The Mercy Seats

"This isn't a church. It's a spaceship!"

Writer: David Llewellyn 

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 14

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

The Twelfth Doctor is alone and suspicious of a church that just popped up out of nowhere. But that was twenty years ago, what could it still be doing all this time later? The Black Death is eradicated, so what beholds the Mercy Seats?

Verdict

The Mercy Seats was another somewhat average little story to continue along my reading of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who. This one didn’t quite seem to get going which was a bit of a shame. The premise had potential but I don’t really think it ever lived up to it if I’m being honest. It was far from being bad but it was just lacking in some elements and in parts was rather boring. The setting of the fourteenth century really excited me as it isn’t a period in history that the Doctor visits much at all, if ever. So that was a tick in my box, but that’s about as far it got for me not having criticisms. I liked the idea of a church just popping up out of nowhere and I really thought that it was going to turn out to be a TARDIS just blending in with its surroundings. Would it really be beyond the realms of possibility for the Master to just hang around for twenty years to surprise the Doctor by revealing one of his wonderful disguises? I thought that would have worked well so I was a bit disappointed when it turned out we just had another alien race. Their disguise, or just physical state, as skeletons was interesting but surely they should have been a bit more scary given what they were? The only thing that invoked fear in this adventure was the mention of the plague. The Black Death had been gone for twenty years, but people were still scared of it and remained very sceptical of foreigners. That was a good element of the story and I felt that ought to have been the focus. However, it appears that wouldn’t have quite fitted with the scientific chapter that accompanied this story concerning entropy and death. I still haven’t read any of those educational chapters because I’m just hear for stories, but I’m sure they’re quite interesting. I just haven’t the time at the moment to read them. I always prefer an adventure where the Doctor has a companion as there usually seems to be something missing without him having someone familiar to show off to about his knowledge. He’d have been in his element here with Clara or Bill and being able to showcase that he knew there would be aliens inside the church, that the church was actually their spaceship, and that they would be frightened of babies. Mathilda giving birth was amusing because I liked how the Doctor was expected to help, but surprisingly he was keen! I was a bit surprised by that. I thought the characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor was mostly okay throughout, but some of the descriptive nature for the incarnation was overdone with the reminders of his eyebrows (seriously, how many more times!) and his Scottish accent. That got a bit tiresome. Geoffrey Chaucer telling this adventure and it being fully from his perspective didn’t work for me and that’s probably just a personal thing as I’m not a fan in the slightest of the first person. I just don’t like it because it seems too limited and this was also trying to incorporate the third person in parts which meant it was all over the place in how it was being told. The little fourteenth century gang the Doctor found himself a part of was intriguing and seemed like it would be quite the image. That was very good. The Doctor wanting to help the skeletal monsters escape the planet was good and I liked that they’d come to Earth to feast on plague victims. It wasn’t like they’d brought it with them or were the cause! The Doctor used the idea of a vegetarian to justify some of their actions, but now they’d had engine failure and been stuck on the planet for twenty years. The Doctor saw to that of course, but I wasn’t at all a fan of using a newborn baby to defeat these skeletons. It seemed awfully strange to me and I just didn’t quite buy into the idea of newborn life getting the better of them by crying because it was the opposite of death. What about any other person who wasn’t dying? Aren’t they the same? I didn’t like it much at all. One thing I did enjoy a lot was the opening poem and the idea of it being found in the British Library in the late-22nd century. That set the tone nicely. The Doctor being annoyed to finally meet Chaucer but have it be on his gap year was also wonderful. I liked that a lot. I loved how Chaucer continuously referred to the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver as a stylus as that seemed to be a good description and fitted in well with the era. The moment the Doctor suggested everyone hide behind Matilda was also excellent and the shocked reactions of bravado and puffed chests was terrific. As a whole, this adventure definitely had some high points but it just wasn’t consistent or engaging enough for my liking. 

Rating: 6/10

The Girl Who Stole the Stars

"I'm the smartest person he knows."

Writer: Andrew Cartmel

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 13

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Raine

Synopsis

The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Raine arrive at the imminent launch of Canterbury AI. Ask the artificial intelligence anything and it will know the answer. So why is Gina so sceptical about its creator, fellow undergraduate Raymond Luthier?

Verdict

The Girl Who Stole the Stars was an average continuation of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who. It really didn’t live up to my expectations that were based on a quote wonderful title, and whilst you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, that is essentially what I did! I really thought that having a name like that along with Andrew Cartmel writing would have made for yet another brilliant little short story, but alas it wasn’t to be which was a shame. I can’t complain too much about this collection though because it really has exceeded my expectations right from the off. I was not at all surprised to find that the adventure featured the Seventh Doctor and Ace given that it was Cartmel as the author, but I certainly wasn’t expecting Raine to also feature! That was a terrific little surprise and I thought she had a pretty decent story considering that it didn’t allow much for the characters. I enjoyed the beginning with the university setting and Raymond Luthier having created a Canterbury AI and basically become a billionaire overnight. Oh how I would love to come into riches like that! I don’t think I have the abilities to create artificial intelligence though, but what was interesting was that Gina didn’t think he did either. It was definitely an interesting tale but once we got to the action within the virtual reality, I lost a lot of interest to be honest. Now, I’m pretty darn good when it comes to understanding and using technology, but when it comes to computer code and different types of software like we saw here well then I don’t have a clue. I really can’t comprehend how Gina’s anti-virus worked and had the Canterbury AI defences in the form of spaceships. It just didn’t make sense to me but it isn’t the first time I’ve heard that this can be the case. While I can appreciate that this tale might have had its fans, it just wasn’t quite my cup of tea and I’m disappointed that was the case. I thought Ace had a pretty good story and was definitely the best of the TARDIS trio for this one. Raine wasn’t allowed to blossom in surroundings that didn’t suit her and I wasn’t really sure what the Doctor was up to if I’m being honest. The idea of him being more interested in an orchard than the important mission of his companions, where death was literally a big possibility, was just baffling and didn’t seem right. Gina falling asleep was also a bit rubbish but I was quite intrigued that Ace and Raine had been within the binary spaceship setting for a lengthy spell of time. Raine had stolen the stars which turned out sadly to be nothing more than a cheap metaphor and cheesy line to conclude the short story, whilst Ace got to show off her combative skills. Again, the Doctor wasn’t doing much at all which I thought was strange. Even Raine was able to showcase some of her skills with her unlocking of doors and cabinets, but the Doctor was just standing around twiddling his thumbs! That’s really not what he should be doing, regardless of how long or short a story may be. I would’ve liked to have had more from Raymond and hear his side of how he created the Canterbury AI. There was definitely a lot of potential in this one but I do think it was trying to cover too much in such a short space. That’s why I couldn’t understand why there was so much focus on the action inside the virtual reality. It went on a bit, even for a short story! The idea of something coming out of the portal was good because of how things may or may not commute with a mesh of artificial and reality. Some examples of the Canterbury AI at work would also have gone down a treat but that wasn’t a major issue. The ending was a slight let down to what was as a whole an average and mixed bag of a story. Potential, but it probably just ran out of space. 

Rating: 6/10

The Piper

"The rats were moving towards him!"

Writer: Mark Morris

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 12

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

There's a wall in the London sewers that just shouldn't be there. Who put it there? What's on the other side? More importantly, there are metallic rats running around causing chaos. They seem familiar. One sole leftover of an invasion plans to start anew...

