The Drowned World

"Sara Kingdom is now at peace."

Writer: Simon Guerrier

Format: Audio

Released: July 2009

Series: Companion Chronicles 4.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Steven, Sara

Synopsis

Space Security Agent Sara Kingdom is dead, her ashes strewn on the planet Kembel. But, in an old house in Ely, Sara Kingdom lives on...

To the Elders of this ruined world, Sara is a ghost, a phantom that must be excised. She must prove her right to exist, and she does so with stories. Stories of a time when she travelled the universe with an ancient Doctor and his heroic companion Steven inside a magical space/time ship called the TARDIS. 

And one story in particular could make a difference. The one about their trip to a world covered in water, where a human expedition is being wiped out. It's a battle to survive, as the travellers face the horrors of the drowned world...

Verdict

The Drowned World was a very good Companion Chronicles audio! I am always fascinated with anything featuring Sara that isn't The Daleks' Master Plan because it just really shouldn't be possible seeing as that's the story she both debuted as a companion and then died. Of course, there is a lot of wiggle room for adventures featuring her as the companion as the novelisation of Mission to the Unknown displayed with the way it ended. There were obvious references to that epic First Doctor serial with the likes of the Time Destructor taranium and the look back onto Sara killing her own brother Bret as part of orders given to her within the SSS. I really liked that Sara respected her duty as a security agent and used those instincts to try and save the miners once we got into the story details that were being retold. Of course, there isn't just a simple story to rehash from the companion's perspective when it comes to Sara as was first told in Home Truths. It was good to have Robert back to hear Sara's story and explore the possibility of her very existence. Her connection with house is intriguing and I really liked how it is used to keep an essence of her alive and able to tell untold adventures between her, the Doctor and Steven. Although it didn't feature too often as it wasn't needed for what the story was, I really liked Jean Marsh's take on the First Doctor. It was very impressive and had all of the traits of Hartnell's incarnation which was magnificent. The TARDIS sinking into deadly water shortly after the trio arrived was excellent and it happened very suddenly which made for a good impact. The miners that the Doctor and co met were good but they actually thought they were being saved by the newcomers! That wasn't exactly why the trio were there. They had arrived in the middle of a dangerous situation with just an hour or so of oxygen left amidst a location where the water was deadly. I'm a big fan of the threat in the story being something natural. Water was the issue at hand here and I liked how it's quite difficult to defend against. I think that's the appeal of natural threats. The tendrils within the water didn't become more than that and it was great that they didn't become the main focus as an enemy. The cliffhanger was intriguing and even though the situation with the water was pretty perilous, the cliffhanger itself actually came from the perspective of Sara telling the story and Robert wishing her to disperse. I thought that was unexpected and a good move to be unique. His coming back to the house in part two with a diseased daughter was a very good way to develop things and showed how cynical he was in wanting Sara when she could offer him something with her wish granting abilities. That was a bit sad for Sara and it really hit home at the end of the audio when her loneliness was evidence. She just wanted people to come and see her which was admirable. I could understand her frustrations at the Doctor not even coming to visit her, but how could he possibly know that the option was there? The eventful retelling of the events in part two was good and I liked how Sara scarified herself to save some of the miners. The links between Sara and the house in order to save her were very interesting and I look forward to potentially more Sara chronicles told from this perspective. Overall, this was a really solid and enjoyable tale! 

Rating: 8/10