The Skies of New Earth

"The light blinds itself."

Writer: Paul Morris
Format: Audio
Released: March 2018
Series: Tales From New Earth 1.03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Devon

Synopsis

Devon's work takes him into the skies of New Earth and the great floating city of New Caelum.

Here, a new energy project is exploited by alien powers, and a terrible catastrophe looms. Helped once again by the Doctor, Devon calls on the Bird People of Nest City, as well as the great Solar Bears on their Ice Clouds to stop disaster.

But can the people of the skies put aside their rivalries long enough to make a difference?

Verdict

The Skies of New Earth was yet another really good little adventure to continue the Tales From New Earth boxset along very nicely. There was a noticeable shift in the way things proceeded and it definitely felt refreshing which was very positive. It took a little bit of time for the Doctor to arrive and he definitely felt like more of a leading presence in this story as opposed to Death in the New Forest. I liked how Devon was still on his mission for Senator Hame but she failed to appear again and I was absolutely fine with that because the Doctor provided the authority figure. I do hope they get to be reunited again in the finale though! I'll be a tad disappointed if they don't to be honest given their history in New Earth and Gridlock. I was really impressed with Kieran Hodgson's impression of the Tenth Doctor in this story as it really made it feel like David Tennant was voicing in some instances which is a big compliment. The mannerisms and little traits of his incarnation were on show throughout which was very impressive. I think this was probably the least enjoyable story of the series so far, albeit by an incredibly small margin, but that impression may be responsible for ensuring that the ratings have remained consistent. I absolutely loved Oscar as a guest character and whilst Loba was also wonderful, there was just something about the Solar Bear that stood out for me. Maybe it was the very fact of what his species was? I'm not sure but he was brilliant. A lot of humour came from him which I'm always all for in sporadic amounts. It works perfectly for the Tenth Doctor era as well. Speaking of which, I'd like to get a companion reference to know when exactly these stories take place in the Doctor's timeline. One would assume that it would be towards the end of his incarnation following Donna's departure, but you can't be too sure. He definitely hasn't seemed like he's heading towards his end in the two stories so far. His use of the sonic screwdriver was once again fully utilised in this adventure which was decent and I liked how he was determined to find out about the Lux and how they couldn't quite infest the Nest City. That being invisible was a good dynamic as well. The Lux using a telepathic method to try and convert the population into Luman was very good and I liked the Eureka moment when the Doctor worked out that this was their plan. He put things into place to ensure that he could prevent such a terrible situation coming into being and was somewhat successful. One thing I have to say is that I really appreciated the detailed level of descriptions at the start of the audio concerning New Earth and the skies. The cities were very interesting and I liked the exploration. I would love to see another incarnation of the Doctor go somewhere else amongst those cities and meet some more Solar Bears. The conclusion was pacy and perhaps a tad predictable, or not exactly much of a surprise shall we say, but apart from the weird rock music that carried the story forward, it was an entertaining finish. It seemed to bring about a definitive end to the Lux and the Doctor's involvement on New Earth, but Devon's comments at the end suggested that the finale will be just that and not a standalone story. Overall, another great tale!

Rating: 8/10