The British Invasion

"You two see alien invasions in everything."

Writer: Ian Potter

Format: Audio

Released: August 2017

Series: Short Trips 7.08

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

A huge metal dome sits by the side of the river Thames, within it is a device that might change the entire future of humanity. The Doctor, Zoe and Jamie embark on a small act of kindness but the TARDIS seems oddly unwilling to help. It's as if it knows the truth. There is something waiting here, something adaptable and cunning, gathering its strength to conquer the stars.

Verdict

The British Invasion was a decent little Short Trips adventure! I thought this was a solid tale from start to finish that remained of a consistent quality across its forty-two minutes without ever getting to embroiled or excited in anything, and that's not a bad thing with this format. The trio of the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe is always fun and having Wendy Padbury as the narrator here was a big part in my decision to listen to this story today. It seems such a long time since I have blogged anything featuring Zoe so I just had to get on board with this. The title also intrigued me and I think it's a clever use when the setting was centred around the Festival of Britain in 1951. Having everything that stood for encountered by two companions without any real knowledge of the period or its significance was interesting because that allowed the Doctor to explain it, which would also have been helpful for any listeners unaware of the event. Jamie had a good start to the audio and I felt a little sorry for him given that he was realising that with a King George VI around at this time, there was no mention of any McCrimmons or Jacobite success. That must have been tough to learn that the cause you fought so valiantly for ultimately failed. For Zoe, her ignorance was on the other side with her only recognising that she was in the past. Jamie wasn't too thrilled to be in London yet again which was amusing, but the pair's thinking that there were more alien invasions because of some of the Festival's architecture was delightful. That felt very much of its era. The reference to The Seeds of Death from Jamie when it came to his annoyance at going to museums when they could just hop into the TARDIS and see the real thing was fun, and with their having gone to a space museum in the future he wasn't buying the Doctor's explanation of how it was a chance to see what the people of the present thought of their current circumstances. Imogen was a decent character but she really grew into the episode when it was revealed she was a Vardan! I didn't see that coming but hearing how that linked with the Festival and the advance in technology with radio waves and signals was tremendous. It was a fun dynamic for there to be just one wounded Vardan rather than a whole party and I liked how the Doctor acknowledged meeting them before in The First Wave. There was a lot of Companion Chronicle referencing with The Transit of Venus getting a neat little reference in the Doctor's recollections. Ultimately, the ending of this one felt somewhat cheap with the Doctor defeating the Vardan before it was actually any kind of serious threat as he had already realised that there was something else at work. I understand that approach given the format, but it cheapens the moment where Zoe thinks the Vardan signal has actually been sent which is a shame because I thought Wendy Padbury was terrific for the most part with her narration. Her take on Jamie was fun and whilst her impression of the Second Doctor could have been better, that's not to say that it was bad by any stretch of the imagination. Still, this was an enjoyable listen! 

Rating: 7/10