Echoes of Grey

"I remember that I don't remember."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: August 2010

Series: Companion Chronicles 5.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

Zoe Herriot has a photographic memory. Total recall. But when it comes to the years she spent travelling in time and space, all she can remember is that she has forgotten.

Years after she was returned to the Wheel in Space by the Time Lords, Zoe meets Ali, a young woman who claims to have met Zoe before, when she was with the Doctor and Jamie. Suddenly, part of the hidden past is exposed, as memories return of a visit to the Whitaker Institute in Central Australia. Secrets are uncovered. And the mystery of the Achromatics is about to be unleashed...

Verdict

Echoes of Grey was a decent Companion Chronicle! I was intrigued from the synopsis regarding what would happen in this one for Zoe and with her having a photographic memory, I was excited by the concept of having that combined with her memories of her time travelling with the Doctor and Jamie being wiped by the Time Lords. That's where Ali stepped in and her claim of having met Zoe during her time in the TARDIS was great and it really opened up a can of worms for Zoe. Toying with the idea of memory was fantastic and I loved that Zoe was aware that she couldn't remember something and it all stemmed back to her encounter with the Doctor in The Wheel in Space. Remembering she couldn't remember was a tongue twister and something fun to try and get your head around, and I'm looking forward to this continuing in future Chronicles featuring Zoe. I thought the actual adventure that was being retold wasn't as interesting as Zoe and Abi in the 'present' day, but that's not at all to say it was bad! I think my rating is as high as it is because of what was going on with Abi and what she knew about Zoe, but the creature at the heart of the plot was good. I like the concept of a creature that could literally suck out disease and injury, and the potential that had for being weaponised was understandably a worry for the Doctor and company. The Whitaker Institute made for a very good setting and I thought Zoe would be right at home there. I wasn't a huge fan of Wendy Padbury's take on the Second Doctor or Jamie, but at the end of the day that wasn't a massive issue as this was all about Zoe. Ali wanting to utilise Zoe's photographic memory to get the research from Cadden that would bring back the Achromatics after four decades was superb and I thought it was great that she was never actually there to meet Zoe all those years ago. She was trying to gain her confidence in order to obtain her memory but Zoe was horrified by this. I really liked how Ali ended up being the enemy from afar and wanting to continue what happened quite some time ago for Zoe. The Doctor taking matters into his own hands to solve the issue of the Achromatics was quite terrific though! It was a big risk from him to infect himself and hope that they would be more attracted to injury than health, but luckily for him it paid off in a big way as not only did they then take the deadly disease from the Doctor, they then passed it on from one to the other until the last one remaining was then killed by the disease! Talk about efficiency. That was a brilliant resolution and really did make the story a lot better for me, which I thought was a little slow in places. Cadden was a good character as the scientist and complimented Zoe and the Doctor well, but Jamie really did get lost in the shuffle without any expertise. Overall, I thought the format worked well and whilst things could have been aided with some pace, this was a very solid adventure and I'm looking forward for more to come from Ali and Zoe! 

Rating: 7/10