Doing Time

"You must arrest me!"

Writer: William Gallagher

Format: Audio

Released: December 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 142c

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

On the planet Folly, justice catches up with criminal mastermind 'The Doctor' – but can he endure a year in the jug?

Verdict

Doing Time was an excellent story to continue The Demons of Red Lodge anthology comprising the one-hundred-and-forty-second Monthly Adventure! I think this is definitely the best of the three stories so far and I really liked the frantic nature of the episode. It was quite fun to have a mini pre-titles sequence and that comprising the reveal that the Doctor was imprisoned was very good. It’s always fun for the Doctor to be in prison but considering the amount of times that has happened in the past, this story did a stellar job in selling that he couldn’t escape and that this was just different. The time field was a nice touch to add to a prison and the concept of a one minute walk taking an entire year off your life was frightening and frankly dangerous! It was a good twist for that to actually help the Doctor when it came to the plot resolution. I thought it was fun for Nyssa to be trying to commit harmless crimes in order to get herself arrested and then imprisoned to get back to the Doctor, but she wasn’t having much luck! She picked the only empty warehouse out of over one hundred to try and claim a robbery and she just couldn’t sell that she was a conwoman. That just isn’t in Nyssa’s nature. It worked well to have the Doctor and Nyssa split apart for the majority of the episode and once again allowed Nyssa to really shine on her own. She could easily lead her own spinoff series but as it stands I’m very much on board with continuing the pairing of her and the Fifth Doctor. Peter Davison had a strong outing as the fifth incarnation and the Doctor being imprisoned based on his usual moniker of John Smith was excellent because that name was applied to all of those criminals on Folly. The prison setting worked well and it’s amusing to think of the name and all it applied. It was good tongue and cheek. Janson Hart was a strong character as a fellow inmate and his communication with Nyssa was very helpful in telling the story and updating the situation regarding his confinement. The Doctor warning of an explosion detected through the time signature was a fun direction and it going on deaf ears as far as Governor Chaplin was concerned was terrific. She was firmly in belief of the Doctor and actually wanted to use the event for her presidential election! She chucked the Doctor in solitary confinement without hesitation and he lasted longer than anybody else and that was celebrated, even by the guards! That showed how good the Doctor was with the people and Chaplin admired that and wanted his help. Nyssa’s relationship with Michael was an interesting anecdote to the story and it was a bit of shame that she mentioned the wedding, as she clearly had some sort of feelings for him. She managed to get a job thanks to him and I loved how much Nyssa was enjoying her scientific work. Dask worked well as the guard in the prison and you could tell he didn’t want to put the Doctor in solitary confinement. The conclusion was brilliant and well paced which really added to the sense of excitement. The Doctor actually using the time field to his advantage and having a year to put things right, gaining a beard in the process, was magnificent and the admiration that received was nicely done. Overall, I thought this was a really solid half an hour and just a thoroughly enjoyable adventure to continue the anthology!

Rating: 9/10