Verdict

The Piper was an excellent story to continue my reading of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who! I really am ploughing through this collection now and I have to say that this one was certainly one of the best ones in the book so far. I thought it was brilliant from start to finish. It was great to have an adventure with the Third Doctor and Jo and we had the rarity of the former incarnation doing battle with the Cybermen! Well, to be more specific it was just a singular Cyberman but the point remains. I really was hoping that it would be them that was behind the mysterious wall that really shouldn’t be there in the sewers and when we got mentions of metallic rats with gleaming red eyes, it just had to be the Cybermats didn’t it? I probably would have been bitterly disappointed if it wasn’t them behind it all because the similarities would have just been too close. Alas, all was well in the world and we had the return of our first major enemy in the book’s collection. I thought the capturing of the era was magnificent and I liked how it was established that for the Doctor and Jo, they’d just come back from the events of Planet of the Daleks. After all that went on there with invisibility and Daleks, a wall in the London sewers that didn’t belong seemed like an easier task. It arguably ended up proving just as deadly! I really enjoyed the writing of the Doctor and Jo and whilst the pair’s characterisation was nailed on, I also loved how their relationship was captured in prose. That was particularly impressive because of how short this adventure was. In saying that though, at 18 pages this particular story ends up being one of the collection’s longest which is just a bit baffling to say! As well as the relationship between the Doctor and Jo being good, it was also terrific to see some bitterness between the Doctor and the Brigadier. They really did have awfully different opinions when it came to the use of alien technology and once all was said and done, the Doctor’s stunned reaction that the Government would be testing the Cyber technology to try and benefit mankind was startling. I really didn’t understand why they needed to do that given all the dangers it had just produced, but I wouldn’t really expect anything different to be honest. The arrogance of government is sometimes astonishing. I liked that we had Benton feature quite heavily and the image of him trying to help as many people as he could when it came to evading the Cyber worms was really good. He’s such a likeable character and his role in this one was exactly what I’d expect of him. I enjoyed him a lot in this one. The little introductory passage with Barry Jenkins being in the sewers and coming up against the wall that didn’t belong was very good and did well to compliment the rest of the story. The fear he invoked despite being incapacitated in hospital was very powerful and a good element of the adventure. The moment the Doctor revealed that he was turning into a machine was superb and I could just imagine it fitting perfectly as a cliffhanger if this were to be a televised story. I thought the Cyber worms were an interesting addition to the history of Cyber technology. The way they were used to convert would-be humans into Cybermen was very gruesome and the idea of them doing it from within was fantastic! The image of them entering through pores was quite disturbing! I just can’t imagine that. I really enjoyed how well described the helmet was, along with the Cyberman itself, and that really did give some credence to this particular enemy. I loved that it was a leftover from The Invasion and it having to deal with being damaged was very good indeed. Incredibly, the Cyberman entered the story halfway down a page and by two thirds of the following one it was dead! That’s what you call an impact. The Doctor cleverly anticipated who or what he’d be dealing with and quickly dealt with the problem at hand thanks to the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor’s disgust when the Brigadier referred to his trusty little device as a weapon was fantastic. A really good moment. Jo having to see the inside of a Cyberman’s helmet and what was left of the human remains was very intriguing as I’m not sure we ever got a clear insight into what was inside during the original Classic era run. The Doctor using the Cyberman to recall all of the Cyber technology was pretty decent and likening it to the method of the pied piper was very good. It was obviously where the story got its name from. Overall, a wonderful adventure!

Rating: 9/10

The Arboreals

"Can't you hear the forest growing?"

Writer: Marc Platt

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 11

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan

Synopsis

The Doctor and Susan have recently left Gallifrey and are travelling the universe. The TARDIS has materialised as a tree, and that's just the start of blending things in with the environment. People want to become one with their surroundings and there seems no stopping them. 

Verdict

The Arboreals was a somewhat decent story to keep my reading of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who on track, but there’s no doubting that it could have been a little better in my eyes. It was certainly an intriguing little tale and quite unique, but it didn’t do an overly huge amount to gage the interest over its incredibly short ten pages. That really is not much room to play with and I fully appreciate that, but there was a lot of potential here with the fact that it was set prior to the events of An Unearthly Child. I loved at the end that we got a glimpse of the chameleon circuit actually working with the Doctor trying to find the keyhole for the TARDIS key in a tree! That damn bark! There could have been a bit more fun had with that and I can almost imagine some occasions where the First Doctor would be quite agitated by some of the disguises taken on by his ship to blend in with the surroundings. I’d love more of that but it is difficult to place too much prior to the events that we saw on television, but we got some much welcomed additions here. I know the adventure was only a short one, but I just felt like not a huge amount happened. Considering the high quality of the collection so far, and that’s not at all to say that I’m judging this story against those that have come before it in the book, it’s definitely possible to tell a good adventure over a short word count. I mean, this did tell a good one but my point is that it could have been great. Much better. I thought the characterisation of the First Doctor was nothing more than okay and when I read the first couple of lines I was thrilled to be reunited with Susan and her grandfather travelling alone together. That really excited me but it never quite got going somehow. Even the characterisation of Susan didn’t quite feel right, but I do think that might be attributable to the fact that at this point in chronology, she might not have developed into the character we know her to be once Ian and Barbara come along on the TARDIS travels. I quite liked Bethan as a character and the shock and almost outrage that she had when she found the Doctor and Susan was very good. But where were their enviro suits! They’d be goners without them. They were an intriguing little element in themselves given that Susan quite struggled to maintain being her normal self once she put one on. She was weighed down by it and that’s not solely because it was just a bit heavier than she was. The Doctor scaring and upsetting Bethan by being inquisitive during a time and setting that something had clearly gone very badly wrong was good and it took Susan to make him realise what he was doing. As soft and lovely as the First Doctor is, I’m sill unconvinced that at this point in chronology that’s what he would have done. I can’t imagine him being so kind in the likes of The Daleks or Marco Polo. But alas, it was a nice little moment regardless. The concept of a people becoming at one with their environment was a really interesting concept and I can’t quite understand why it wasn’t the firm focus of the story. It’s such a good idea and could have so much potential if drip-fed over a longer period of time, even in a story of this nature instead of just booming in out of nowhere. I found it awfully funny that the Doctor claimed to be rather envious of those that had crashed on the ship and had new fates. This was almost certainly very early days in the TARDIS for the Doctor because I really am struggling to believe that he wouldn’t rather be travelling all of time and space! What is there possibly to be envious of? That was an amusing moment. This isn’t a problem with the story but more so the format of the book itself as things still weren’t resolved on the last page, but when you can see that the story is ending within the next couple of paragraphs, it loses its impact a tad which was a bit of a shame. Overall though, this was a decent story with a great idea but it just needed a little more and was probably a victim of its own format. Thankfully thus far, a rarity in the collection!

Rating: 6/10

Potential Energy

"She was only dying because Peri had infiltrated her house in order to save her life."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 10

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

Today is Peri Brown's wedding day and she's not too happy about it. Her would-be husband was a bit loud and she wasn't keen on that. The Doctor is fixated with Zoe, his new tablet which supposedly has all of the answers. Can it deal with the Potentialiser though?

