Young Winston

"You see war as black and white."

Writer: Paul Morris

Format: Audio

Released: February 2018

Series: The Churchill Years 2.01

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Madam Vastra, Churchill 

Synopsis

London, 1899. After spending time in warzones abroad, Winston Churchill considers a Parliamentary career. But a memento from his visit to Cuba, four years earlier, returns to haunt him. Across the city, the Great Detective has a mysterious caller, all the way from Havana. As ruthless mercenaries wield alien powers, young Winston and Madame Vastra learn they have a mutual friend – an eccentric young man, sporting a bowtie...

Verdict

Young Winston was a very good start to the second series of The Churchill Years! It started off intriguingly with an elderly Churchill that we would see in Victory of the Daleks recalling events in 1895 on his 21st birthday on duty in Cuba where he was with Reggie and nearly died thanks to a shot glancing past his head. That seemed to be more action and conflict than they'd bargained for! It was a little weird to have an elderly and more familiar Churchill narrating and then having the younger Churchill voiced by a different actor. The way Cuba came to London four years later in 1899 was very good and the way Vastra joined proceedings and took over the narration temporarily was delightful. She's a fantastic character so it's wonderful to get more of her. I was a little surprised to hear the Eleventh Doctor era intro theme, but upon inspecting closer attention to the synopsises of each adventure, I see the Doctor appears throughout which I wasn't anticipating! Carmen was a terrific character and I enjoyed how she had come to Vastra who was revered as the Great Detective because of the danger that befell Winston and the memento he'd brought home. It was dangerous and possessed a uniquely valuable prize which certainly interested me. I really enjoyed the story of the Pearl of Cuba and how it was found alone and not from within any oyster shell. The initial meeting between Churchill and Vastra was really good and finding out that the former had received the death mark of the Cuban Mafia through the post was a great development. Churchill describing how his memento was a cigar cutter with a large pearl as part of its design was good as we finally got to know full detail of what was wanted from the future Prime Minister. The humour that came with Churchill wanting a taxi that could get him to the House of Commons was terrific, especially when it resulted in him ending up in the hands of the Cuban mercenary Luis Ortega. Later finding that Churchill had been robbed was good and it was obvious that the cigar cutter was going to be the missing artefact. Vastra's description of seeing something animate and unusual in the pearl was fascinating and I loved how when she was making enquiries, she discovered that the Doctor was also on the trail! That was handled really well. Vastra tracking down and meeting up with the Doctor was marvellous and I loved how his arrival came with a serious toying up of the Viennese whirl being a replacement for the jammy dodger. That's great writing for the Eleventh Doctor. The way he and Vastra met and reflected on events was really good and I liked how the Doctor knew all about the pearl and how it'd brought down the civilisation from where it had come. It was good that Carmen could see that the Doctor was wise and I was intrigued by the wording in that she had guarded the pearl. The trio setting off to Ortega and rescuing Winston was fantastic and I liked how the pearl had the potential of corruption. Despite Churchill recognising Carmen unexpectedly, it was clear that had befell the fate of her as she was so much older than she ought to be from Winston's perspective. Getting to learn the history and the faked destruction of the pearl was brilliant and I liked the potential of black magic. That fit the Victorian era well. Ortega's plan to use the power of the pearl to install himself as dictator of Cuba was magnificent and definitely a logical plot. His ability to use a psychic attack was also intriguing and I loved how Vastra retaliated with her own mental abilities. The battle of will between Ortega and the Doctor through the pearl and the sonic was excellent and I loved the shock of the sonic actually dulling out. Carmen revealing herself to actually be Isobel and being the woman who had been in Ortega's family throughout generations rather than just her own descendants was a good development and it was decent to have Vastra encourage her to take the power from Ortega as she realised that she was at one with the pearl and its power. Simply, that's what happened and it tied things up efficiently with the Doctor then taking the crystal away for safekeeping. Overall, a very good audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10