Old Soldiers

"The ghosts of warrior's past were invading."

Writer: James Swallow
Format: Audio
Released: December 2007
Series: Companion Chronicles 2.03

Featuring: Third Doctor, Brigadier

Synopsis

Kriegeskind has been the site of a military fortress since the days of the Roman Empire, but now it is a secret facility in service to UNIT, the world's first line of defence against paranormal threats to humankind.

Summoned by a cryptic message from an old comrade-in-arms, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart arrives at the gothic castle to discover a base under siege, a conspiracy of silence and an invasion from the past.

For the Brigadier and the Doctor, honour and duty collide with a deadly phantom enemy that can only be stopped by making the ultimate sacrifice...

Verdict

Old Soldiers was a great little audio adventure and it was brilliant to be doing my first Companion Chronicle in quite some time! This is a range I have blogged quite a lot of since 2013 and whilst some may think that 39 entries from the range isn't that impressive, I am quite proud of it considering how much I jump around ranges and formats. I purchased this story for a little over £2 on eBay and I think it's safe to say that it was a steal of a price. I'd have happily payed £2.99 for the download which is often a deal by Big Finish but you really cannot beat having the physical copy of an audio. Having the late Nicholas Courtney tell this story was a real treat and placing the Brigadier as the sole companion of the Doctor for an adventure is simply magnificent. I really enjoyed that this story took place in the aftermath of Doctor Who and the Silurians and I don't think the relationship between the pair would have been closer to bitterness than during this adventure. It took a little while for the Doctor to actually appear in the audio and the Brigadier was a little skeptical about asking him for help but once he arrived he was surprisingly okay. He was interested in what was going on at Kriegeskind and wanted to help. The story was actually very decent and I loved the whole psychic theme and element in the audio. The Brigadier had seen a phantom of a Roman and with the history that was behind Kriegeskind, which had been taken over by UNIT, it appeared that remnants of time were emerging. The phantoms being referred to as manifestations of the pain's past was actually quite powerful and that concept actually really got me thinking. It's an idea that could definitely be expanded upon in a bigger and longer story and it's one that I would certainly be interested in. The relationship between the Third Doctor and the Brigadier was good here and I liked how even in the early days of this incarnation, the relationship was still considered a strong one. The mentions of Liz were nice and I also enjoyed the references to The Web of Fear, The Invasion and Spearhead from Space. The cliffhanger in the middle of the story was very good and the prospect of the UNIT of the 1970s coming up against the Nazis was really exciting. I thought Konrad and Schrader were good characters and the latter's illness was an interesting part of the audio. Konrad having survived the alien plant illness all but mentally was good and it did help explain some of his actions and comments that took place in the story prior to that revelation. The resolution of the adventure came a little early in my opinion but there still was the threat of imminent destruction. Things didn't end as the Doctor hoped with Konrad actually calling on the complete obliteration of Kriegeskind, with him remaining inside. It was a rather emotional conclusion to what was a neat and actually quite powerful adventure. The relationship of the Brigadier and the Doctor was explored further and I really liked that we got an insight to it. Overall, a very good story!

Rating: 8/10