Verdict

Potential Energy was a very fun little story to continue along my reading of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who very nicely! After a recent burst of modern era stories, I was glad to be returned to the Classic era of Doctor Who with the brilliant pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Peri. They work so wonderfully well together and I have to say that Jacqueline Rayner captured their relationship superbly well. Her writing of the pair was tremendous it has to be said. I loved how effortlessly she harkened back to the era of 1984. Setting the story in the Regency period was great and it was a huge amount of fun having Peri on the verge of getting married! She didn’t seem too impressed with her potential husband though. She’d much rather someone who wasn’t loud or who didn’t shout or didn’t shoot people. That seemed pretty fair enough in my eyes! They weren’t traits that were exactly pushing the boat out when it came to marriage. I felt a little sorry for her there. However, she was never really going to get married and it all turned out to be a pretty humorous little ruse orchestrated by the Doctor to flesh out the Potentialiser. I loved the name of that would-be villain, but it turned out that draining a person of their unused and unusable time energy didn’t kill them! So, Jayne was dying because of Peri! That was a fun revelation because in her efforts to doll herself up for Peri’s sham wedding, she’d reacted to the face cream and that was actually her true course of death. Well, I credit anyone who managed to see that one coming! The Doctor talking to Peri of our modern times and how there’s the World Wide Web and DVDs was fantastic and I liked how that was used as an explanation for why he didn’t have to give Peri one for what was truly going on. She just wouldn’t be able to understand it in the terminology she had available to her. That was quite an intriguing thing to play on and I felt it worked very well. The Doctor having Zoe at his disposal was a great deal of fun as well. No, it wasn’t Zoe of Jamie and Zoe but it was actually a tablet from 2015. I’d love to know when the Doctor managed to purchase one of those online! More importantly, what address did he get it delivered to? So many useless questions! But you bet I want to know the answers. I do think there should have been a little more clarity on what exactly the Doctor and Peri were up to from the start, but the mystery did create some added interest. I probably would have liked a bit more time with the Potentialiser as well because it would have been good to know all about its background and purpose other than just feeding to stay alive. I quite liked Peri acting in accusatory manner when she initially didn’t believe that the Potentialiser taking the potential from a human was not the cause of recent deaths that it had been around. The Doctor seemed to be letting Peri be in charge and in control of events which was good, but she was more than happy to utilise that as she endured that the Doctor got rid of Zoe. She was a fun addition to the story though and I loved that the Doctor had her because he wasn’t content with knowing just nearly all of the facts! Zoe allowed them all at his fingertips which was very good. Of course, Zoe even picked Peri over herself to stay with the Doctor because the American was a lot prettier than her and I found the Doctor mildly agreeing to that without really saying anything quite a surprise! Did the Doctor think she was? Surely no opinion. The similarities to The Time of the Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor’s relationship with Handles were good and I can only imagine that the Sixth Doctor would have got frustrated with Zoe as time went on. Overall though, a very fun little tale!

Rating: 8/10

Natural Regression

"I have work to do."

Writer: Justin Richards
Format: Short Story
Released: June 2015
Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 09

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis 

The Time War is in its earliest days and the Daleks have finally launched the Time Destructor. What havoc could this wreck across time and space? The Doctor doesn't want a part in fighting, but it seems that he might not have a choice...

Verdict

Natural Regression was another good little story to continue along my reading of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who! I really am trying to race through this collection as whilst it is a thoroughly enjoyable set of stories, I do want to continue moving onto bigger and better things. This time around we had an outing for the Eighth Doctor during the Time War which is a little bit of a rarity and it was good to add to the aura of the battle against the Daleks. It can be quite easy to forget that the Time War began before the Doctor regenerated for the eighth time (well, that’s me going along with numbers pre-The Timeless Children airing!) and revoked his name. I do think that the story might have been better served by having the War Doctor feature, but alas it was to be the eighth incarnation. I didn’t think the characterisation of Paul McGann’s Doctor was overly brilliant which was a bit of a shame and whilst I appreciate that he only managed two televised appearances in The Movie and The Night of the Doctor, surely with the Time War setting the latter story would have been the perfect one to base the writing upon? It just seemed a bit generic. It didn’t have the excitement or enthusiasm that I’d usually associate with the Eighth Doctor. The Time War setting was pretty well utilised but given the significance of The Daleks’ Master Plan in the ethos of the show’s history, I couldn’t believe how underwhelming the use of the Time Destructor was! I was amazed that after its initial mention of being set off, a monumental feat in of itself, that not much more was made of it and didn’t seem to be as devastating on the scale that was implied it would be way back in the 1960s. Or rather way forward in the 4000s. The use of the Nihilism Chamber was very good though and I loved the reaction of those within when the Doctor just materialised his TARDIS out of nowhere. Nothing was supposed to be able to get in and there he was asking for mercury! That was wonderful. The harking back to the era of the First Doctor with the fluid link needing refilling after the exertions at the hands of the Time Destructor was just marvellous and I really do enjoy some nostalgia like that. His speed and somewhat sneakiness in eventually getting that mercury when all was going haywire was really good. Definitely a story highlight there! The regression of Kornick to a bear-like state and devolving was quite the image and I liked how that was matched by the evolution into an ethereal being. Would humanity’s evolutionary fate really be to become a consciousness and nothing more? I somehow doubt that but I of course won’t be around to know if that does end up being the case. I liked how the pair cancelled each other out and it allowed the Doctor to escape in the TARDIS with the students in tow and protected as the Time Destructor’s effects were felt. I do wish we got to have a bit more with the impact of the Time Destructor, but I do appreciate that there isn’t much space to play with given the short format. Overall, still a decent story but some elements didn’t quite live up to the potential. 

Rating: 7/10

In Search of Lost Time

"How do you know about my daydreams?"

Writer: Una McCormick

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 08

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis

Tilly is having some strange dreams. They stop when she grows up, but that is until she meets a strange man with a bow tie and tweed jacket who claims to have built the wardrobe that led to Narnia. Can he help her with the dreams?

Verdict

In Search of Lost Time was another excellent story to continue my reading of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who! I expected good stuff from Una McCormick and she certainly didn’t let me down with a terrific little tale that was barely ten pages long! It really is some task and achievement to produce such a wonderful story with such a short amount of space, but alas she prevailed. The idea of playing on the Chronicles of Narnia and going into a wardrobe of sorts, experiencing so much, and then coming out and returning to exactly the point when you went inside was very good and I liked how there were obvious similarities and differences to the famed tale. The reference to The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe and our Time Lord proudly proclaiming that he’d actually built the wardrobe from Narnia was wonderful and very apt for the story that was being told. It fitted in effortlessly and absolutely was not a throwaway line. Tilly was a magnificent character and based upon her giggling at the start of the story, I was very surprised to later find that she was in fact a grown woman rather than a child! We had a lot of harking back to her days of youth and finding out that the dreams hadn’t only just started which was good. Tilly had experienced one problem in life though - she grew up. That was a stark reminder of just how quickly life goes by and it’s almost worrying me now that I’m 23 and out of university, in a job and no sign of time going any slower! It just doesn’t stand still and whilst that’s exciting, it’s also a little scary. The Doctor realising here that Tilly had simply become a teenager and then older to be ousted from the bandwidth of these strange Dream was good, but I was questioning a little how her daydreams could be so powerful to knock the TARDIS off course! I bet that once he found out, that occurrence excited the Doctor terribly though. I thought the arrival of the Doctor into the story was good and he was just wonderful with Tilly throughout. The characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor was sublime with all the little traits of Matt Smith more than evident. The coffee shop setting had a big part to play in that and I adored the Doctor’s reaction at the fact he was actually doing coffee in a chain store. Him! Well it was unheard of. His desire to have one of those big biscuits was just perfect for this incarnation’s personality and I found it quite funny when Tilly told him he could have whatever he wanted because he was paying, only for her to find out that he very much wasn’t. She was a kind woman though because she did get him that biscuit! Surely he’d have wanted a frostino instead of a coffee though? Assuming they were at Costa of course. I’m sidetracked. Anyway, the ending of the adventure was really interesting as we discovered that Tilly’s dreams were actually memories of a people long gone now. I think some linkage to how that impacted the TARDIS through Tilly was needed, but it was still a good revelation for sure. The little sidetracks into those memories for some paragraphs of amazing places was brilliant and the vibe this story had was just marvellous. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Tilly wanting to make sure that she didn’t forget about those she’d dreamt about was poignant and I really liked the line where the Doctor differentiated between her not forgetting and them not being forgotten. That was splendid. Tilly getting to go in the TARDIS with her pram (surely a first!) was a good moment and I liked the wonder she had. Everything suddenly felt very real. She would go on telling the simple story of those she’d dreamt of and experienced and that was just really nice. Some people lived and they were happy. There can be such beauty in simplicity. Overall, a terrific little tale!

