The Chartwell Metamorphosis

"Before us hangs the antidote to death."

Writer: Ken Bentley
Format: Audio
Released: January 2016
Series: The Churchill Years 1.04

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Churchill

Synopsis

Comfortably retired to his home at Chartwell, Churchill plans to live out his days in peace, in the company of his butterflies - if his attendants would just leave him alone.

But it isn't simply Lepidoptera breeding in the gardens, as a far more sinister species is about to emerge from its cocoon - and is ready to feast on something more than just the shrubberies.

Surrounded on all sides, the former Prime Minister must put a life's worth of experience into action in order to win the day. Can his new nurse Lily Arwell offer her assistance?

Verdict

The Chartwell Metamorphosis was a very good story and a nice way to conclude the first volume of The Churchill Years! I have enjoyed this boxset very much and I will definitely look to purchase the second volume at some point in the future based upon the quality of this first series. It really has been delightful! I was quite surprised by this story in that Lily Arwell returned, quite some time after we first saw her in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, as I doubt she was at the top of anybody's wish list for characters they wanted to return. However, she worked very well and pairing her older self with an older Churchill was a terrific little combination. I was also surprised to see that the Doctor featured so prominently on the cover of this story as his arrival was actually quite late into its events. We've seen the Eleventh Doctor and Winston Churchill meet before in Victory of the Daleks so a meeting between the pair here wasn't as desirable as the first two stories in the boxset as we even had a TARDIS outing for them both in Living History. The Doctor was not missed though and I think that shows how good of a historical figure Winston Churchill really is. He can hold his own and lead a Doctor Who story! That's quite remarkable when you think about. His fascination with butterflies was really explored here and I have to admit that I was sceptical of the theme as the audio unfolded but once the metamorphosis of Mrs Whitaker occurred, my interest was peaked. It was very fascinating but this inhuman process surprised me the most when Churchill showed his displeasure at not being the first to undergo it! Churchill's desire for immortality was an excellent thing to explore and after all he's been through, it is hardly surprising that he would not want to die. Danvers was a good villain and once Churchill knew of his plan and pact with Whitaker, he wanted no part in what was going on here at Chartwell. He couldn't have known but he was caught up in something truly evil. They wanted the human race as hosts and that saw that the Doctor would be called upon for help. His arrival was brilliant and the moment you heard the TARDIS, even though Matt Smith didn't feature, you knew things had just gotten very interesting indeed. The presence of the Doctor is enough to change a story on its head. The threat was relatively quickly taken care of which was good and I liked Churchill finding out about the Doctor helping Lily to have Churchill in her care. The ending with the trio entering the TARDIS and heading to France was a delightful way to end a fantastic boxset. Overall, a very good story!

Rating: 8/10