Human Resources Part 1

"Who's doing the brainwashing?"

Writer: Eddie Robson
Format: Audio
Released: July 2007
Series: EDA 1.07

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Lucie

Synopsis

Lucie Miller's been headhunted to join the staff of Hulbert Logistics, a respectable blue-chip firm in Telford. Great prospects, competitive salary - you don't have to be mad to work here! But wasn't she made for better things, like travelling by TARDIS through time and space? The Doctor, meanwhile, has been fired - into a confrontation with the most terrifying of enemies...

Verdict

Human Resources started in intriguing style with this first part of the audio adventure. I'm still a little baffled as to why these Eighth Doctor Adventures adopted a new style of format in one-hour releases if half of the first series was actually stories containing two parts, but it is what it is. It's not really a big deal but I just don't quite understand it. It was quite different from what I expected and very unique for a Doctor Who story as it literally was all about human resources in the office sense of the term. That seems to be, without considering the hour that I have just listened to, like an impossible setting for a story and whilst it wasn't amazing, it did actually work. It was a little slow in places but things were brewing nicely and the normality of what appeared, at least to me, like quite weird and uncommon office tasks was what struck me most. Data kept changing and it hardly felt like a job that fitted in with Lucie's time period of 2006. Something wasn't quite right but even the Doctor was barely noticing. I thought Paul McGann gave an assured performance as the Eighth Doctor but it was Sheridan Smith as Lucie that took the limelight here. She was fantastic and I loved her reaction when she saw the Doctor, whom she was to become his PA, and knew that all of her travels in the TARDIS had actually taken place. That was a delightful moment I must say. The effects of the TARDIS not working without Lucie being inside were very interesting and the Doctor being greeted by a member of the High Council was quite unexpected but I welcomed the continued involvement of the Time Lords. I'm intrigued to see where that direction goes in the future. Karen was a great character and I really enjoyed her relationship with Lucie, something which I think will be key in part two with them now outside of the robot posing as an office work environment. Clive was another weird element of the audio with the lack of surprise at him adding to my thoughts of it not feeling very 2006. The Doctor's meeting with Hulbert was really good and I liked how he was trying to sell off Gallifrey to his business of planet excavation for growing species. The situation on Lonsis had been ongoing for some time and the emergence of the Cybermen at the cliffhanger was as typical a cliffhanger as you can expect in Doctor Who. But it still works and I can't help but look forward to the second part because of their involvement. I'm very interested by them as this hasn't felt at all like a Cyberman story so it will be interesting to see where things fit. Overall, a decent start to the story!