Rating: 9/10

Silver Mosquitoes

"To be bitten by one is to invite death."

Writer: L. M. Myles

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 07

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The Twelfth Doctor adheres to Clara's wishes of going to the Roman era. She wants the encampments, but he provides the forest. Soon they meet Caesar, but perhaps not the one they bargained for. Deadly insects are on the uprise, don't get bitten...

Verdict

Silver Mosquitoes was another decent little continuation of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who! This one wasn’t quite up the recently super high standard, but it was still a very enjoyable little read. I say little in the literal sense because twelve pages really isn’t much at all and it’s testament to a lot of the authors in this collection that they manage to put together an entertaining adventure over such a small word count. That’s a challenge in itself, but for the most part this book has been rather enthralling which I am delighted to say. I didn’t really notice what scientific element this particular short story was about and I haven’t even gone to look at the chapter titles, but the only thing I can think of was the silver mosquitos of the adventure’s title. What is scientific about them in the real world I am unsure. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a good read and once again, from a personal perspective, plague was being used as a weapon. That’s obviously where the mysterious and enigmatic mosquitos fitted in but I was kind of hoping, rather hopelessly, that they might turn out to be some new batch of Cyber technology! Who was I kidding though? One thing that really impressed me in this book was just how well the characterisation of Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor was captured. That certainly was a story highlight and it provided a lot of good moments. Clara having to stop the Doctor from responding when he found out that some of the locals had used prayer as a means to try and combat the patients suffering from the strain was magnificent, but I have to say I definitely sided with the Doctor’s sentiments on this one. What use was praying going to be? I also found the realism of the moment at the story’s conclusion quite poignant with the Doctor simply stating that he wasn’t the planet’s medical officer and couldn’t save everyone. That often gets forgotten, especially in stories of this nature, so that worked well and I think Clara’s reaction of acceptance showed just how right the Doctor’s words were. I thought Ulpia was a good character and it was nice to have her trying to follow in her husband’s footsteps. Caesar would take some emulating though and these mosquito pests were causing havoc. I don’t think the silver mosquitos were quite utilised to their full potential, but they still served their purpose and that was a good one. I also think a bit more could have been of the setting and whilst I fully appreciate that there wasn’t very much time to play around with, it was established that Clara really wanted to visit the Roman era and see the encampments and whilst there was a bit of humour surrounding the forest and bathe Doctor technically giving her what she asked for, I still think there could have been more. It definitely didn’t feel like a Roman era story which was a slight shame. I thought the conclusion was quite logical but that doesn’t always mean it’s entertaining as it was just all nicely agreed for the mosquitos to be taken away and everyone go their separate ways. I mean, the Doctor must have been delighted but for the reader that’s a slightly underwhelming occurrence. It seemed in line with the Doctor’s character that he wouldn’t go back and get the reward he’d been promised by Ulpia, but I was quite surprised that Clara didn’t push him a bit more into collecting that. It could have been quite a lot of fun! As a whole though, this remained a decent little outing with the relationship between the Doctor and Clara presented very well. One thing it definitely had going for it was that it felt perfectly suited to Series 8 and that’s a big positive in my eyes. Overall, a good little story to keep the collection ticking over. 

Rating: 7/10

Rewriting History

"The Doctor has his own museum?"

Writer: James Swallow

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2015

Printed in: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who 06

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis

The Tenth Doctor has an important mission for Martha Jones, but she will be deemed more important than anyone else in the Doctor's history. The Karadax intend on changing history to ensure that the Doctor doesn't defeat them again, and it's the end of the world if they succeed...

Verdict

Rewriting History was a magnificent continuation of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who! This really is turning out to be quite the little gem of a short story collection and given just how short some of the adventures are, I really wasn’t expecting it to be that way. I loved the concept behind this one and I think as I venture into the second segment of the book with a focus on Time rather than Space now, I’m going to enjoy things even more. The concept of changing history has been played with so many times in Doctor Who and dates all the way back to The Aztecs with the Doctor proudly proclaiming to Barbara that you can’t even rewrite one line of history. However, he would go on to ever so slightly break that rule on a few occasions, but this time around it was actually the Karadax who were hoping to alter the past. They’d been defeated time and time again by the Doctor and so they proved deep into his timeline and found what they considered to be a weak point. They wanted to exploit that moment and eradicate their past defeats and apparently Martha Jones was the key. I was very intrigued when she got to meet a seemingly older version of herself and I was certainly not expecting the truth about her to be what it was! This older Martha wasn’t the norm of a future self or from a parallel universe, she was museum exhibit! The prospect of the Doctor having his own museum was just wonderful and I would certainly adore to take a visit there. Surely there’s a televised story that could come out of this setting? It seems almost too good of an idea not to proceed. Anyway, we weren’t actually at the Museum of the Doctor. The Martha artefact had been stolen by the Karadax to try and convince Martha that she needed to leave the Doctor and end her travels in the TARDIS. She needed to go home. Judging by some of the references to Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code and Gridlock, it seemed to be set pretty early on in the chronology of Series 3 which was interesting and definitely worked well. Already, Martha trusted the Doctor which was nice to see but she also really liked him in a like like kind of way. She could kid herself! That was just how it was and she seemed to be aware that her heart would be broken if she didn’t end her travels now. It was a decent plan by the Karadax to try and use Martha against herself to change history and get what they wanted, except there was a slip up as when appealing to the safety of Martha’s family, the exhibit slipped by referring to Tish as Letitia. That was far too posh for the liking of Martha’s sister which was quite amusing. The exhibit quickly advancing through clothes and showcasing Martha’s journey in the TARDIS was very good and I like the little insight into stories like The Lazarus Experiment, 42 and Human Nature. Martha didn’t want to know her future and she maintained her trust in the Doctor which really was quite admirable. This story was on course for full marks but then things took a detour south on the last page as the object Martha had been entrusted to guide with her life was revealed to be a sock and that it was deadly to the systems of the Karadax. We had an explanation, which I was grateful for, and it needed to be dry, but come on! A sock! Well, it’s just preposterous. Other than that, this was a hugely interesting little story and one I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Overall, a terrific little tale!

