Upstairs

"You couldn't just play around with the fourth dimension as though it were a schoolboy's chemistry set!"

Writer: Mat Coward
Format: Audio
Released: September 2013
Series: Companion Chronicles 8.03

Featuring: First Doctor, Vicki, Steven

Synopsis

When the TARDIS lands in a dilapidated attic, the Doctor, Vicki and Steven discover they are on Earth, in London... in Number 10 Downing Street.

However, alien forces are at play here, affecting the very fabric of the building... and adjusting the very essence of history itself.

Verdict

Upstairs was a unique tale. It had a good plot full of mystery and intrigue and I liked the idea of an endless attic full of doors leading to the same room, in a different time. A great concept but one that wasn't quite used to its full potential. The trio of the First Doctor, Vicki and Steven seemed to be wondering endlessly in the attics for a little too long. I liked how both Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves reprised their roles as companions but in reality, it was Vicki who was the main character. She portrayed the Doctor very well to be fair and included a good variation and amount of Hartnell's traits. I thought it was good how the trio stumbled upon 1900 and worked out that they were actually in the attic of 10 Downing Street! The mention of historical Prime Minsters or Chancellor of the Exchequers was fantastic (I study History A Level) and liked the possible explanations for the deaths of Pitt the Younger and Canning. The Time Fungus was an average villain I thought, and the story tried to tell us the threat that it provided through an overuse of dialogue rather than any action. It works well to a point, as it did here, but an overuse isn't great. Evidence of the threat is needed! The climax was good and clever but the resolution was incredibly poor. A rival fungus? It wasn't convincing for me. The plot was mixed but the mystery was great and I thought Vicki told the story extremely well even if it seemed misplaced in the Hartnell era.

Rating: 7/10