Flight Into Hull!

"Oh great, two Jackie Tylers!"

Writer: Joseph Lidster
Format: Audio
Released: August 2018
Series: Short Trips 8.08

Featuring: Meta-Crisis Doctor, Jackie

Synopsis

Jackie Tyler's lost a close friend, and this new Doctor is only a half-hearted replacement for him.

But as she tries to put the events of Big Ben behind her and take a well-earned break, others have sported an opportunity. A well-intentioned, far-reaching plan is underway. But Jackie Tyler isn't the woman she was...

Verdict

Flight Into Hull! was a very good little audio adventure that continued the story of the Meta-Crisis Doctor in a great way! This was a really enjoyable story and I liked how it continued where The Siege of Big Ben left off. I couldn’t quite believe that it followed the same format with Jackie recalling events to Beryl over the phone, but things definitely didn’t seem as irritating this time around. Perhaps I was used to it? I liked the idea of Jackie being bought a day trip holiday to Britain’s most beautiful spa resort, which was apparently in Hull, by Rose after the events with the Doctor at UNIT HQ. She would be travelling by private zeppelin but she wouldn’t be going alone as the Doctor had been tricked into going on there as well with Rose and Pete telling him there was a Torchwood base in the town. There was not of course, but now the pair could talk things out after a frosty time. He continued to look down at Jackie because she was just a dinner lady and a silly little human who couldn’t understand the bigger picture concerning Christa. That was a bit out of order, but before Jackie could properly react another Jackie transported her way onto the zeppelin and had a space gun! She was a brunette and I enjoyed the idea of this being another parallel version. She was from a universe where the Earth was cooling down beyond resolution and she’d come to replace Jackie. That’s quite the concept! I liked that a lot. The moment she scared Beryl into thinking that she had actually been replaced and that her own replacement would be coming for her shortly was quite funny and an injection of comedy went down a treat. The Doctor coming to the conclusion that this parallel Jackie was just a fake and a trick laid on by Rose and Pete to help the healing process for the pair was intriguing. Would they really have gone so far just so they could talk things out and get along? The Doctor seemed confident that this couldn’t be real because no Jackie Tyler would be capable of pulling off such a feat! His continuing battering of her intelligence was a little much and sad, but it highlighted just how different this Meta-Crisis Doctor was. The brunette Jackie proving that things were in fact real was done in a brutal way as she grabbed he pilot and threw him out of the zeppelin! Well, I didn’t see that coming but I really could have done without the horrendously stereotypical Welsh accent impression. It really was terrible and as a proud Welshman I was a little offended. The brunette Jackie didn’t have a Rose in her universe which seemed sad, but she did have a little Tony. She believed she should survive over the Jackie we know because she was a scientist and was looking down her nose like the Doctor did. She wanted her to explain why she was more important which I thought was a fantastic moment. Jackie wasn’t afraid to challenge her doppelgänger which was terrific. I loved her reaction to being called a chav with it provoking a fierce slap to the brunette Jackie. Our Jackie did show her intelligence as she soon realised that the brunette wanted something because she could’ve just killed her already. She was scared though because she realised that the other Jackie was clever and could probably help the Doctor with his TARDIS building. Jackie was convinced this might be it for her, but despite everything she couldn’t let the Doctor be killed. To prevent that, she’d tell the new Jackie everything but wonderfully revealed a load of fake information. The UNIT headquarters was at Big Bill and her husband was Paul. I liked that a lot because it allowed her to showcase how good she was at distractions which allowed the Doctor to get the upper hand. Jackie’s kindness was fully on show as she told how the Meta-Crisis Doctor deserved a second chance. The Doctor knew that Jackie Tyler, all of them, loved life and that tested the brunette to the limit once the Doctor fired the gun and shot the plane off autopilot. That set the ship on course for a collision with Hull city centre and a big decision for brunette Jackie to make. This Doctor wasn’t bluffing and got what he wanted, but then there was the issue of actually dealing with the imminent crash! That was a lot of fun, but our Jackie had absolute faith that the Doctor would solve the situation despite there being no way to stop the crash. I was pretty surprised that Jackie called Pete to say goodbye during the descent and quickly hung up although she had the confidence in the Doctor. The Doctor planning on landing the ship into the river to minimise damage and casualties. Jackie questioning whether the Doctor would be able to regenerate was a powerful moment and I loved the issue of the Doctor now having the possibility of final death. That realisation set the Doctor off and he felt awful for all he’d done here by putting Jackie’s life in danger. She didn’t hate him though and she was more than willing to admit how he’d made their lives better. I was very surprised that the Doctor cried and it was sad to hear how his head hurt with all he can think about being war. He poured his emotions out and was sorry and didn’t want to lose Rose, but then the moment occurred where he knew what to do. Jackie finding the Doctor’s grin beautiful when he worked out the plan was wonderful. They’d had so many second chances lately and in their life and they deserved more. He had the idea to jump before the ship hit, which actually seemed like a really easy and logical solution, and Jackie agreed saying she’d follow him anywhere. So she did and all was safe as the ship destroyed a bridge but it had already been evacuated. The Welsh pilot was found with another terrible accent impression, but on reflection this was just a really good story for the development of the Meta-Crisis Doctor. I do hope we can get more. Overall, a very good audio!

Rating: 8/10