Project: Destiny

"The whole of London is closed for business."

Writers: Cavan Scott & Mark Wright

Format: Audio

Released: September 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 139

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex

Synopsis

1999: Leaving her infant son behind, a young mother named Cassandra Schofield departs Bolton, seeking a better life amid the lights of London.

2004: Despite the best efforts of the time-travelling Doctor, 'Cassie' Schofield dies on Dartmoor, a vampirised victim of the sinister organisation called The Forge.

2021: All grown up, and a nurse at St Gart's Hospital, Thomas Hector Schofield – known as 'Hex' – meets, and becomes a companion to, that time-travelling Doctor... but remains unaware that his alien friend knew his mother, and watched her die.

1854: In the Crimean War, Hex takes a bullet, and is seriously injured. The Doctor promises to return him to St Gart's.

2025: Now. In a London ravaged by a deadly contagion... destiny awaits.

Verdict

Project: Destiny was an excellent story to kick off a brand new trilogy of adventures for the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex! It seems an absolute eternity since I listed to The Angel of Scutari but this followed on nicely from where that left off with Hex shot and in a very bad way. The little recap of that event was welcomed and I like how this story also rounded off a very lengthy Project trilogy. It has been such a long time since I listened to Project: Twilight and Project: Lazarus, but as the story rolled on information came flooding back with the likes of Nimrod as the Director and the history there with Cassie along with Hex's connection. I liked how the story started with the aim of getting back to St. Gart's hospital where the whole Hex arc began but they'd arrived in a London that was deserted which is always eery. The Doctor being prepared to be the one to perform surgery on Hex was quite the thought and since their TARDIS departure the trio were being tracked amidst a loose contaminant. The TARDIS been an energy discharge was good and I liked how it was still white which was a brilliant image! The woman we would go onto know as Lysandra Aristedes recognising it was intriguing and the mention of a Code Lazarus was terrific. The full sweep at the hospital was good action and I liked the meeting between Ace and Helen who was hiding in fear. She was contaminated though and served as a strong basis of what had occurred in the London of 2026. The emergence and return of Nimrod was very well done and I liked how the Doctor was confronted by the old enemy. Hex being stabilised was great and his heart monitor going flat served as a decent first part cliffhanger. The Oracle assessing Hex's condition initially seemed like a bit of weak resolution to the cliffhanger but after the 24 hour time jump was established I was a fan. He had no infection and the musket had been removed, and they had moved to the Kryton building instead of the hospital. The flashback picking up events again was strong and the questioning of the Doctor helping the C4/Forge was great. They'd grown to become the public face of dealing with the extraterrestrial and I do wonder where that left UNIT. The contaminated becoming insects was intriguing but I really liked that they didn't feature a great deal, and just the threat of them was felt. The fact they ate the non-infected and the remaining bodies being those of the elderly who couldn't survive the metamorphosis was disturbing in the extreme. The Doctor calming to have a graze was amusing because it was clear he'd been bitten and he got his wish of wanting a live subject a little closer to home. Nimrod knowing of Hex and taunting the Doctor of the connection to Cassie was chilling, but the suggestion that the Doctor had set conditions for Hex to be saved was intriguing. I did like how the Doctor warned him off his companion through in the strongest terms. The Doctor having planned all along to make himself the subject was not too much of a surprise as the cliffhanger came but by the start of part three he was in control and had stabilised through pure concentration which was an impressive feat. He was communicating with the contaminants which I thought was pretty special too! Nimrod's harking back to the events with Cassie and also referencing The Harvest and No Man's Land with his knowledge of Ace was great stuff and his revelation to Hex that Cassie, his mother, was actually his agent was bold and he didn't hold back on the Doctor's knowledge of Hex's family history. Lysandra telling Ace she hated the Doctor because of his personal future and the murdering of her friends was brilliant as well. I thought Hex's confronting of the Doctor was strong but attentions quickly turned to finding the Twilight cure which would bring things full circle very nicely. The Doctor explaining that it was actually Nimrod who killed his mother was good and he had a lot of inner turmoil after his mother was helping the Doctor and it cost her life. Nimrod desiring the Twilight cure was very good and I loved that the Doctor told Hex that his mother was part vampire, but he wasn't interested anymore and believed the Doctor just changed his companions into what he needed them to be. That was dark. Hex apparently shooting the Doctor for the final cliffhanger was fantastic and I didn't expect Ace to admit it was actually her when he had been left in a coma! She feared what Hex would do and tried to wound her professor, and it all worked out well as the Doctor's unconsciousness purged him of infection. The reveal that Nimrod still had the remains of Cassie was disturbing but it was nice that Hex wanted a burial for his mother. The Prime Minister enacting a hard deadline for the cure and Nimrod failing was great and the shift in action when the contaminants experienced a mass mating call was spectacular. The modifications of the Twilight cure actually outright killing the infected was something Aristedes couldn't go along with and she brilliantly enacted protocol to take over the operation. However, that resulted in the missile plan to wipe out all organic life in the radius which was great stuff and a severe threat. Hex's blood bringing Cassie back with her remains being immortal was excellent but he would just bring back the Artemis vampire side of her back, and Nimrod wanted her to feed on her son! That was disturbing. Ace thinking Hex and the Doctor were dead once the missile struck was good although it was never going to have happened as they transported from the chamber whilst Nimrod and the contaminants were dispersed and all was safe. But relationships were torn as Hex said he and the Doctor were done for all he had hidden from him, but that wasn't the cliffhanger we were left with. Aristedes was in the TARDIS and her seeing the Seal of Rassilon within and likening it to a casket in the Archive was fantastic. Which Time Lord would it be? I guess we'll find out in the next adventure. Overall, a really strong audio!

Rating: 9/10