The Astrea Conspiracy

"She had been called upon as a spy."

Writer: Lizbeth Myles
Format: Audio
Released: February 2019
Series: Short Trips 9.02

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

The conspirators sit in Antwerp, plotting to kill King Charles the Second. Aphra Behn's mission is simple: get former lover William Scot to turn against his treasonous comrades. But her money is running out and the complications don't stop there. A strange Scottish man arrives at her inn with troubling news.

William Scot is out and the Doctor is in.

Verdict

The Astrea Conspiracy was an average little audio that didn't seem to do too much to excite me as a listener, whilst also not really doing a huge amount wrong. It was a bit of a weird one in all honesty and the best way I can try and describe it is just that it won't be a memorable one. The concept was intriguing with Aphra being on a spy mission for King Charles II. I thought the setting could have been used well, but I am not sure it was a good fit for the Short Trips format. With just one actress and not a lot else going on when it comes to sound and visuals, a more modern or at least familiar setting works better in my opinion. Maybe that's just for my personal enjoyment, who knows? I wasn't a big fan of the use of the Astrea alias and whilst I am not overly familiar with this period of history – in fact I actively avoided during my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in History – this might have been true to history and in that case it's fine. I just wouldn't have named the story after it as it didn't seem to serve too much of an important purpose to the adventure as a whole. I thought Neve McIntosh did a pretty good job in narrating the story and being Scottish she was obviously able to take on some of the mannerisms of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor which was beneficial. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the way the Twelfth Doctor was written in this audio. There was the customary mention of the eyebrows when it comes to his description and that's gotten so tiresome in stories with this incarnation that I think I've just overlooked it. I really enjoyed the concept of the whole of English literature being at stake and that could have been incredibly exciting. Instead of things stemming back to the setting of this story, I think a kind of bounce-around with different authors throughout history would have been magnificent. Alas, it wasn't to be. The paradox created by the Doctor was intriguing and I liked Aphra's reaction when the differently clothed version from earlier in his personal timeline appeared. More should have been made of the earlier version not understanding how Aphra could have met him. The Doctor giving up Aphra's true identity as an English spy was an unexpected move but I did really enjoy her dumbfounded reaction when he was then trying to help her escape from the prison cell. He was the one that got her in there so why was he trying to now get her out? Things definitely did get a little confusing, but that's part and parcel when it comes to stories involving a paradox. Especially one that the Doctor created himself! I wasn't entirely convinced that everything was neatly wrapped up in this story and I would have liked a stronger connection between Aphra's relationship with William Scot and the whole of English literature being at stake. The Doctor taking the role of being the one that betrayed Aphra was good, but even for this incarnation I thought his heartlessness at the end was very much out of character. Aphra would be in debtor's prison now and in the 17th century that's not where you want to be. I didn't like that he didn't show remorse. Overall, a decent little outing but it needed a bit more oomph.

Rating: 6/10