Death and the Queen

"Death is coming. I have to see the Queen!"

Writer: James Goss
Format: Audio
Released: May 2016
Series: TDA 1.03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis

Donna Noble has never been lucky in love. So when, one day, her Prince does come, she is thrilled to have the wedding of all weddings to look forward to. Though the Doctor isn't holding his breath for an invitation. And her future mother-in-law is certainly not amused.

But on the big day itself, Donna finds her castle under siege from the darkest of forces, marching at the head of a skeleton army.

When it looks like even the Doctor can't save the day, what will Queen Donna do to save her people from Death itself?

Verdict

Death and the Queen was an excellent audio to conclude the first series of Tenth Doctor Adventures from Big Finish! This trio of stories really has been a delight and I really do hope that there are more to come in the future because it was terrific to get brand new performed stories from the modern era of Doctor Who that actually featured the lead cast. David Tennant and Catherine Tate were wonderful once again here and I'm sure this isn't the last we will hear from them. At least, I'd like to think not. James Goss penned an excellent story to finish the first batch of Tenth Doctor audios and I think this does go close in rivalling Technophobia as the best of the range so far. I do like a historical setting and the 1780s seems as good a place as any to set an adventure, particularly one revolved around royalty. The setting of Goritania was shrouded in scepticism from the moment the Doctor mentioned he had never heard of it and I liked the mystery surrounding it for the duration of the audio. The customs of the kingdom seemed quite normal and customary but the way the audio started meant that wouldn't be the case. We had the Doctor arriving in some distress at the feet of Goritania's Queen who of course would be Donna. That was a brilliant way to start the adventure and I liked the backtracking on how events led up to that scenario. The fact that there was an angry talking cloud disturbing the kingdom was terrific and Donna blaming that on the Doctor was absolutely brilliant. It was great writing and it really did capture their relationship and the feel of Series 4 perfectly. The Doctor then threw things back at her when it came to Rudolph and how he was shooting arrows at a cloud. She conceded his point but at least she had her a fiance who was a prince. The fact that the coronation and wedding would take place in the same ceremony was rather unusual and it wouldn't be long before we saw why. I was quite surprised that the Doctor didn't attend the whole wedding ceremony but he managed to actually recruit Hortense as a temporary companion that he actually very much liked! She was fantastic. When the Doctor figured he would be losing Donna as a companion, his statement about his companions leaving never getting easier was really heartfelt and there was also a wonderful mention of The Invasion of Time and Warriors' Gate in the Doctor acknowledging K9's departures. He also referenced Army of Ghosts/Doomsday which was good and I also liked the expected reference to The Runaway Bride, as after all, Donna was getting married. There was also a subtly beautiful foreshadowing of The End of Time in the Doctor expecting that he'd be at Donna's next wedding. That was a really nice touch. Doctor Who having a character of Death was intriguing and whilst it was the conventional portrayal, the appearance would have you believe differently. Of course, it turned out to be a massive con at the hands of the Mefistoles. The Doctor thought it was all about him which wasn't actually the case and I liked Donna's reaction to that. The resolution being that she had the ancient flag of Goritania sewn into her pants was rather unexpected and the irony of Death not being able to get into her pants was some serious innuendo for a resolution. I did like it though, even if it was perhaps a little silly. The Doctor had worked out what the untranslatable motto of the flag meant but Donna worked out how to free Goritania from its evil binding. Overall, a terrific audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10