Rating: 9/10

Doctor Who and the Visitation

"Earlier today I met Death in a cellar."

Writer: Eric Saward
Format: Novel
Released: August 1982
Series: Target 69

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

Tegan, the young air hostess who quite unintentionally became a member of the TARDIS's crew, wants to return to her own time, but when the Doctor tries to take her back to Heathrow Airport in the  twentieth century the TARDIS lands instead on the outskirts of seventeenth-century London.

The Doctor and his companions receive a decidedly unfriendly welcome – but it soon becomes clear that the sinister activities of other visitors from time and space have made the villagers extremely suspicious of outsiders.

As a result of the aliens' evil schemes, the Doctor finds himself on the point of playing a key role in a gruesome historical event...

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Visitation was a really good little read! It was a great novelisation of a somewhat underrated Fifth Doctor tale and whilst the front cover is pretty darn terrible, the pages within were not! I thought things started very well with an intriguing first chapter where we were introduced to Elizabeth playing cards, only for her and the rest of the family to be killed. It did a stellar job in establishing the setting of the seventeenth century and the house location, whilst also revealing to us the fateful date that this adventure would take place on. It was an incredibly common occurrence to have Tegan wanting to go home and the harrowing reference to Logopolis and the fate of her Aunt Vanessa at the hands of the Master was a timely reminder of just how bad things got for her when she started travelling with the Doctor. The Doctor didn’t do a bad job of getting her to where she wanted to be, it was just the when that he struggled with. He was just the 315 years off which was quite amusing. We were soon taken on what turned out to be a very pacy tale and for some reason or another that’s not what I was expecting. I would go as far as describing the novel as rapid. That was exciting but at times I just wanted things to slow a little and patter out a tad more. Richard Mace was a magnificent character and his profession of being an actor, by seventeenth century standards, was utilised marvellously. His constant hopes and plans to turn all the wonders he was introduced to by the Doctor into profits for a magician’s show was terrific. He really was a very likeable character and it’s great that he got to venture in the TARDIS, if only for a short sideways trip. His bewilderment at the camouflaged door was a particular highlight. This story is famous for being the one that writes out the Doctor’s famed sonic screwdriver and I thought it was presented pretty well in prose. It’s destruction was quick and sold just how evil and serious the Terileptils were, whilst the Doctor’s moment of reflection about it seeming like an old friend had died was incredibly poignant. A fine moment. I thought the characterisation of Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor was very good in this novelisation and I really liked how once captured by the Terileptils, he constantly tried to undersell himself. Why not put the controlling bracelet on him? His mind definitely wasn’t too intelligent to overpower it, right? One thing I really noticed about this story in the prose format was just how contained it was. I have no memories of feeling that way when it comes to the televised adventure so that was a really interesting little dynamic from a personal perspective. The Android worked well throughout, although I’m not too sure I liked how willingly the Doctor and Mace let it take them past, and through, the villagers to the Terileptil Leader. That was a little odd. Nyssa had a strong story in putting together the sonic booster to take out that Android and the moment she is triumphant is brought back down to Earth as she looks on in amazement and sadness at the intelligence of the machine. That showed just how nice of a character and companion she was. Tegan had her moments and I enjoyed some of the feisty encounters with the Doctor, particularly when Nyssa had piloted the TARDIS to them successfully. Quite the feat! The Doctor was less pleased. Adric was hit and miss and I didn’t really comprehend why he was so aggressively desperate to find the Doctor after he was forced to escape whilst leaving Tegan behind. I appreciate that he was worried, but it just seemed unwarranted from my viewpoint. The idea of the Terileptils wanting to extend and advance the plague that had already ravaged the seventeenth century was fantastic and I like the idea of them using rats to spread it. Just how would it wipe out humanity though if it couldn’t quite get overseas? Did the Terileptils just want to take control of the UK? I’ll leave that one open ended. I was very surprised with how quick the conclusion took place and whilst I think it’s a wonderful idea to have the Doctor ultimately responsible for the Great Fire of London, something more could have been done to allow us to fully appreciate what the ramifications of that may be. It was fast paced but didn’t quite have the impact it perhaps should have. There were a number of instances in the book where seemingly important bits were glossed over rather than fleshed out as I believe should be the case in a novelisation. It stills works really well though and I would really like to see the moment the Doctor tells Tegan that they were actually on Pudding Lane and that letting the fire pan out is probably what history would have wanted. Overall, a terrific read!

Rating: 8/10

The Infinite Today

"I wasn't willing to let you go. Not before your time."

Writer: Sharon Bidwell
Format: Audio
Released: January 2020
Series: Short Trips 10.01

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

Jo Jones is travelling. Setting out from London Gatwick to Mexico, she lands back at Gatwick.

Jo Jones is travelling once agin. Setting out from London Gatwick to Mexico, she lands back at Gatwick with the same crew and passengers.

Jo Jones is travelling once again. Setting out from London Gatwick to Mexico, she lands back at Gatwick with precisely the same crew and passengers, again.

Jo Jones is travelling once again...

Verdict

The Infinite Today was a very good little adventure to kick off the tenth series of Short Trips audios! It's not that often outside of the televised episodes and DWM comic strips that I blog things close to their release date, but the prospect of reuniting the Eleventh Doctor and Jo was just too good to wait for! They met before in Death of the Doctor so it was terrific to have them together again. Jo recognising the Doctor as a familiar face was really nice, but how she got there was a very eventful story! I think it's really good that we know so much about Jo's life after the TARDIS and how much of an activist she was in favour of the planet and environment. She was flying to Mexico here for those very reasons but she couldn't quite get there. It was a very interesting concept and I particularly enjoyed Jo's reaction after her flight had landed back at Gatwick for the first time. So she tried again, but once again ended up where she started. It had a danger of possibly getting repetitive, but thankfully didn't go down that route. As well as continuously heading back to Gatwick whist intending to go to Mexico City, Jo's annoyance and confusion at being catered for by the same flight crew was an intriguing little element in the story. I was quite fascinated by just how scared Jo was and that was something we hadn't really seen a lot of, if ever, before. The image of the Eleventh Doctor holding a sign for her at the airport was just magnificent though and I was loving the moment the pair were reunited. The reference to The Claws of Axos and how Jo's situation now was similar to what the Doctor trapped them in was good and I liked that it turned out to be a little clue for Jo about what was really happening. Things became even more intriguing when it was told that Jo hadn't planned to make this trip and all the arrangements had been carried out for her. Well, that just confirmed that it was all a trap. Her trance-like scenes were fascinating and the idea of her being a consciousness was very good. Jo seeing herself as part of an experiment was very good, but time kept folding which meant that knowledge had to be pulled from her memories. The mention of those who controlled time meddling in what they wanted to be carried out in the first place was very interesting and it was nice of Jo to naturally assume the meaning to be the Time Lords. That was so well fitting in with the era she came from. I was very surprised to find that the meddler turned out to be the Doctor! I'll admit, I didn't fully understand his intentions, but I did adore the billiards metaphor in attempting to explain that the aliens were attempting to straighten out time. Jo was being used so she could be saved. It got a little bit paradoxical. Whilst Katy Manning is magnificent, I didn't think her impression of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was overly impressive and I think as time went on she leaned back to sounding more like the Third Doctor! Who could blame her though? One element of the audio I really enjoyed was the idea of different organisations and agencies taking advantage of Gallifrey's loss from the universe and taking it upon themselves to monitor time. I think there could be a lot of potential there. The Doctor saving Jo from her earlier-than-should-be death was wonderful and it was terrific to get an example of the Doctor looking back on his old friends. I love that. Finding out that the experimenters were Sintheesh was decent and I liked that they functioned as a collective. The Doctor putting a warning on Jo was a lovely touch to end things. Overall, a very enjoyable audio!

