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Let’s get this out of the way: The Dark Flame is a textbook Big Finish sci‑fi thriller—and not necessarily in a good way. It throws the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Bernice Summerfield (yes, yes, technically she debuted back in Shadow of the Scourge, but her role there, like here, could’ve been played by a half-attentive brick) into a standard haunted base-under-siege scenario. Orbos, a deep‑space research station, is crawling with cultists and an extra‑dimensional parasite called the Dark Flame. You’ll get ritual chants, possession, torture, and a climactic showdown. And it’s… predictable.
Script-wise, it’s so boilerplate you could print it on a cereal box. The Doctor’s friend Remnex gets possessed, Ace is tortured (again), and Bernice—whose inclusion should be a meaningful moment—feels like a guest lecturer that wandered into the wrong seminar. All three characters are on autopilot. Ace’s “military career” is tossed in like garnish, with no emotional weight or context. Bernice’s history with the Doctor is assumed rather than shown, and poor Lisa Bowerman, as talented as she is, is left polishing a script that gives her nothing distinctive to do.
What does make it a little curious is the timeline placement—wedged somewhere between All-Consuming Fire and Blood Harvest, long after Benny joined the TARDIS crew and Ace went off to play soldier. It’s ambitious, sure, but not friendly to newcomers. If you’ve only listened to the previous Big Finish releases, you’ll be asking “Why does Ace sound like she’s seen war crimes?” and “Who’s the wine-swigging archaeologist and why does the Doctor treat her like an ex?” The story doesn’t explain. It just shrugs and powers on.
The performances are… fine. Sylvester McCoy is reliably sprightly and broody. Sophie Aldred brings her now-standard mix of steel and sulk. Lisa Bowerman is always good, but again, the script doesn’t give her character anything uniquely Bernice. The trio finally sync up near the climax, and there’s a glimmer of what could’ve been—a sharp, snarky, battle-hardened TARDIS team. But by then, you’re already halfway packed and heading for the door.
Sound-wise, Orbos at least feels like a creepy death-orbiting research husk. The Dark Flame itself has a decent vocal presence—think eldritch echo chamber meets cranky AI. But the overreliance on bodily horror and twitchy cultist sadism feels like we’re stuck in a rut. This isn’t Scandi noir with lasers—it’s just shouting “sacrifice!” in increasingly silly voices while cutting to commercial.
The problem isn’t just the lack of originality—it’s the lack of any real tension or character depth. The plot clunks along like a mid-tier D&D module with the serial numbers filed off. Nothing shocks, nothing lingers. You won’t hate it. You’ll just forget it ever happened.
Final Verdict:
Better than Nekromanteia, but only in the way lukewarm soup is better than poison. Competently made but aggressively forgettable. The flame? Not dark. Just dim.
2 out of 5 reciting cultists.