The Doctor's Coat

"He'd taken his coat off and draped it over the back of his chair."

Writer: John Bromley

Format: Audio

Released: February 2011

Series: Short Trips 2.06

Featuring: Sixth Doctor

Synopsis 

The Sixth Doctor spends a nice afternoon underneath twin suns on a heat baked planet. But as he embraces the sunshine, the mystery as to the disappearance of his coat soon increases...

Verdict 

The Doctor's Coat, despite its shortness at just 12 minutes long, was a terrific little adventure with the Sixth Doctor! Now I say 'despite its shortness', I guess I shouldn't make complaints about the length when the range itself is called Short Trips. The setting of Sonti was a good one and the depiction of it was splendid. I like the idea of the Doctor just randomly visiting a planet and having a nice, relaxing time! It's not exactly a common occurrence for him and he deserves a break from saving the universe every now and then. The Sontilas were an intriguing race and despite the humour they brought, I really loathed the Geordie accent that came with them. I felt it was a bit unnecessary and with the sound effect added made it somewhat difficult to understand what was said at times. The audio is about what you can guess from the title of the story, it's all about the Doctor's coat. But as dull as that sounds, the idea was extremely clever! The younglin (check me on spelling there!) of the planet took the shells of the adult Sontila and when the Doctor took of his coat they considered that as parting with it! Brilliant and hysterical. The attempts of the Doctor to get it back were very comical too. Yes, pun intended. The scenes in the comic book shop were tremendous and I plan on visiting one myself this week to pick up the latest Titan published 10th, 11th and 12th Doctor comics, but as was the case here I won't be paying in salt! An intriguing currency is an understatement! The reference to The Trial of a Time Lord with the Doctor thinking he should check up on Peri was very nice and I loved the reference to the much disputed colour and design of the jacket in which it shouldn't define the man who wears it. And I completely agree. Colin Baker is a wonderful Doctor! If the coat puts you off then delve into the audios because he's probably better on there than he was on television! Overall, a short but fantastic little story and I enjoyed the way the Doctor got his coat back. 

Rating: 8/10