Police and Shreeves

"He soon forgets all about criminal plans."

Writer: Adam Smith

Format: Audio

Released: November 2010

Series: Short Trips 1.07

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

Like all Shreeves, San loves to absorb electricity. But her landlord finds out about her alien abilities. Then the Doctor and Ace get involved...

Verdict

Police and Shreeves was a really fun little audio adventure! It somehow seemed to feel right at home in the era of the Seventh Doctor which is a big compliment and I thought Sophie Aldred did a good job as the story's narrator. I think it perhaps could have benefitted a little from more involvement of the Doctor and Ace but that wasn't really an issue. The Shreeves were an interesting species and I liked the concept of them taking on the image of the dominant species of whichever planet they happened to be on. I've always loved the idea behind a shapeshifter and have fancied that they would be the toughest enemies for the Doctor to defeat, but I don't think that has quite been the case given the track record of the Zygons, for example. The Shreeves do seem to get the better of him here though as they take on the form of the Brigadier, bring in the Doctor to get rid of their problem, and then he leaves none the wiser. It's quite extraordinary when I think about it as I really am not sure if that has ever happened in Doctor Who before. The Doctor is just used and then the users get away with it! I highly doubt that this audio will ever be returned to so I'm going to safely assume that the Shreeves are still around absorbing their static electricity from radiators and getting kicked out by landlords or friends when they reveal their alien tendencies. It's a little sad too though to think that every time Sal and San reveal their true nature and express themselves. The life of a shapeshifter must definitely be a tough one! The story starting on Iceworld, presumably prior to the events of Dragonfire, was an intriguing way to go about things and it was nice to get a peak into Ace's life immediately prior to her meeting the Doctor. She was interesting being in her first week of the job and obviously well travelled which was good to mention, but then the story shifted quite considerably. I thought the Doctor really could have been utilised more, but I did find it very humorous that he used hypnotism to dissuade Harper from a life of crime and swayed him to favour charitable ventures instead. That would be quite the change in lifestyle and the Shreeves were loving it. The revelation of the Brigadier being the one that had called the Doctor in was enough to make me smile, but when it turned out it was actually the Shreeves impersonating him I was loving it. Devious plans are the best and this worked a peach. I thought it was also good that the work of Sal and San and what they achieved had been reverberating around the Shreeves community. I really liked that as a little anecdote to what was a great little story! It was a very good way to finish my roundabout adventure around the first volume of Short Trips and with Spotify also having the second volume, I don't think it will be too long now before I step back into the range. Overall though, this was a terrific little Seventh Doctor tale.

Rating: 8/10