Running Out of Time

"I have to tell you who you are."

Writer: Dorothy Koomson
Format: Audio
Released: November 2010
Series: Short Trips 1.08

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

A young man is on the run. But he can't remember why he is running - or who is following him...

Verdict

Running Out of Time was a bit of an average return to my listening of the Short Trips range of audios! I jumped back to the very first series because it is available for free on Spotify and I really couldn't do anything of much longer length due to the simple fact of it being Boxing Day. There's so much going on with football and food but, along with some university work, I impressed myself by continuing my lengthy consecutive day run with this adventure. I was glad to be back doing an Eighth Doctor story but honestly, you couldn't really tell which incarnation of the Doctor featured here. The only element of description illustrating his appearance could easily have been construed as that of the Sixth Doctor but given that India Fisher is reading, who was of course brilliant companion Charley, and the fact there's already been a Sixth Doctor tale, I'll safely assume it was the Eighth Doctor. Anyway, enough of my pedantic nature and I thought the story was a bit average. There was only so much that could be done in around quarter of a hour but it just didn't seem very good for the most part. It had its moments and the concept actually wasn't bad at all but it didn't quite work in the format it was provided with. One actress makes things difficult with no other voice to hear but I did think India Fisher did a decent job of narration. I do really like her so it was nice to hear again. The story behind Jeff was quite interesting and I was surprised that he had been in the TARDIS before. I didn't expect that but we quickly learned all about his past with Malson and the way he had become part of him had the prospect to be a very good story. However, the time constraints meant things seemed extremely rushed. The revelation concerning Isobella seemed to come so quickly that it almost felt like we'd just found out about the character she turned out to be! Everything was happening very quick and it just needed some time to reflect and elaborate on what was happening. I liked that the means for the resolution were laid out by the Doctor with him needing Isobella's DNA to free Jeff of Malson. Once that was the direction the story was heading for, everything fell into place quite suddenly but I wasn't expecting Jeff to sacrifice himself to see off Malson. That was a shock and I did like how that showed the Doctor why the human race was worth saving. But as a whole, it just needed more depth and elaboration. Overall, it had a good concept but couldn't quite deliver what it was attempting to do.

Rating: 5/10