Doctors and Dragons

"I have been known to crack the impossible."

Writer: Alfie Shaw

Format: Audio

Released: March 2019

Series: Short Trips 9.03

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

Reya always knew she was different. Only she could see the numbers that govern the universe. When her sister is poisoned, Reya quests for the substance that can save her. The blood of the last dragon. The one thing that stands in her way is a strange little man called the Doctor. He's refusing to let her kill the dragon, even though it will save her sister.

Defeat the Doctor, kill the dragon, save her sister. What could be simpler?

Verdict

Doctors and Dragons was not the greatest of Short Trips stories! I was a little disappointed by this forty minutes and I don’t think it was entirely down to listening to it on the train back from the football and a blue defeat. I was intrigued by the premise of the story and the play on words for its title was a big appeal despite me knowing very little about Dungeons and Dragons in the first place. In fact, the brunt of my knowledge comes from The Big Bang Theory and I’ve never actually played it before but I did appreciate the play on words. It started with jeopardy with Dekker being poisoned and the description of her being a warrior gave me instant Leela vibes, but they were soon eradicated as she showed little sign of fighting the infection. Reya was alongside as her sister and she wanted to help. I thought the dialogue was a little odd between the pair and for a little bit they seemed to intertwine between normal conversation and then lingo with Dungeons and Dragons. This had a strong fantastic vibe which was a positive but it all got a little too confusing for my liking which was a shame. Reya going on a mission to hunt down the blood of a dragon as the antidote for her sister was good but I never got a sense of urgency which was weird considering Dekker was dying. The emergence of the Doctor as the guardian of the temple was good and I have to mention that Sophie Aldred’s Scottish accent with her impression of Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor was amusing, and not entirely brilliant! Reya seeing numbers differently was intriguing and should have been more prominent as a story element throughout. That fascinated the Doctor as well and the numbers almost acting as messages and signs with demons sounded eery, but didn’t get expanded upon enough. I did enjoy the story from Reya of how she came to gain the knowledge and sight of the numbers. The idea that the the lower numbers were bad was fun and the comment of Reya fearing the number 1 was amusing stuff. The temple was a very good setting and I liked the laying of jars and the proximity that had with the four gods of life. I was less impressed with Norger the dragon and how this was the Doctor’s prisoner. It was good that he kept it captive as it had killed and was just waiting for its power to dissipate safely. Reya’s confusion regarding the Doctor’s stance on not letting it be executed to save her sister was nicely done and it did hint towards something more there for her. I thought Norger drawing power from being attacked was a brilliant defence mechanism and I’d have been much more interested in the fight to trap it there by the Doctor and Ace than what we actually got here. The fact it turned out to not actually be a dragon was a bit disappointment and the suggestion of it being an Elder God as a trickster was good, but that just seemed to be a forgotten detail by the end. The gods owing a debt to the Doctor from actions during his fourth incarnation was interesting but not entirely necessary for an explanation, but I guess it was a fun anecdote. I did really like the concept of the numbers being seen was the throwing of dice from the gods, as that was a strong image. Reya believing that the statues actually contained death and seeing that there was indeed a trickster at play was intriguing, and she was falling into a trap with something deliberately missing. The arrival of others from the Norger dragon species was pretty decent, but it wasn’t much of a surprise by now that Reya was befriended as an agent. Dekker was the sister she never had. The threat of Norger eating the Doctor whole just seemed silly and the voice was more silly than frightening which was a shame. It got a tad ridiculous. The dragon actually turning out to be Ace was a bit of a sigh moment if I’m honest. The Doctor knew about Reya all along because she couldn’t actually be sisters with Dekker due to them both not seeing the numbers. The Doctor then taking the blood of the avatar to save Dekker didn’t make a lot of sense considering the dragon wasn’t real! Overall, not my favourite Short Trip adventure sadly. 

Rating: 5/10