Better Watch Out

"Santa gives you presents, but the Krampus will steal you away."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: October 2018

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures: Ravenous 2.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

The Doctor hopes to take Liv's mind off recent events by treating his companions to a traditional European Christmas. But not everybody is full of the spirit of Christmas when a wave of misery follows the Krampus as they run through the streets of Salzburg.

Verdict

Better Watch Out was an excellent episode to continue my way through the second volume of Ravenous Eighth Doctor Adventures! Much like the series opener of Escape from Kaldor, this one felt like it wasn't really a part of the wider Ravenous story arc glimpsed at during the end of Sweet Salvation and that's absolutely fine! I thought it was intriguing to find that this is actually the first part of what is quite clearly a double-length story over two episodes and I hadn't read the synopsis – nor even the name! – of the next episode but I worked it out once we got over the halfway point. There simply wasn't enough time to resolve everything the was being explored! It was a fascinating setup though and I'm interested to learn more of the significance of the Doctor telling the story to Bruno. I like that he essentially tells us at the end to be patient and that we will find out, but for now I'm just intrigued as to what is happening. The Salzburg setting was magnificent and whilst I am yet to visit the city, it's high up on my bucket list. I was very jealous of Helen describing how they could see the Alps in the background! I've stepped foot in Austria for around two hours in the small border town of Kitsee when visiting Bratislava, Slovakia for the second time last year to watch Wales in the football. But it's a country ticked off! I'll definitely be going back though to visit the likes of Salzburg here but also Vienna as the capital. Liv not knowing about Christmas was a lot of fun as she got to learn through the Doctor and Helen of the festivities. She found it awfully confusing which was good fun but she soon came around, especially when it came to the food and overeating! Particularly being in Austria on December 5th was a strong setting because of the differences that part of the world have for the Christmas celebrations. Three weeks early and the threat of the Krampus is very real indeed! The Doctor being fascinated by the exploration of that mythical figure was terrific and the true threat actually imitating the myth rather than the true origin. That was brilliant and I can’t wait for more to come moving forward in the next episode. I thought the Doctor stepping in to help Maria with her rent issues was wonderful and he did out of the goodness of his heart. It was Christmas and he couldn’t have Shafranek trying to evict someone after raising the terms of rent unannounced and with no forewarning. He was a hugely unlikeable character and the similarities to A Christmas Carol with Kazran Sardick were not lost on me. That episode actually being foreshadowed with the Doctor suggesting he visit him with three different ghosts was fantastic. I really liked the feeling of the Imp children as they just felt really uncomfortable. That was the right thing to go for and the build towards the cliffhanger was superb. The coming of the Krampus serves as a solid cliffhanger but I’m most definitely on the side of Liv. It must be an alien, right? Exploring the history of the Krampus was really strong and I like that it is basically a horned demon. Expanding more on that will be much welcomed in the next episode. The Doctor taking it upon himself to visit Shafranek was interesting but his plan went downhill fast! He tried appealing to his inner Christmas spirit and conscience but soon found that he didn’t have one. Overall, a fantastic episode with a tremendously unique setting. And a fitting cliffhanger to boot! I’m very excited for part two. 

Rating: 9/10