematic authors: The Doctor discusses with Flip the common occurrence of influential artists being terrible people, how sometimes the terribleness is present in the art itself, and how learning about this can taint a person's enjoyment of the art after the fact. I somehow doubt it was a coincidence that this topic appeared in this story after J.K. Rowling's public transphobic statements finally caught up with her.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic Doctor Who audio play that merges two franchises I really adore that doesn't shy away from the problematic nature of H.P. Lovecraft.
5/5
• Many nods are made to the works of H.P. Lovecraft: I caught references to all of the following stories: At the Mountains of Madness, Pickman's Model, Dagon, The Dreamland Cycle, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Whisperer in Darkness, & Nyarlathotep.
• A much needed critical examination of H.P. Lovecraft's many faults as a person: Lovecraft is taken to task for his various personal prejudices including but not limited to racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and antisemitism (which occasionally show up unmasked in his writings) but Lovecraft is portrayed as a person and not a one note caricature. Lovecraft is shown to use Randolph Carter as a wish fulfillment avatar for himself and his disappointment at being rejected for military service and not attending higher education. Lovecraft is depicted as a lonely man who considers trying to reconnect with his ex wife, almost exclusively communicates with people through writing letters, and tries to get the Tardis crew to stay for awhile after the adventure is over before being bluntly rebuffed. Calypso correctly points out that Lovecraft had homophobic and antisemitic sentiments in his letters, but that his best friend was gay and his ex wife was Jewish, which either made him a massive hypocrite or embarrassingly unobservant. Lastly, Howard has a crippling fear of ending up in an insane asylum and dying there like both of his parents. At one point Lovecraft tries to appeal to his near contemporary Constance but she shuts him down immediately.
• The sensational Calypso Jonze 🏳️⚧️: Calypso Jonze is a mixed race, pansexual, trans, non-binary, human hybrid bounty hunter from the 51st Century that gives Howard a well deserved telling off for his numerous prejudices and even gives him a good smack when Howard refers to Calypso as a mongrel. Calypso has a great back and forth with Constance in this story and is portrayed as being tough, smart, and pragmatic. I really enjoyed Calypso as a character and not just as Trans and Non-binary representation. Unfortunately as of this writing Calypso has only shown up in one other audio play aside from this one. I can only hope their potential as a cast member doesn't go to waste.
• The Lovecraft Invasion tackles the thorny issue of influential problematic authors: The Doctor discusses with Flip the common occurrence of influential artists being terrible people, how sometimes the terribleness is present in the art itself, and how learning about this can taint a person's enjoyment of the art after the fact. I somehow doubt it was a coincidence that this topic appeared in this story after J.K. Rowling's public transphobic statements finally caught up with her.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic Doctor Who audio play that merges two franchises I really adore that doesn't shy away from the problematic nature of H.P. Lovecraft.
5/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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