Rating: 8/10

The Timeless Children

"You don't even know your own life."

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Format: TV

Broadcast: 1st March 2020

Series: 12.10

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

The Cybermen are on the march. As the last remaining humans are ruthlessly hunted down, Graham, Ryan and Yaz face a terrifying fight to survive. Civilisations fall. Others rise anew. Lies are exposed, truths are revealed, battles are fought, and for the Doctor – trapped and alone – nothing will ever be the same again. 

Verdict

The Timeless Children concluded the story already started in Ascension of the Cybermen in sublime style. This really did live up to the billing of being a game changer and absolutely had the feeling of a series finale. I haven't been as excited for an episode as I was in the lead up to today and it was even acknowledged by my girlfriend as I was strolling around our flat doing my Sacha Dhawan impression of "Everything you think you know is a lie". It was set up brilliantly, and what we got was just staggering. Not only was the information transformative for the show's entire history and beyond, but its delivery was incredible. Sacha Dhawan is absolutely amazing as the Master and after just three episodes, he honestly might be my favourite incarnation. He is staggeringly good here. I just love how impressed with himself the Master is and the way he's able to gloat to the Doctor for destroying Gallifrey is outstanding. Whilst doing that though, it's clear how much the Master is fearful of the Doctor and blames her for all of his rage which I think is great. The history between the pair is so obvious just from the way they look at each other. Jodie Whittaker was superb yet again as the Doctor and that moment where she shoves the Master down demanding to know more about her past was terrific. The Master discovering the truth of Gallifrey's foundation as Time Lord society was excellent and his displeasure at having a bit of the Doctor inside of him was magnificent. He was blaming the Doctor for something she had no control over. Something she couldn't even remember. So let's discuss the truth of the Timeless Child. It wasn't exactly surprising that it turned out to be the Doctor, but the meaning was something I didn't see coming. The Doctor was the origin of Time Lord society and her adopted mother Tecteun had experimented on her once she'd discovered regeneration. It's staggering and having the Master tell the story through the Matrix was just brilliant. We saw countless child incarnations, but eventually Tecteun isolated the regenerative qualities and transferred them into herself. From there, Gallifrey was built and those inside the Citadel became Time Lords. This changed everything of course and raises so many more questions. Where did the Doctor come from? What species is she truly? I like it a lot. I have one qualm though and that's how it all ties in with The Name of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor. We had Clara literally step into the Doctor's time stream and identify Matt Smith's incarnation as the Eleventh Doctor. She didn't know of the War Doctor until seeing him with her Doctor, so I guess they could get away with that. And we literally had the Eleventh Doctor ageing to death because he'd used up his regeneration cycle, yet this episode clearly confirms that it was the Time Lords who put on a limit of 12. It could be that they also imposed that limit on the Doctor or that the Doctor simply didn't know, but just some acknowledgement should have occurred in my eyes. I fully appreciate that the story is far from told though so I'm more than willing to wait things out. I have no issue with what the episode has done for Doctor Who continuity and anything that legitimises what we saw in The Brain of Morbius with the implied incarnations of the Doctor prior to William Hartnell's incarnation is quite something. The Doctor's overpowering of the Matrix with her memories was sublime and she was just outstanding throughout. Ryan actually had a pretty good episode and the moment where he blew up a batch of Cybermen was humorous because of how short-lived his gloating was as more approached from behind. Graham's heartfelt speech to Yaz was lovely if not a bit random and I liked how she was the one who had no qualms about stepping through to Gallifrey. The Doctor's home planet being in ruins was still an incredible sight to behold and I loved the talk in the Citadel panopticon with the reference to The Deadly Assassin. There was also a terrific reference to The Trial of a Time Lord. This episode had so much going for it. I haven't even got to the Cyber-Masters yet! The Master teaming up with the Cybermen isn't new and has actually occurred now in three of the last five series finales, but him offering them Gallifrey was outstanding. It didn't stop there either as we were introduced to some fantastically-looking Cyber-Masters. Cybermen who had the organics of the Time Lord bodies the Master had killed. Cybermen with the ability to regenerate. Truly an unstoppable force. The relationship between the Master and the Lone Cyberman was a real episode highlight and the moment he just turned and used the tissue compression eliminator on him was wonderful. His annoyance at not using a joke before enacting it was terrific too. I really don't have enough praise for this incarnation of the Master. The Master giving the Doctor the means to end everything with the death particle in the compressed Lone Cyberman was excellent, but it backfired as Ko Sharmus was more than willing to take out the Cybermen and serve his life's purpose. I'm sure the Master would have escaped, but the idea of all organic life on Gallifrey now being wiped out seems irreversible. The ending with the emergence of the Judoon into the TARDIS and quickly sending the Doctor into life imprisonment was good and exciting as we head for the festive season, and I like that she is separated from the fam. She apologised to the TARDIS for that which was lovely and I was glad that she sat down to try and take everything in. I still want to know how the Ruth Doctor fits in with everything, but there's still so much more to come. The scenes with Brendan from Ireland turning to be a perception filter on memory was a really good revelation. I was a huge fan of that. I also loved the concept of the Division and how secrecy was maintained. As a whole, a sublime two-part finale.

Rating: 10/10

Time Out of Mind

"Someone tried to make sure we'd never want to come back to your world again."

Writer: Jody Houser
Format: Comic Strip
Released: November-December 2019
Printed in: Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

Whirling through time and space, the Doctor and her friends – Yaz, Ryan and Graham – took some time off from thwarting nefarious alien plots to enjoy some well-earned leisure time. But theme parks on distant planets aren't always what they seem, and the gang were soon saving victims of a crooked carnival con. Everything is right in the universe again – or so they think...

The Doctor and friends gain an unexpected ally. Together they must stop Mr. Henderson – but who exactly is he? And what is he really up to?

