Tsar Wars

"You can't possibly have invented yourselves."

Writer: Paul Magrs

Format: Audio

Released: September 2011

Series: Serpent Crest 01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Mrs Wibbsey

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey are catapulted from present day Earth to a futuristic civilisation in a distant galaxy. At the Robotov Palace they find the Tsar and Tsarina ruling over their empire whilst human workers toll on satellite moons. The Doctor is mistaken for an old ally of the Tsarina's, but then suspected of treason when the Palace comes under attack. Dark secrets are lurking in the shadows, and the mysterious Father Gregory will set off a chain of events which have long-last consequences for the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey.

Verdict 

Tsar Wars was a brilliant start to the Serpent Crest third series of Nest Cottage Chronicles! I thought this was a really strong episode from start to finish and after the cliffhanger finish on Christmas Eve at the end of Sepulchre, this one didn’t waste anytime in getting going! The pace was frantic to start with and before anything was done Yates was knocked out and the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey were kidnapped and transported through a wormhole. It was fun to fully take Wibbsey from the comforts of Nest Cottage and looking after to the Doctor to the other side of the universe. She was thrown into an intriguing political conflict between organics and robots which I thought was fascinating. It was an exciting setting and the Robotov Empire was really fun to explore. This play on the Russian ruling family of the Romanovs and their name was good, if not a little silly but definitely something I could bypass because of it being very comedic. It never felt ridiculous but at the same time I couldn’t help but smile every time the name was mentioned. The Tsar and Tsarina were strong characters and it was lovely to hear Michael Jayston as the former. I knew I recognised his voice immediately and it was fun when I realised it was the famed voice of the Valeyard. He wasn’t as evil here, but he played the role so well and he wasn’t exactly thrilled with what his wife had done. His constant referring to Alex as her son rather than theirs was intriguing but it soon became clear why. The Doctor’s arrival being greeted with familiarity was fun as he embraced that and went with the flow as we soon learned more details about Father Gregory. This Russian sounding medical man was a strong character and his representation as a Rasputin-type figure was terrific. I’m a huge fan of Russian history and taking it to space was  an ambitious idea that worked well. It didn’t overstay its welcome which is always good. The way Mrs Wibbsey learned of the umbrella title’s significance and the arc to come with the serpent crest representing the Skishtari was fantastic. It was actually Father Gregory who brought the Doctor through the wormhole as he’d always envisioned him replacing him given their almost identical appearance, but he was serving the Skishtari who he proclaimed would be their new masters. It all linked up well. Alex being an amalgamation of organic and robot was excellent and I liked how the human part was being rejected. Him literally being a conception between the Tsarina and Gregory was brilliant as we learned of their historic relationship. That was something the Tsar was not too happy about. He didn’t shy away from his thoughts on the matter and didn’t seem to believe that reparations could be made between organic and Robotov. The resolution to saving Alex being that Father Gregory would actually give his heart in a transplant was unexpected but an admirable sacrifice! Boolin performing the surgery was good and I liked the danger of the Skishtari egg that was held within Alex. That would be taken and the threat of it hatching was exciting as I’m sure that’ll actually happen in a future episode. But for now, the wormhole didn’t quite get the Doctor and Wibbsey back home. They were in the right location of Hexford, but there was no Nest Cottage. At least not yet! They were early, and there was no TARDIS! That was really fun and I’m looking forward to hearing where things go from here. Overall, a very strong start to the series!

Rating: 9/10