The Prints of Denmark

"All the world's our stage!"

Writer: Paul Morris

Format: Audio

Released: April 2022

Series: Companion Chronicles: Second Doctor 3.03

Featuring: Zoe 

Synopsis

The man Zoe travels through time and space with is a comical little man, eager to make a difference. To make things better. He's a man who loves the Earth, its history, its potential, and is happy to help things along when he can. And now Zoe is the only one standing between him and changing Earth unrecognisably: for the Monk, the play's the thing...

Verdict

The Prints of Denmark was an outstanding audio adventure! This was such a good and fun episode to continue the third volume of the Second Doctor's Companion Chronicles and the two-hander between Zoe and the Monk was a pairing I never knew I needed. I'd honestly be so happy to listen to an entire boxset between the pair as they complimented each other so well. The library setting of the opening worked well and the Monk being a little shady and encountering Zoe was a lot of fun, and before we knew it he'd offered her travels through time to help broaden her cultural knowledge. The suggestion that this was something that Zoe needed to work on was interesting and I lived the little nugget of her seeing an episode with the Karkus present in the collection. That was excellent continuity with The Mind Robber. The Monk didn't do the best job at hiding the fact he knew about the Doctor and that sparked a fun dynamic with Zoe. He was trying to explain how changing history and interfering in time was fun and something that the Doctor technically did every single time they travelled. Zoe was keen to admit that was the case, but he was a force for good. The Monk wasn't interested in morals. Zoe's shocked reaction to the Monk being able to control his TARDIS was brilliant and I liked the reminder that it was also privy to a working chameleon circuit. I thought the initial jumping around was happening a bit too quickly, but once we reached the Globe Theatre everything slotted in beautifully. The very concept of a Hamlet play being broadcast on the Tudor Broadcast System was delightful and from there the task to prevent it actually being a part of history was a fantastic mission for Zoe. The theme of missing episodes was a delightful subtly and the use of off-air snaps and clips deemed too violent was so wonderfully tongue and cheek. I was a huge fan of what was happening. The cliffhanger of the Monk's interfering intentions being revealed was terrific and the second part was nothing short of perfect. Zoe wanting to play the Monk at his own game and get three goes at putting history back on track and there being no trace of the Hamlet broadcast was magnificent. She sadly failed, and for once it seemed like the Monk was victorious. He had a brief moment of glory when it was revealed that what he was looking at in the collection was a VHS copy of the Hamlet play, but suddenly the entire timeline was wiped out and the video was no longer there. Of course, it turned out that the video itself was what drew the TARDIS to their current location and whilst the Monk and Zoe were off travelling in the TARDIS for the afternoon, the Doctor and Jamie had put things right historically. The Monk's reaction was wonderful and just defeated as he'd been beaten once again. It was all taken away from him. I should also mention how wonderful it was to have Rufus Hound appear as his true self in a top ten TV moments segment, and also having Wendy named as a character. There was a nice blend of realism of media. Overall, a simply wonderful audio! 

Rating: 10/10