Verdict

Time Out of Mind was a very good little story to continue the Titan comic strip adventures of the Thirteenth Doctor and her gang. I refuse to accept that the story is simply titled 'Holiday Special' as listed on TARDISWiki, so I'll go with the title of the graphic novel that this adventure comprises because it's just not ridiculous. It does seem awfully strange that a two-part Christmas comic strip wouldn't get a specific name, but that didn't take away from the quality of what was in the pages. I was a big fan of how this story used Meet the Fam! as it was able to incorporate the free comic strip from Free Comic Book Day whilst also making the overall story completely accessible for those readers who may not have been able to get their hands on it. That's always an important aspect when it comes to using previous stories. The idea that the whole comic strip may not actually be true events in Doctor Who becomes quite fascinating and just a lovely and weird anomaly in Doctor Who comic strips. Hearing all of the different memories Team TARDIS had about the events at the theme park were interesting and I liked that it quickly provided them with something to fix. The characterisation of Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor was excellent throughout and I really loved the panels with no speech towards the end where she sneakily made her way to fix things. Great stuff. The use of Christmas in the story seemed to come a little bit out of nowhere and the reactions of the team when they met Mr Henderson were terrific. He looked an awfully lot like Santa Claus, except that name should not be mentioned in his vicinity! I wasn't too sure of the use of Santa Claus being a myth because surely there are going to be so many young readers for a comic strip and this might have them questioning whether Santa Claus actually is real. They should never be pushed into that question and I felt the same way about Last Christmas. What I did like was how Christmas and the notion of the North Pole with Santa being there with his elves was turned into a scheme of slave labour! I enjoyed that and it was done in a relatively subtle way which worked tremendously well. I was a big fan of that. Baxter was an enjoyable character and I liked how he was quite fearful of Mr Henderson because the Doctor and co had been here before and lost. That was quite powerful to know that they'd tried to stop him before, but somehow he'd got the upper hand and implanted them all with false memories overriding what really happened. Finding out that Mr Henderson was actually Krampus was a good development and seemed right. The true form appearance seemed quite resemblant of a cross between a Minotaur and the Nimon which was good and I was shocked that Henderson was actually a mistress. Baxter turning out to be the reveal of the cliffhanger wasn't quite as good or impactful as it perhaps should have been. I thought the companions also got a little lost in this one with them largely being in a jail cell or the TARDIS, but that didn't have an adverse effect as it let the Doctor shine in a wonderful way. The conclusion was quite strange and quick given that they'd already lost once before, but that didn't take away my enjoyment. Overall, a very good comic strip story!

Rating: 8/10

God Among Us: Eye of the Storm

"It looks like the end of world."

Writer: David Llewellyn
Format: Audio
Released: February 2019
Series: Torchwood 6.08

Featuring: Captain Jack, Yvonne, Mr Colchester, Tyler, Ng

Synopsis

An alien power station is sending out waves of lethal energy, people are turning to stone and the water levels are rising.

As Torchwood set out on a desperate mission, God takes tea with someone who has been playing a very long game.

Verdict

Eye of the Storm concluded the second boxset of God Among Us in an excellent way! It was a very strong conclusion whilst setting things up for the final instalment and it was only right that we began with God and the Committee. The poem about rain was very apt and quite timely for my personal position as the storms have been causing absolute havoc in my local area lately with football and transport badly impacted. Andy being on a call out and thinking his case was one for Torchwood was a lovely moment of nostalgia and reminded me fondly of the first two series. Some wonderful times. The passengers on board a Mermaid Tours ship being turned to stone was an intriguing way to start and I liked finding out that it was a former Sorvix power plant that turned them that way. It had been shaken by the awful recent weather and there was now a threat of meltdown which obviously wasn’t good. Torchwood’s plan was a relatively simple one in that they hoped to decontaminate and neutralise it before meltdown was realised. Norton’s suggestion of using the Lens was good continuity for the boxset and it could be used to displace the meltdown blast into the Rift. Jack and Norton pairing up whilst Colchester and Ng did the same created a good dynamic on the old but tech-heavy submersible. That was a lot of fun and it also left Yvonne and Tyler back at the Hub and they made a very good pairing. Yvonne’s call to keep the nuclear ship stationed at Newport to remain that way was excellent and she was able to show off a bit to the newest Torchwood member. God and the Committee Leader talking made for terrific scenes and I enjoyed that the latter knew Torchwood were coming but he wanted to watch the storm alone. He was very calm about all that was happening and that made him a good villain. I must admit that I haven’t been a huge fan of Norton since his arrival at the end of the last boxset but I did like his question to Jack asking how many times he’d drowned. It was quite harrowing to know Jack had lost count. Norton’s joking about a seal animal was just tiresome though and reminded me of why I disliked him. Colchester’s restlessness waiting for the energy levels to drop 10% to enter safely was amusing, especially with Ng’s sarcastic response detailing exactly why Jack and Norton were talking so long to drain the residual energy. The sudden move of Norton to trap Jack in the concentration filter was brilliant and made a decent amount of sense in that the immortal one could just absorb the energy. The harking back to Flight 405 was fantastic and Yvonne’s noticing of the pilot’s suit similarity came full circle which was very nice. Norton believing that it was Jack who had put the plane into the time loop was unexpected and I couldn’t quite understand his rationale. His efforts to escape were commendable as he’d used the Lens to hijack Yvonne’s projection effort of retrieving Ianto from the past. He’d waited sixty years and come the long way around and now he would serve his purpose for the Committee. Jack’s reaction to norton bringing up the Committee was excellent and he had a really strong episode. The reactor failing provided a lot of excitement and I was delighted to hear Colchester ignore Yvonne’s order to remain outside whilst things were getting critical. A real punch the air moment. Ng finding Captain Jack in a bad way after his energy absorption heroics was interesting because he was still alive, but very much immobile. Colchester round Norton at the reactor which was great and he asked a very valid question of wanting to know where and when the explosion would be diverted to through the Rift. Norton only provided a vague answer which Colchester would have none of. The conflict between the team was very strong in this episode which was sublime and I liked that Tyler began questioning Yvonne when she ignored Ng’s plea call. She spilled all of how she had been working for this moment for the last decade in hiding and that it was a long-standing plan. She offered Tyler life if he stood with her which showed that she was very much evil. Colchester finally deciding he’d had enough of Norton was a brilliant moment with him pointing a gun at the old Torchwood agent. He couldn’t believe that both the submersible and the Lens surviving was a mere coincidence. The concept of the Committee wanting control of the Rift was magnificent and something I was very much on board with. That tied in nicely with their insistence on price and cost. Norton using a remote shock pad on Colchester placed when he wanted his bloody brow mopped was a bit strange, but it was quickly forgotten with the excitement that came as a huge energy release from the Rift occurred. The shockwaves resulting heading south into the seabed rather than the Rift was a good development as Norton had been lied to. The energy was heading to the planet’s core would tear it apart and that was a marvellous threat. The scenes with God and the Committee continuing were fascinating and I liked how the former questioned whether humanity suffering was what was wanted. The continued mentions of faith are great too. Norton knowing he had been played was good and he’d prepared for it which was admittedly admirable. He knew where to release the Rift energy that he’d divert to its intended destination and then he was gone. Things were literally reaching nuclear and it all seemed too late for Mr Colchester. He was going to die for the second time in nine episodes! He accepted that all was lost and didn’t want anyone coming for him. He believed his goodbye would and should be permanent this time and he was so sorry for Colin to have to lose him all over again. But there was Jack to attempt the save! There was a huge amount of excitement which makes for a great story. The discussion with God and the Committee continued to interest me and I loved that the former was pleased that love had seemingly triumphed. The Committee Leader was just laughing because he wondered about the cost. That’s all that mattered. Tyler being oblivious to Yvonne’s true intentions was a bit rubbish because I thought he was better than that. The wide impact kept worsening as a big earthquake occurred - in Cardiff! - from the aftershock of the power station. Tsunami was next on the agenda! Torchwood couldn’t do much about that. Yvonne recalling that she’d promised to do nothing if things went wrong was interesting as it just didn’t seem like her despite her true evil intentions. God being sad about the impending tsunami hitting Cardiff was interesting and I’m intrigued to discover her true purpose and intentions. It was all planned, but it wasn’t the doing of the Committee after all. Intriguing. Tyler managing to convince Yvonne to act was good and she didn’t mess about in hacking into Cardiff’s old air raid sirens and initiating an evacuation procedure. By this point in the audio I was off the train and walking through the capital and I’m sure I spotted one. Yvonne planned to open the Rift as wide as it could but Cardiff would still be obliterated. God was now at the mercy of the Committee and the line about the act of God was just sublime. This was the cost and I loved it. Tyler and Yvonne were trapped in the Hub at Cardiff Bay as the tsunami approached. Yvonne again claimed that she’d done her duty, but what was it all for? Things look ravaged heading into the finale. The post-credit scene with Norton arriving back on Flight 405. He trapped himself in the loop all along which I thought was quite apt. Overall, an excellent conclusion to what was a very strong second boxset!

