The Blame Game

"How desperate could you get if stranded for the rest of your lives?"

Writer: Ian Atkins
Format: Audio
Released: July 2016
Series: Short Trips 6.07

Featuring: Third Doctor, Liz

Synopsis

To escape his Earth exile, the Doctor is prepared to make any bargain, come to any arrangement, or to do any deal with any devil – even if in this case the Devil wears a monk's robes. But when past misdeeds start catching up with both the Doctor and the Monk, who can Liz Shaw trust when time is running out and death is rapidly approaching?

Verdict

The Blame Game was a really good and enjoyable audio adventure! The Short Trips range throws up some quite unique stories and this one wonderfully saw the Third Doctor and the Monk in an adventure together for the first time which is just terrific. I think the nature and personality of the Third Doctor as a whole would be a great match for the Monk regardless, but having his old enemy come and gloat relatively early into his exile on Earth was tremendous. The Doctor was clearly not doing well with being stuck on Earth and his excitement when the familiar noise of a TARDIS materialising was heard was testament to that. I also thought it was really interesting how the Doctor knew of the imminent arrival prior to Liz with it likened to being like a dog whistle noise that was not able to be heard by humans. Liz getting to see a TARDIS in working order was really good and even though she wasn't around for very long as a companion, which in of itself is a damn shame, it's sometimes easy to forget that she didn't get a trip into time and space. She was interested that the Monk was a fellow Time Lord of the Doctor's and ended up sneaking into his TARDIS! The arrogance, pomposity and general smugness of the Monk when he was in conversation with the Doctor was outstanding and to be honest, I could have just had a whole 40 minutes of just that. I loved it. Rufus Hound makes a brilliant Monk and he also provided terrific narration here. The references to The War Games and how the Monk thought the Doctor had been done over, especially with the forced regeneration, was magnificent. The Doctor referencing The Daleks' Master Plan when it came to the intentions of the Monk in potentially helping the Doctor with his exile was good and I liked how sights were set for the 51st century with the Monk aiding the Doctor in his search for time travel. The use of time agencies and vortex manipulators as potential ways out for the Doctor was really good. The blockage in the Doctor's head regarding dematerialisation and access codes telepathically impacting the Monk's TARDIS was tremendous and something I didn't expect. It was even having an effect on the Monk's knowledge! I liked that a lot. There was a lot of continuity in this one which I'm a sucker for and I loved the reference to The Time Meddler along with the links and foreshadowing of Vengeance on Varos and Metebelis III. Liz getting to see an alien planet and travelling for the first time was wonderful and the least she deserved. The planet, as claimed, being Delphon was good with the Doctor having a past there and I liked its linkage with the TARDIS translation circuits. Liz wondering if it should ask permission to get in your head was unexpected as well! When the robot claiming piracy action on the planet emerged, the moment where the Monk also adhered to the Doctor's "stay behind me" line to Liz was pure magic. A real highlight. The Monk's scheme gradually getting unveiled was very good and I liked how he wanted to trap the Doctor somewhere else. Things turning out to be Earth seemed a little weird and more clarity was needed there, but I liked the premise a lot. I was surprised that the Monk took Liz back home and his comment about humanity being likened to cats and dogs as far as Time Lords were concerned was very powerful. But not as powerful as Liz's reply about the Doctor offering hope which resulted her in getting the Monk to bring him back. I was surprised by that development, but it was a feel good moment which was really nice. You could tell the Doctor was pleased to be back, but not too thrilled. Overall, a fine audio story.

Rating: 8/10