Sock Pig

"Quit being nice will you?"

Writers: Iain Keiller & Sharon Cobb

Format: Audio

Released: February 2011

Series: Short Trips 2.05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor

Synopsis

The Fifth Doctor investigates why toy animals are mysteriously coming to life in a very quiet household.

Verdict 

Sock Pig was a really nice and pleasant listen! After a busy day I was looking for my Who fix and something I could do quickly so naturally that brought me to the Short Trip audio range and the story's name really caught my attention. I was intrigued before it even started and once it did so I was pretty much hooked from start to end, even if nothing extraordinary occurred. Peter Davison read the story superbly and really recaptured his role as the Fifth Doctor magnificently. He read it with passion, emotion and authority and even managed to sound completely different when moving from narrator to playing the part of his own fifth incarnation. Just when this Doctor was travelling alone I'm not sure, but then again he could just have momentarily lost or left his companion (or companions) in the TARDIS. Ralph was a wonderful character and his love for his cuddly teddy of which he never failed to take to sleep with him. Every child had their favourite teddy that they tucked into bed with themselves and now here, Ralph's was twitching and moving! The concept of the Anima is absolutely brilliant. It's almost like a better version of the Nestene Conscious! Although in saying that, I'm not sure a toaster is as frightening as an Auton! But I could certainly see the two forces forming an alliance together creating a spectacular tale! I absolutely loved the concept of it being able to animate any object. The possibilities are frighteningly endless. The Doctor's arrival to Ralph's house was quite comical with him not liking how nice the intruder was. The way the Doctor tackled the not too deadly threat was calm and collected and typical of the Fifth Doctor which I liked very much. Ralph clearly loved his teddy but the rip had to be shut. Overall, a fantastic story but just too short! I'm hoping soon that I'll stop getting audios in this range in need of extension and full cast! Very good. 

Rating: 8/10