Splinters

"Hello savage, been a while..."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: September 2022

Series: Tenth Doctor Classic Companions 1.01

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Leela, K9

Synopsis

The Doctor finds K9 floating in space, and sets off to clear up Time War fallout. First, they find Leela protecting a village from the Spriggan. 

Verdict

Splinters was an excellent start to the Tenth Doctor Classic Companions boxset! This is such a fun idea and the concept of pairing the most popular modern incarnation of the Doctor with a host of Classic era companions is just glorious. I'm sure even David Tennant was thrilled when approached with this idea, and having him paired up with K9 for the duration of the set is really fun. The moment where the Doctor realised the signal being detected in space was from his old robotic best friend was just magnificent and it's great to actually have K9 travelling with a modern Doctor. Whilst he was utilised pretty well in the Sarah Jane Adventures, I think that's one missed opportunity from School Reunion and beyond. K9 wasn't the only old companion the Doctor would be reunited with though as he once again encountered the old noble savage. This wasn't the Leela we know from her time on screen alongside the Fourth Doctor, she was now far removed from the Time War and seemed to have survived where all Time Lords fell. I thought the reference to The Lady of Obsidian was really good and just a strong reference to the War Doctor Adventures. The idea of things getting a little mixed up and complicated with the Time War was good and this story very much dealt with some of the leftovers. Leela was not what we remembered but that moment where the Doctor recognises her was just outstanding and full of happy emotion. The Doctor seemed genuinely thrilled to see her, but she didn't recognise him which was another fun moment in the forest! Leela was introducing one of her oldest and best friends, but she of course meant K9 which was just fun. Leela recalling the Time War and how even Romana, Narvin and Ollistra were gone was a startling reminder of the destruction caused by the Time War, and the Doctor's reaction to hearing Romana's name was delightful too. He was impressed that K9 had been improved upon and wasn't surprised by her doing so. The Spriggan was a fascinating concept and I liked how it seemed to be built somewhere in fairytales. The Doctor and Leela recognised their surroundings and then wooden console showed they were in some kind of distorted version of the TARDIS with the infamous wooden console room! That interior glitching into existence for the Doctor when picking K9 up was good and I loved the idea of the robot dog getting picked up on the breach between dimensions. That's how the Spriggan had fallen through, and as expected it was a distorted version of the Doctor. I thought that was clear from the performance and David Tennant being heard in the creepy voice. Playing by the rules and taking children from the village on their eighteenth birthday was disturbing, and the claim of it being a Lord of Life was brilliant. The Spriggan actually getting into the TARDIS through the wood was great and I loved how Leela was used to be rid of the mythical creature, as she was its offspring and the Doctor knew when he got a splinter. That was a nice touch and the ending was fitting with the Doctor and Leela getting a firm goodbye. Overall, a terrific audio!

Rating: 9/10