It's a Wonderful War

"Are you ready to save the world?"

Writer: Jonathan S Powell

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Christmas 1.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis 

On an asteroid drifting at the edge of a great war, Foreman Galen Smith is having bad dreams. Dreams of monsters descending from the sky and exterminating his people. 

Fortunately, Galen has a guardian angel, an angel who calls himself the Doctor. And he's here to earn his wings.

Verdict

It's a Wonderful War was a good little story to conclude the first series of Christmas! I listened to this one just a few days before the big day and I must say I'm not sure if the Time War is the right setting for a festive story! Still, I appreciated the unique nature of it and Gallifreyan Christmas is quite an interesting concept. Of course, it wasn't quite as straightforward as that but it was still fun to play around with. I thought the concept of Christmas being celebrated after every cycle was fun and it's a very scientific way of describing the passage of time. The focus on Galen Smith was intriguing and I liked that the Doctor was on hand in the position of his guardian angel. That was played very well and I mean if someone is suited to being that then it's certainly the Doctor! Did he even know he was serving as a guardian angel though? Bad dreams about Daleks are obviously prone especially in the Time War so the Doctor being a guardian certainly makes sense even if he has decided at this point in his eighth incarnation not to firmly take part in the conflict. He can't escape it though given the scale of the conflict which is a strong distinction to make in my opinion. Just because the Doctor is getting caught up in things here with the Time Lords doesn't mean he wants to be involved in their war against the Daleks. I thought that was presented well here and was clear with Galen and what he really was. I loved incorporating a chameleon arch into the story as that's a device that has so much potential when used correctly. The information being contained within the true person that was Galen was quite something and everything built around him was essentially a cover. That put him in quite the predicament when it came to the scale of what might be lost should he revert to his original Time Lord self which was a strong emotional pull. I thought Sharla was really strong to accompany him there and knew he was far from a selfish man. He'd be completely selfless, especially where children were concerned which was admirable. I thought the use of narration to try and make the story like a fairytale was a bit rubbish to be honest. It did help establish the Doctor as a guardian angel type figure, but it just felt like it was trying to fit into the Christmas theme of the boxset a little too much there. It didn't feel authentic to the story that it would be told elsewhere which was a shame but at the same time it didn't take too much away either. It just seemed awkward as it wasn't always consistent. I thought the revelation at the end of the War Doctor having been around in disguise for the whole episode was tremendous. I do like what seems to be happening with the War Doctor across numerous Time War ranges in having him not be the only incarnation of the Doctor involved in the War. The chaos it is causing paratemporally is fascinating to play around with as we've already heard in Susan's War and it's continued here which is great. It's just a shame that we didn't have much time at all with the War Doctor at the end or at least the listener could know the truth a little during the course of the episode. Still, what an image we also got on the cover and within the story here of a Dalek in Christmas theme! Now that's a figure begging to be produced. Overall, a good episode to close out the boxset! 

Rating: 7/10