Rating: 9/10

God Among Us: Another Man's Shoes

"Trading bodies is not an everyday occurrence."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: February 2019

Series: Torchwood 6.07

Featuring: Captain Jack, Yvonne, Mr Colchester, Tyler, Ng, Andy

Synopsis

Yvonne wakes up in Andy's body – and both have difficult days ahead of them.

Meanwhile, Norton's making himself very much at home in Tyler's body, much to Tyler's alarm, and Ng is worried she knows what's going on.

Someone's playing a terrible trick on Torchwood. But who will win?

Verdict

Another Man’s Shoes was another terrific audio adventure to continue the second instalment of God Among Us along very nicely. The story initially starting with Ng wondering why Tyler was screaming at 6am hit home for me as I was literally on the train at that time and I really felt like screaming as well! I was intrigued by what had happened to Tyler with his new voice and thinking he was taller, but then we found out it was actually Norton in his body! Well, I was immediately intrigued and then we found out that Andy and Yvonne had too traded bodies which was a superb dynamic. It didn’t stop there though as Captain Jack and Mr Colchester had also swapped! This was going to be a lot of fun and whilst it was a little harder to keep track of who was who given the lack of visuals, it was still so much fun. It didn’t happen to anybody else in Cardiff like had been the case throughout the past two series of Torchwood. The team had been targeted and I thought that was exciting. There couldn’t be a better day to get them either as Andy particularly had a job performance review for the incident in The Empty Hand where he shot an unarmed refugee under the influence of Ro-Jedda. I thought that was good continuity so the idea of Yvonne taking the performance review for him was pretty amusing. I was impressed with a number of the main cast in this one in how they took on the character that had swapped bodies with theirs. It sounded like they had a lot of fun. Andy wouldn’t just sit around worrying about Yvonne taking his review, he’d go to the Hub and command Torchwood. Well, he’d at least try. His confronting of Ng for the past and what she did to Gwen was nice because of how close Andy was with Cooper and I have to say she is definitely being missed despite the high quality of this sixth series. Tyler and Norton being in a clothes shop and taking the impulsive decision to essentially shag themselves as they were in another body was quite mindblowing but I was hardly surprised. Inviting Jay for a threesome after they were done was quite something though! Norton was beyond full of energy. Mrs Davenport conducting Andy’s review was good and Yvonne certainly got things off on the wrong foot and all she desired was a yes to ensure Andy didn’t get dismissed. She didn’t get that so quickly went about giving Davenport a dose of retcon which was very amusing. Ng had a very interesting episode with hearing the enigmatic signal which meant she had to leave the Hub alone. She had to ask if it was time and seemed confused which I liked and what we later got was wonderful. The humour that came with Norton being introduced to Tinder was very funny and he didn’t mess around with getting Tyler’s body around the block. The day of body swap also had impact because it was Colin’s birthday and Colchester had big plans that Jack would now have to try and carry out. Colchester had booked a reservation at Antonio’s despite the waiting list of weeks. The scene where Jack was denied a table and talked up Colchester’s voice in a threatening way was just glorious. The humour that came when he found the table had been booked under Colin’s name was glorious. A real episode highlight. Tyler wanting to find his phone ended up with Andy using some Torchwood software in an iffy way to interrupt Norton’s latest sexual exploit. I really liked the shift in having Andy, as Yvonne, be called by the Committee and a meeting was planned for an hour’s time. My eyes lit up when this element of the story took place. Yvonne continuing to be pushy with Davenport and using her last retcon to try and push her into passing the rest for Andy was very good. I thought it was lovely that Colchester wanted to experience Colin’s birthday with him after all he’d planned, but there was a weird moment after Colchester emerged as Jack. Despite it almost seeming like Colchester wanted Colin to reschedule events and have Jack stop going along with the plans, which would upset him greatly, Jack didn’t go through with that. Colchester had a change of heart and wanted Colin to have a lovely day whilst he went and put things right. He wanted his body back. I thought the character development for Tyler was brilliant with it killing him to see Norton slutting around in his body. It was a lesson he needed to realise how much he messed up in his younger days. Norton’s proposal to Jay was unexpected though and seemed a bit much. The destination of Ng’s signal taking her to an ice cream van housing the wonderful Scottish woman was excellent and I loved the comment of ‘Herald meets Deity’ conforming my suspicions that she was indeed God. It was nice to hear that she was impressed with Ng for getting herself a name, friends and a job. God was testing Torchwood and whether they could weather the storm with rain continuing to fall. Finding out that God did all of this so Ng could pass judgement on the Torchwood team was great. Andy being with the Committee and finding out that the body swap was an early sabotage of Evolve technology that allowed mind transfer was really interesting and I’m intrigued to hear how this will come back into the story arc later in the series. The plan for a reset and the Committee taking their pick from the survivors was brilliant. Andy not being subtle when he found out the truth about Yvonne’s involvement was very amusing. He soon came around and pushed the boat in all of the right ways which I liked a lot. He’s been a wonderful character this series. The prospect of Cardiff drowning if he continued pushing was foreshadowing if I’ve ever heard it. There’s definitely still so much to come. Yvonne finally getting Davenport to give Andy the security he needed to keep his job by just admitting his shortcomings and coming up with an action plan was very good. We unsurprisingly found that Norton had been rejected by Jay but the idea of the body swap scrambling their emotional restraints seemed feasible. Norton again talking of how the world really is ending was interesting because he doesn’t really seem to be doing much about it! Ng standing firm that she had become her own self and will fight God was wonderful. She was Torchwood now and would not pass judgement. Questions finally arising concerning Orr was well overdue and I really can’t understand why there haven’t been any mentions of her yet. It’s quite baffling to be honest! The whole body swap also being designed to see how Ng would react was a good development, but then Colchester arrived at the ice cream van to find her alone. The device in control of the body swaps was there though and was soon turned off. God was nowhere to be seen. Torchwood would definitely have learned from each other as God wanted which was good and I like the idea that she’s almost preparing the team for future battle. Colchester having planned some Rift corridor adventures for Colin’s Birthday was lovely and I liked that Jack held off kissing him because he could feel that he was swapping back to his body. Colchester at least got to finish Colin’s birthday in the shower with him and had comfort that he’d had a good day. Andy confronting Yvonne about her involvement in the Committee was good but I didn't think it would come so quickly. I found it quite sad that Yvonne hammered home that this was no longer the Torchwood of Jack and Gwen because that's who I fell in love with the show based upon. The world had changed now. I am not too sure if I like that Andy knows of the Committee before through Norton. With this being the official continuation, I think it should be standalone from other audio stories. God then greeting Andy afterwards was intriguing and the comment of the world ending when Andy believed the rain would stop was surely a harrowing foreshadowing of what's to come. Overall, another fantastic audio.

Rating: 8/10

God Among Us: Hostile Environment

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