The Creeping Death

"There's something there, something in the air."

Writer: Roy Gill
Format: Audio
Released: May 2019
Series: TDA 3.03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis

London, 1952, and a deadly smog envelops the capital. But something even more dangerous – and alien – is hiding within the mists.

When the Doctor and Donna get lost in the fog, they find a motley group of Londoners trying to make their way home.

Soon the stakes are raised, as death creeps along fume-choked streets, and not everyone will make it out alive...

Verdict

The Creeping Death was a great conclusion to the third volume of the Tenth Doctor Adventures! I thought this was a really good little story and was probably the best of the three in capturing the era of Series 4. I really enjoyed the mentioning of Donna having something on her back from Ivy which was of course foreshadowing the events of Turn Left, and I also loved the reminder of The Fires of Pompeii and a similar situation the Doctor and Donna had been through on their recent travels. Setting a story in 1952 London amidst the Great Smog was terrific and just seems like the perfect place for a Doctor Who story. I don't think there even needed to be alien involvement, but the Fumifugium didn't hurt the adventure in the slightest. I liked how they were a swarm and the links back to the Industrial Revolution and their arrival to the planet were brilliant. I enjoyed the pace of the audio very much with both David Tennant and Catherine Tate in top form. The Doctor and Donna being split up almost immediately could probably have been done a little better, but the humour that came from their brief separation was very good. They both got to have a little dig at the other without them hearing which was nice and lighthearted humour. Ivy being a cinema host was fantastic and her relationship with the Doctor was just excellent from the get go. She would definitely have been companion material if it weren't for the dust creatures that were the Fumifugium. The concept behind these aliens was decent and I loved how Donna wanting to hoover them up actually turned out to be the way they could be defeated. It would involve a vacuum in not quite the same sense that your everyday Henry Hoover performs, but the way the Doctor got to solve things stemmed from that which was good. I do enjoy how Donna helps without even realising it. It's a wonderful trait of hers as companion. Her reminiscing of the London she was in was lovely and her wanting to just wave to her nan who would be with Wilf was quite touching. Surely it wouldn't cause much harm from afar? The Doctor being questioned on his rights to decide what was meant to happen or did always happen was good and it's nice when an enemy can challenge him. He always performs with his back up against though and this was no different. Donna's confidence in his abilities to find a way to defeat the enemies and the smog, whilst keeping history on the right track, was commendable and just lovely to see. She trusted him wholeheartedly. Terry was a great character and his initial meeting with Donna was quite hilarious. She was just magnificent! Her lack of shock at Terry being gay with Richard was nice and a good use of changing politically correct history. Richard also being a love interest of Ivy was an unexpected spanner in the works which I liked very much. Placing the last quarter or so within the Natural History Museum was tremendous and I liked how intelligent Donna was in deducing everything about the Fumifugium and their sporeship. What I didn't expect from this audio, even after the setting went to the Museum, was dinosaur involvement! That was quite something but it worked pretty well. I'm still not overly sure if it was necessary, but it provided comedy which is always good to interject. The Doctor and Donna sticking around to go to Brighton beach, in December mind you, was a nice way to end things. Overall, a great adventure and I do hope that we can get a fourth volume – preferably with Martha!

Rating: 8/10