James Robert McCrimmon: The Green Man

"We've cured too much."

Writer: Paul F Verhoeven

Format: Audio

Released: July 2023

Series: Second Doctor Adventures 2.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie

Synopsis 

Perched hundreds of miles above the forest canopy of Florestus Prime, The Grove rehabilitation centre promises to help the staggeringly rich of the galaxy cheat death. When a reunited Doctor and Jamie are despatched by Raven to investigate the disappearance of a Time Lord, they are greeted by Chief of Medicine, Overseer Fuller.

Watching from his room at The Grove, an incapacitated Doctor helplessly observes the facility from afar. Who is the lone patient waving from across the courtyard? Why is Overseer Fuller doing rounds late at night when the Grove appears to have no other patients? And what precisely does Raven know about the 'Green Man'?

Verdict 

The Green Man was another great story to continue my way through the James Robert McCrimmon second series of Second Doctor Adventures! This was an intriguing follow up to the opener of Jamie as it seems quite a bit of time has passed for the Doctor and Jamie with them enjoying a number of travels in the TARDIS with their apparent freedom. That even included a cameo flashback for the Third Doctor which was very fun! The relationship between the second and third incarnation was delightful in The Three Doctors so getting a little glimpse of another encounter here was a real treat. I’d just love the chance to listen to the whole adventure one day! I think it’s a good and interesting move to establish that time had moved on for the Doctor and Jamie and they’d already been involved in a number of missions for the Time Lords. Raven emerged here to give them a break from their controlled freedom and she really does steal the show in every scene she’s in. I love the calm confidence she oozes and the way she laid down the law to the Doctor about his acceptance of his predicament after the Time Lord trial was tremendous. She claimed to have the ability to control any incarnation of the Doctor, past or future, whilst also being able to force a regeneration. I’m excited to hear the direction of this series and it would be nice to get a proper Second Doctor regeneration story to lead into Spearhead From Space. That’s a long way to go though. Before we get there, it seems the authority that Raven acts for have a number of dangerous missions for the Doctor and Jamie yet. This one was of particular interest and I liked how the Doctor was none the wiser regarding the truth of the Time Lord presence at The Grove. He would actually turn out to be the Time Lord in distress there! He didn’t take to that too kindly, and neither did Jamie with this being Raven’s idea of a holiday getaway. I thought it was also fun for him to be enquiring and teasing about getting paid for their missions! Of course that wouldn’t come around. The lack of people at the Grove was a good and set a nice mysterious atmosphere which was maintained well throughout the story. The fact the Doctor was injected with the poisonous venom to again access to the Grove was good and I loved how much Jamie revelled in being his carer. Fuller was a good character and I loved his role with the Krynoids and his desire for a super virus. The cliffhanger finish of finding the seeds and the titular green man being a Krynoid was brilliant and an unexpected treat! I am not sure how Jamie had such extensive knowledge on the Krynoids, but I’m a big fan of an encounter with them prior to The Seeds of Doom. It’s really fun continuity and they were more used as an oven for the synthesising of a virus that everyone was susceptible to which was a horrifying concept. That was good stuff and with Fuller crazed thanks to the Krynoid infecting him, he made for a strong villain. The truth coming out was good although I would have preferred if we had heard the Doctor get the best of things as we went, rather than flashbacks of unheard moments that put him in the driving seat. It was neat to have him at one with Jamie, but it was a little easy for my estimation. Regardless, this was still a really enjoyable story and a welcomed return and earlier chronological appearance for an old enemy. 

Rating: 8/10