Sunset Over Venus

"Space exploration was exciting."

Writer: Simon Geurrier

Format: Short Story

Released:

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 01

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

Clara just wants to witness a Venusian sunset. Is that too much to ask? Probably. The Doctor arrives on a spaceship plummeting towards Venus and simply wants to get the ship's crew off board and to safety through the TARDIS. Clara challenges him to save the ship, and he just can't refuse...

Verdict

Sunset Over Venus was a pretty decent start to The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who! This is quite an intriguing little collection of stories, but I will admit that I can pretty much guarantee that I won't be reading the accompanying science elements of this book explaining the prospects of the science behind the ideas presented in each story. Science is a brilliant basis for a Doctor Who adventure and I like that it is split into three different sections. Starting with space is full of potential, so it made sense for things to begin on a familiar planet. Venus is an intriguing planet for a Doctor Who story because of its conditions and how no human can actually visit there without great difficult and modern day impossibilities. The same issue was had with Venus in The Solar System edition of Short Trips and this followed it in similar fashion by having the story take place on a spaceship above the planet itself. I was delighted to see that Clara featured in the story as it seems quite some time since I have blogged anything with her in (it probably isn't actually that long) and the relationship between her and the Doctor was well captured. In saying that, I have to say that I thought the description and characterisation of the Doctor himself was better suited to the Eleventh Doctor. If it wasn't for the excellent reference of events in Kill the Moon, then I would have really argued the case that this was an Eleventh Doctor story. Alas, that was not the case. The Doctor's arrival on the spaceship in the TARDIS was good and I liked how he managed to find a case in need of his help when Clara just wanted to see a Venusian sunset. When she's travelling the universe in the TARDIS, I don't really think that's too much to ask. I was a little surprised with how untaken aback she was by the whole situation and just used it as a way to get at the Doctor and challenge him. Once his abilities were questioned, there was never any alternative for the Doctor but to help and show off. That's probably the two things he does best. Devika Cullen was a good little character and definitely the standout from the crew. I wasn't too much of a fan of the rest of the ship's crew, but I didn't dislike them either. There just really wasn't enough time to get to know them all and develop a connection in just 14 pages. That was not the case with Devika though as we even got to learn that her hero was Adelaide Brook which was a terrific little nod to The Waters of Mars. I really enjoyed that line. The continuity was definitely a big positive of this story. Wispy, not the greatest of names to be honest, serving as the basis for the gaseous species native to Venus that we got to know was very interesting and I liked the shift in Clara's personality when she encountered it for the first time. The speed with which the creatures (if that's the right term) went from being hoovered up by the ship to then helping it fly to safety didn't quite work for me and although I appreciate that there was not a lot of room in terms of space and the ability to develop, there needed to be some more clarity regarding just what was going on. In saying that, it was still a good little story and an enjoyable way to kick off the story collection!

Rating: 7/10