The Vardan Invasion of Mirth

"What use is one half of a double act?"

Writers: Paul Morris & Ian Atkins

Format: Audio

Released: September 2019

Series: Companion Chronicles: First Doctor 3.03

Featuring: First Doctor, Steven

Synopsis

The Doctor and Steven think they've arrived in London 1956, but the TARDIS disagrees. When both the Doctor and his craft are lost, it's down to Steven to solve a mystery that holds his fate in its grasp. With the help of comic Teddy Baxter, Steven's going to have to find a way into Television...

Verdict

The Vardan Invasion of Mirth was a great and unique adventure to continue my way through the third volume of Companion Chronicles for the First Doctor! This time around we had the Doctor travelling with Steven and I believe there's a lot of potential for these two as a travelling duo. The mentions of them being a comedy double act was terrific and that often does end up being the case, albeit inadvertently. I thought the arrival of the TARDIS was very interesting as all visual displays indicated an arrival on Earth, but the console readings disagreed with there being no gravity or even atmosphere outside, something that had never occurred in Earth's history. Steven departing the TARDIS and arriving in front of an audience was terrific and he was really put off by the fact that the police box behind him was nothing more than a wooden box. That really was terrific and I loved his frustration of being in 1956 and seeing a number of the police boxes in trying to find the Doctor. However, the Doctor was not around and was only able to communicate through a television which was a brilliant visual. The comment to Steven about finally working out how to turn the volume up was glorious. The mystery of Teddy Baxter was decent and him literally being a key to police boxes was amusing, and the whole when is a door not a door thing pointing towards the TARDIS was very good. The continuity here with The Idiot's Lantern was marvellous as Steven tried selling a Magpie tele-wave given then 1950s setting. Steven being from the future was utilised well here with him not quite understanding the contemporary comedy and he was quick to learn from Teddy which was good to hear. He ended up as quite the accompaniment of the double act, but we soon injected some emotion as Teddy described how his old partner Stan disappeared in front of him when he thought he'd discovered a moon of Saturn. Stan having said that he thought he was being watched by it was eery and that led Teddy to have to convince himself that his partner had run away. The reveal of the titular Vardans came a little late given they're in the title, but Steven acknowledging them was a nice throwback to The First Wave and he was fearful of their ability to travel on any wavelength. Seeing into the future on a probability wavelength and that now becoming established history was nicely done as I'm a sucker for a paradox. I didn't think much of the cliffhanger and concerns on Manchester, but Steven then encountering everybody as a comedian was a fun moment. It was all a bit alien to him given the era being presented! The Vardans having a Mediasphere and the Doctor being trapped there was brilliant and that was just the perfect name for this enemy. The Doctor arriving to get the upper hand was perhaps a little disservice to Steven given he was the focus of the entire story, as he should have been given the range, but I was kind of hoping he would be the one to free the Doctor. Regardless, the cheekiness in which the First Doctor emerged made for a fun ending! Overall, a great listen!

Rating: 8/10