Situation Vacant

"I'm not impressed with any of you."

Writer: Eddie Robson

Format: Audio

Released: July 2010

Series: EDA 4.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Tamsin

Synopsis

TRAVELLER IN TIME AND SPACE seeks male or female companion with good sense of humour for adventures in the Fourth and Fifth Dimensions.

No experience necessary.

No time wasters, no space wasters please.

Verdict

Situation Vacant was a really fun audio to continue the fourth series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures! After the hugely emotional Death in Blackpool in which Lucie Miller departed as companion, this was a surprisingly upbeat story to get us going. I was surprised to find that this adventure was released some seventh months after the first story in the series which explains a little more about why that opening story felt more like a finale! This definitely had the feeling of a series opener and I guess that is what it ended up being with the introduction of Tamsin now as the companion. I love the premise of there being auditions for the Doctor to see who he wanted as his next companion and the initial conference setting where people were going missing seemed like the perfect place for would-be companions to test their abilities! The Doctor playing along was tremendous and this was a really great performance from Paul McGann as the eighth incarnation. Were they real or actors? Was the situation staged or real? I thought that was great fun. Those showcasing their abilities in the form of Hugh, Asha, Juliet and Theo was a very interesting makeup of characters. They all had their qualities but when it comes to being the Doctor's companion, standards are certainly high! I didn't really think that Theo or Hugh had the qualities required from the off, but I definitely thought Asha and Juliet were good at the start. I thought the premise was terrific and once things got into action I enjoyed how the Doctor was instructing and handling the situation, especially when it later transpired he had no knowledge of placing the advert that they had all answered! He was testing his would-be companions really well and the mystery surrounding Pallister in particular made it clear that he was central to proceedings. Theo being wrong when it came to him believing he found the culprit was very good and I loved how the Doctor wasn't holding back in his criticism. He was essentially running a talent show and his letting Juliet go first was intriguing given how the story finished! The explanation of the disappearances being wormholes forming from the vordium was good and the new afternoon agenda cliffhanger with the emergence of the robot really shifted things. I was glad Pallister still had a role in that threat to link the two parts as I don't think I'd have liked it if they were entirely separate. The sonic screwdriver being the subject of a virus was wonderful as that hasn't happened often and that also being the cause of the giant robot that was rampaging was intriguing. I thought a little more could have been done regarding the little robots that were fixing the big one as that seemed a slightly missed opportunity, but it was full of action which was exciting. I wasn't surprised to find that Asha wasn't all she seemed as someone evil trying to take advantage of travelling with the Doctor is logical, but it was great fun for the Doctor to just instantly repair her recall device and she was in his debt so she turned back to being good in quick fashion. I wasn't such a fan of the other would-be companions all having ulterior motives, especially Hugh after he won, and his short-lived run as a vampire was fun though with the confidence displayed by the Doctor in getting rid of him by depositing him from the TARDIS on Mercury. Finding out that Juliet was just a ruse and that she was actually a somewhat unsuccessful actress called Tamsin was a nice introduction for her as companion and I thought she was really likeable. I probably preferred Asha in this story, but I'm excited for the future to come! Learning of the change of location and that there was another time traveller out there enlisting companions was intriguing and I hope that we get more regarding that as the series goes on! Overall, a really good audio.  

Rating: 8/10