Buried Threats: The Running Men

"We can't just build on top of history."

Writer: Mark Wright

Format: Audio

Released: February 2024

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 11.02

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

The TARDIS brings the Doctor to 21st Century Halifax, alongside police Sergeant Ambika Desai, as they investigate a mysterious death. 

The trail leads to the Hebble Piazza and an unscrupulous developer, as the Doctor uncovers the town's distant past – and the infamous Halifax gibbet. The Running Men are rising from history!

Verdict

The Running Men was another excellent episode to continue my way through the Buried Threats series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! I have been a big fan of this series so far and I think the theme of threats buried within was really strongly used here. I liked the real life history that was encountered and the setting of Halifax was brilliant because it was quite niche and unique. London has been exhausted as a setting when it comes to UK based adventures, so it's nice to go somewhere else! A simple town like Halifax is ripe for exploring and it fits in well with the Earth-centric era of the Ninth Doctor. Still no companion as these series are set prior to Rose, but I thought Ambika did a tremendous job in that supporting role. She was such a likeable character and I really hope that we haven't heard the last of her. There is serious companion potential for her and even here she got to go inside the TARDIS and play a big role in stopping the rise of the Running Men. Of course, the true villain of the piece was Annalise Avenley who was superb in that role. She was just a bitch and that was exactly what she would have been. The reaction she had when Annalise and the Doctor were on her property investigating a quick fly tipping report and encountered Frank Kelsey was extraordinary. She wasn't afraid of standing up to Annalise as part of the police and her thoughts on Kelsey were less than respectful. He was a really good character and it was fun for the Doctor to take an immediate liking to him, He was out to protect history and the site of Annalise's proposed piazza was, according to his lengthy research, the true site of the Halifax gibbet. The history behind that gibbet as a device of execution outlawed in the seventeenth century was terrific and I liked the suggestion of the memorial being in the wrong place. Annalise wasn't having any kind of heritage blocking her proposed development. Grayson as her heavy was very good and I liked how that just made her even more hatable. The same couldn't be said for Ambika who just shone throughout. The humour at the start with her first meeting with the Doctor was tremendous as she claimed the TARDIS was displaying unauthorised police signage and when she was presented with the psychic paper as ID, she thought he was impersonating a police officer! I thought that was just fantastic. I enjoyed the emergence of the Running Men and they injected a good bout of action into things. They were a good threat and the rip in the Vortex that brought the Doctor to Halifax being utilised in the resolution and needing to be closed was great. The trio of the Doctor, Ambika and Kelsey made for a terrific team and the use of the TARDIS and its functions to fix everything was nicely done. Ambika arresting Annalise once the threat was over and the pull on her by the Running Men was eradicated was fun, although I do wish she gave the proper reason for the arrest as it didn't seem entirely professional. Overall though, a tremendous episode doused in reality! 

Rating: 9/10