Churchill Victorious

"Everyone in Britain is jubilant, with one singular exception."

Writers: Robert Khan & Tom Salinsky

Format: Audio

Released: February 2018

Series: The Churchill Years 2.04

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Churchill

Synopsis

VE Day, 1945. The war is over. The PM has seen the crowds and made his speech. Now he wishes to soak up the atmosphere, moving incognito among his fellow countrymen. But an alien interloper lurks in a backstreet tavern, and 'William Churchyard' must lead a few plucky Londoners into one more fight. The Doctor is in trouble, and at the time of his greatest victory, Churchill also faces his greatest danger...

Verdict

Churchill Victorious was a great way to end what has been a very good and incredibly consistent second series of The Churchill Years! I can't quite remember a boxset where every adventure has had the same rating off the top of my head (it must have happened at some point!), but that's testament to the style of story that was solid and definitely felt suited to a character like Winston Churchill. I was a big fan of having an audio take place on VE Day and hearing the news report of the celebrations following Germany's surrender was excellent for the historian in me. It was clear from the style of the opening credits that the Tenth Doctor would be showing up alongside Churchill here which was good and I enjoyed the wording behind Churchill's greatest victory being followed by his greatest danger. That would come into fruition nicely. It was really interesting to hear how Churchill wasn't exactly in a celebratory mood on VE Day and was still concerned and focused on defeating the Japanese. He just seemed to be failing to bask in the glory of victory and instead ended up cooking, which resulted in a fire. It just wasn't his day despite the glamour of victory. The concept of Churchill going out into the public to soak up the VE Day atmosphere was lovely and I thought his alter ego of William Churchyard was terrific, partly because it wasn't exactly a cunning identity! His devotion to his disguise as a bank manager was humorous for sure. I loved how he wanted to lend a helping hand where he went, but was also trying to solve an issue of a series of local electricity shortages. He dove straight into investigation and the issues revolving around the Three Crowns pub made for a good setting. His being accompanied by Sidney and Diane was really good and they were two fantastic characters. I enjoyed their relationship a lot. The reveal of Visguard was done very well and I liked how he was an imposing, impatient and alien figure. That was a pretty good description for a bounty hunter from the ninth galaxy! It was obvious from the moment he mention having a valuable prisoner in a neutron cage that this was the Doctor and I loved how from all of his experience with the Doctor that Churchill had no issues believing Visguard to be an alien. For Sidney and Diane, they deduced him to be a Nazi which was fun. I really enjoyed how even on a small localised scale like this, Churchill was rallying his new companions to stand up and fight against the alien and recalled his own personal history admirably. The revelation that Visguard's dimension drive needing repairs was what caused the electrical shortages was good and logical and I really enjoyed the humour that came with the humans' mentions of a Cockney tribe and threatening the wrath of its leader, the King. Sidney trying to escape and getting a glancing blow from Visguard over the wall was sudden and exciting, but the use of a British bunting to fall him and retrieve his gun wasn't too brilliant in my eyes. Churchill getting control of the cage and being the one to free the Doctor was delightful though and the description of him being in his favourite of all suits was wonderful. It was fantastic how the Doctor quickly took control of the situation despite Diane being taken as a hostage. The Cockney babble continuing was good comedy and I really liked the moment where Visguard finally saw through Churchill's disguise and recognised him as the Great Defender of the land. Diane also explaining how she knew he was the Prime Minister all along was fun and the reality of her appeals about the hardships endured during wartime was brilliant. She didn't want any further conflict and her passionate speech about throwing Churchill out during the next election was incredibly powerful. The way things ended for Visguard was quite sudden with the use of Diane's speech to throw off guard and the Doctor simply taking him away, something of a common theme throughout this series. The story ending with Churchill finally getting to soak up the celebrations was a nice touch as well. Overall, a very good audio to finish!

Rating: 8/10