Hounded

"A stowaway in the soul..."

Writer: Alan Barnes
Format: Audio
Released: January 2016
Series: The Churchill Years 1.02

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Churchill

Synopsis

In the dark days of 1941, Britain is in the midst of war. Churchill must stand strong against the might of the enemy - but he is plagued by a darkness in his own psyche. Something he calls 'the Black Dog'.

Can a visiting Swami hold the answer to his troubles? And can Hetty Warner prevent the Prime Minister's adversaries from taking advantage of the situation?

Across London, the Tenth Doctor's arrival may be the nation's only hope - but the Time Lord's plan to help his friend is endangered when he finds himself declared a traitor by the agents of the country he has come to protect...

Verdict 

Hounded was a great story and a very good continuation of The Churchill Years Volume I. This time around we got to see the famed historical figure encounter the Tenth Doctor for the first time and I really am enjoying how the boxset is providing us with adventures between Churchill and past Doctors because it was very clear in Victory of the Daleks that he had met the Time Lord in previous incarnations so it's good that we get to experience that here. Of course, Players provided us with an early meeting in Churchill's life for the Sixth Doctor but in this boxset he is very much the figure known to history so it isn't surprising for some stories set during World War II. This one had quite an interesting atmosphere given the story behind the Black Dog and I liked how there was a link between Churchill, his shadow and his long-distant past. Churchill disregarded any kind of association with events four decades previous and that was a perfect representation of his stubbornness. The Doctor getting dubbed a traitor by MI5 was an interesting direction for the story but I was delighted to hear Hetty was back again for this adventure. Following the events of The Oncoming Storm, she had garnered quite the admiration for the Doctor but she wasn't aware that she was talking to him when she first encountered him again here. The story behind the letter and how time was being unwritten was very intriguing and that letter really did become crucial to the audio. Ian McNiece's narration was pretty good once again but I again thought that he could have done better in impersonating the Doctor. There was one moment of brilliance where it did feel like David Tennant was present in the story but other than that, it didn't feel like much of an impression which was a shame. Khan was an excellent character and I liked how he revealed to Winston what needed to be done and what had occurred with the Black Dog. The moment where the Doctor gave a speech about London being occupied by the Nazis in 1944 was terrific and I loved how despite that, Churchill almost instantaneously dismissed it. That couldn't possibly happen under his leadership, could it? The conclusion was a little rushed sadly but it still was pretty logical. I just thought the Doctor could have stuck around for a while considering the sacrifice of Hetty. Given his encounters with her, attending her funeral would not have been uncharacteristic of this incarnation. Overall though, a very good story and a great continuation of the series.

Rating: 8/10