Doctor Who spin-off review: Bernice Summerfield: Birthright

Bernice Summerfield and Jason are separated across two very different timezones in the audio adaptation of Doctor Who novel Birthright.

Birthright is an interesting little audio. Like the other stories in the first series of Bernice Summerfield, it was originally a novel before being adapted and dramatized for audio. Unlike the previous stories, however, this one wasn’t exactly based on one of Benny’s solo stories. Instead, it was originally a novel published as part of Doctor Who: The New Adventures back in 1993.

This could have been tricky to adapt, although perhaps not as tricky as you’d expect. While I’ve never read Nigel Robinson’s original novel, it turns out that the Seventh Doctor didn’t exactly feature too heavily in it. Ace did have a crucial role in the story, but her vacant position in this audio has been filled in by Bernice’s ex-husband Jason.

While I’m curious to read the original novel, I don’t feel like I missed too much listening to Jacqueline Rayner’s adaptation.  Like her handling of both Oh No It Isn’t! and Walking to Babylon, the story comes across as straightforward and easy to understand, with nothing missing. It helps that a lot of the story has been heavily adapted to fit the Time Ring trilogy, so elements of the book would’ve needed to be completely changed instead of just cut out or simplified.

Birthright continues directly from where Walking to Babylon left off, with Bernice and Jason stranded in different times and places.

Image courtesy Big Finish Productions

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Pseudo-Doctor Who

However, at the same time, you can tell that this was a Doctor Who story originally. Having a story set in two distinct time zones – one in London in 1909, the other on a world far in the future ruled by insects – is exactly what you’d expect from a Doctor Who story.

Honestly, like many Doctor Who stories, the historical part is more interesting. London of the early 20th century is populated with distinctive and colorful characters – including Mikhail Vladamir Popov, played in this story by the Sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker. With an intriguing mystery for Bernice to solve, it’s easier to get sucked into this part of the story.

Jason’s half of the story on Antýkhon isn’t quite as intriguing. It’s not bad, and it’s certainly a vital part of Birthright. But Doctor Who always does historical settings better than it does alien worlds. (It also has a bit of an easy twist that I saw coming from a mile away.)

Birthright feels like a typical Doctor Who story without the Doctor involved. While I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the previous novel adaptations, it’s still an enjoyable story in its own right. On top of that, you get to hear Colin Baker with a Russian accent. What more could you ask for?

Have you read or listened to Birthright? If you’ve experienced both versions of the story, which one did you prefer? Let us know in the comments below.