The Destination Wars

"How much do you really know about the Doctor?"

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: December 2017

Series: First Doctor Adventures 1.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

The TARDIS arrives in a gleaming utopia in the Space Year 2003. Has the Doctor truly brought Ian and Barbara home, to glimpse their future?

The world owes much to its legendary Inventor, and Susan finds herself face to face with the great benefactor. But soon, the time travellers are in a world at war and the Doctor must confront his past.

Verdict

The Destination Wars was an excellent audio to kick off the First Doctor Adventures! This is a series I have been intrigued by ever since it was surprisingly announced around the time Twice Upon a Time was broadcast and it's fair to say that it didn't disappoint! I love the idea of the First Doctor having his own series, but it is a very brave decision to recast the entire quartet that kicked off Doctor Who way back in An Unearthly Child. I didn't think it was such a contrast to have David Bradley playing the First Doctor because he did so on screen quite impressively opposite the Twelfth Doctor, and he was also outstanding as William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time. However, it was a little more startling to have Ian, Barbara and Susan played by different actors, especially when William Russell and Carole Ann Ford are still with us. That seems a little odd, but the connections to that drama depicting the birth of Doctor Who are understandable. I thought the take on Barbara was way too posh compared to what the character was like on television, and Susan felt a bit more mature than she ought to have, but I did like the take on Ian and I think a lot of that is down to the writing of his relationship with the Doctor. Once I get more used to the actors playing the roles and think solely in terms of the story, this was a fantastic listen! I absolutely love that we get an early encounter between the First Doctor and a new incarnation of the Master that we have yet to see or hear before. James Dreyfus plays the role really well and I loved how it felt very early for him too in leaving Gallifrey. I thought the story explored the origins of the Doctor well and it was a nice shift in dynamic to have the Doctor's background discussed with the first incarnation. I loved that immediately upon setting eyes on the Master, Susan recognised him and his pleasantly surprised reaction was great to hear as well. The cliffhanger at the end of part two with the Doctor referring to the Master by the name he took was fantastic. I enjoyed the setting of Destination and the arrival into Space Year 2003 was amusing with the Doctor letting Ian and Barbara believe they were four decades into their future, when in reality they were much further and a long way from Earth. The Master's status as the Inventor was marvellous and a perfect guise for him to take on the planet where he was conducting his own experiments after a crash landing shortly after leaving Gallifrey in a ship that was even less reliable than the Doctor's! The very thought. His speeding time forwards was good and I loved how the Doctor was contemplating doing the same to advance the society when the Master had gone off in the TARDIS with Ian and Barbara. The companions' escaping the hypnotic nature of the Master was superb and I loved the continuity from The Edge of Destruction with the use of the fast return switch to get back to the Doctor. That was really well done. I loved the theme of the Master appealing to Ian and Barbara about who the Doctor actually was and the way he presented his argument made for some valid points! It was fun to explore the mystery of the Doctor and offering Ian and Barbara a way home was brilliant. They soon came around though and I thought the Doctor trapping the Master in his own laboratory after years of fiddling around was a fitting end. Overall, this was an excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10