The House of Winter

"On the worst day of your life, call the Doctor."

Writer: George Mann 

Format: Audio

Released: 1st October 2015

Series: NSA 23

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Clara are called to a mysterious, isolated house on a moonlit in the Asurmian Reach. There they meet the inscrutable Justin Winter and his two assistants, Joey and Carenza. Winter has called for the Doctor's help: he and his friends are trapped in the house, all exits having long ago been sealed. 

Verdict 

The House of Winter was an excellent audio adventure and continued along the new bimonthly quadruple set of Twelfth Doctor and Clara audio adventures very nicely! I thought this was an improvement from the previous story, The Gods of Winter, which I only listened to a few days ago so everything was still fresh in my mind from that adventure which was certainly beneficial. I'm not sure where things will stand for the December release but with my Doctor Who blogging sadly on the decrease due to insufficient time now that I'm at university, all should be okay. Although the stories are all interconnected by the mysterious calling card that can summon the TARDIS and the fact that each time it's a member of the Winter family, past listening isn't really necessary to understand the adventure. I wouldn't have said you needed to listen to the previous release before doing this story as it was all pretty much explained within the narrative of the story. I thought David Schofield was a marvellous narrator and his interpretation of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor was absolutely brilliant. Credit must also go to George Mann for characterising the current incarnation of the Doctor near perfectly. It really was that good of a representation, which when in the audio stories of this format (ie no full cast) is really impressive in my opinion. As a male, he didn't quite seem to capture the essence of Jenna Coleman as Clara which wasn't the end of the world but her characterisation seemed more fitting for a generic companion rather than her character specifically. That was my only real qualm with the story really and probably why it doesn't get full marks. I thought the plot was superb and in a narration audio, a format I must admit I have struggled with in the past, it definitely kept me entertained and interested. I'm glad it did as I paid nearly £10 for this and the first release! I can't complain with that though really as the RRP is £9.25 each so purchasing for £4.95 on iTunes certainly saves going out and searching for it and also nearly half the cost! I'm glad I bought them as my original intention when starting this blog knowing that Peter Capaldi would soon be on his way in, I wanted it dominated by the current Doctor. Now, although I've kept up with every TV story, comic strip (from both Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Comic), novel (I'm currently on the Twelfth Doctor's last of the second trilogy), I don't feel that has been the case probably because I didn't anticipate that for nearly every month of the year so far I've done a blogged story every day. I never thought I'd have been able to create the time but thankfully it allowed me to be that way for so long! University is a different challenge altogether though and I'm glad I've been able to uphold my aim of two stories plus the weekly TV episode per week this week. Harrison Winter being the member of the family calling the Doctor this time around was an intriguing shift from Diana in the last release. He seemed utterly shocked that the calling card actually summoned the Doctor, even if it was to the mass displeasure of the Time Lord. Even though this was only the second time it's occurred, he's getting rather sick of being called out when people think it's the worst day of their lives. The story surrounding Harrison was definitely unexpected but I thought the revelations were marvellous. He'd blended his DNA with the bloodmoths that also inhabited the house and that had driven him to being almost like a Menoptera! The Doctor saying that was a lovely throwback to The Web Planet. References seem few and far between in these audios so anything is a bonus but that was quite nostalgic. I liked how Joey and Carenza were actually androids who'd been reprogrammed by Harrison himself - as they were his guards! He wasn't supposed to be let out of the house but the Doctor worked tirelessly to see him escape. Once he'd worked out the truth he was cleverly lured back in. Overall, an excellent story with a very good plot, brilliant resolution and a magnificent narrator - I can't really ask for much more! 

Rating: 9/10