Full Fathom Five

"I won't be responsible for the consequences."

Writer: David Bishop

Format: Audio

Released: July 2003

Series: Doctor Who Unbound 1.03

Featuring: The Doctor

Synopsis

What if... ?

"If I told you the truth, I'd have to kill you..."

The Deep-sea Energy Exploration Project was apparently destroyed by dirty bombs in 2039 AD, turning the surrounding sea bed into a radioactive tomb. Rumours suggest the DEEP was conducting illegal, unethical experiments...

In 2066 the Doctor discovers the research centre remains intact. The terrible truth about what happened 27 years ago will soon be revealed. The Doctor is determined to be the first to uncover and confront the secrets of the DEEP. 

But unearthing the past can have terrible consequences for your future...

Verdict

Full Fathom Five was a really good and intriguing audio story! This was probably the most unique and different of the stories that make up the Doctor Who Unbound thus far and this presented a very different Doctor than what we would be used to in the normal universe. The dynamic we were presented with at the start with the Doctor and his companion in the form of Ruth was very good and just different and felt more like some sort of soap relationship right from the off. The issue with her father being dead and a sea report that shed new details on what fate had befallen him. She wanted the truth and wasn't accepting not going with the Doctor as he ventured to DEEP. She thought she was very close to the truth and went so far as stowing away on the submarine with the Doctor who was audibly angered by her actions. I thought David Collings' incarnation of the Doctor was a good and very much removed take on our hero and he sounded croaky and angry on a continuous basis which worked well. Hoskins as the submarine pilot was a good character and I thought the whole concept of DEEP itself was actually really good. I liked how the story differentiated in setting between 2039 and 2066 and the simultaneous approach kept things fresh and exciting. The Doctor and co's venture to the research centre amidst dangerous radiation was good and what they found within was terrific! Ruth was hoping to find the answers to her father's death, but coupled with her efforts we were finding out about his actions and experiments with lab creations and how DEEP was actually just a funding smokescreen. General Flint made for a great villain and I also enjoyed Lee as a scientific character. Vollmer, Ruth's father, as the researcher was also a brilliant character who had more than a big part to play! The Doctor suspecting Hoskins worked well and with knowing what we did later about the TARDIS, the lack of reaction from the Doctor when reunited with his trusty ship after nearly three decades was startling. This was clearly not the Doctor we knew. Hoskins being a smuggler was a fun addition to his character and I also enjoyed learning more about the experiments with the evolution justification for the vile experiments. The idea of DNA and stem cells from marine species being injected into test subjects was quite something, but I would have liked more on knowing exactly what they entailed. The Doctor burning all of the research was really good and with Lee being responsible and the scapegoat, the Doctor wanted to ensure that his secrets stayed buried. And he would do that by any means necessary which was quite the departure from the Doctor of our universe. His having been dishonest to Ruth was also different and interesting to listen to. Vollmer being infected and his body struggling to cope with the transformation was a good development and I liked how Flint was willing to sacrifice anything for his cause. The auto destruct sequence provided a tense and exciting conclusion and the revelation that this audio tackled the idea of the Doctor thinking that the ends justified the means was magnificent as hearing him kill Lee in cold blood was fascinating and disturbing all in one. Ruth's reaction was tremendous. The idea of Vollmer still being alive n 2066 and Ruth's shock at seeing her father was brilliant, and I actually didn't see the twist coming with it actually being Flint. The way he used the TARDIS key and hiding it away and separating the Doctor from his trusty ship for 27 years was very good, although I was less keen on there actually not having been the destruction as initiated. The dirty bombs instead went off which cocooned the research centre away. Admittedly, that was a fun dynamic. The Doctor not letting Vollmer leave in 2039 was of further intrigue as he was adamant that Lee's experiments had to end and so much so that he shot Vollmer dead. The deception levels and not risking them getting out was unprecedented for the Doctor anywhere or when and so much so that he had decided Ruth had to die because of what she now knew. Except, she combined with Flint to help kill the Doctor as he refused infection. That was brutal, and the way Ruth then was ready for regeneration knowing the Doctor was near the end of his lives, she killed the new incarnation immediately. It was quite the end to what was a really interesting and enjoyable audio!

Rating: 8/10