A Heart on Both Sides

"We offer our services wherever we go."

Writer: Rob Nisbet

Format: Audio

Released: September 2017

Series: Short Trips 7.09

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

After her medical work on Terminus, Nyssa is now the controller of a hospital ship, the Traken. As the universe burns in the crossfire of the Time War, she and her assistant travel to a planet close to Gallifrey where they are needed more than ever. A long time ago, Nyssa knew a Time Lord and understood his people. But it seems they can change...

Verdict

A Heart on Both Sides was a great Short Trips audio adventure! I must admit that when I purchased nearly every Short Trips story in the sale they had last year, this was one that intrigued me most given the permutations surrounding it. On paper, it's just so exciting to have the prospect of the Eighth Doctor and Nyssa meeting. Even without Paul McGann present, just hearing the description of their encounter was something I was longing for and I think they would have really gelled well together. I certainly wasn't expecting them to be so close as was the case in this story! As if the prospect of a Classic companion meeting a future Doctor wasn't enough, we also had the Time War involved which is fantastic to play around with. I love the idea of incorporating Nyssa into events given her medical aid knowledge and purpose in helping with her hospital ship. Naming it after her home planet is so lovely and Nyssa is just such a nice person. That definitely shone through in the half an hour or so, even here in old age and with all the dangers of the Time War she still wanted to help. I really like that from her experiences travelling in the TARDIS, Nyssa has knowledge of the Time Lords through the Doctor so seeing the side of them that takes arms in the Time War must be quite difficult for her to comprehend. Especially considering the one she was so close to is so far removed from what the War stands for. The setting of Reeve was excellent and it being close to Gallifrey geographically meant that the Time Lords wanted exclusive rights to their aid, and threatened in a dark way if they didn't get that. Nyssa using the Doctor as her baseline for the Time Lords was not going to work well here as the Time War was something else entirely. I thought the emergence of the Doctor into the story was a lot of fun with it turning out that he was actually incognito as Dr Foster and had been travelling with Nyssa for quite some time now! I imagine he had some fun watching her as a more mature woman and just helping people in need. Her reaction to finding out that he was a Time Lord was terrific and I think it's both a shame and so much fun that she never knew that he was the Doctor. I mean, he kissed her at the end and the Doctor would never do that! Isherwood was a fine character and I have to give props to Sarah Sutton's narration. She was on top form and I was impressed with how different she sounded when taking on this role. It genuinely sounded like another actress which is a huge compliment and really helped with the ease of listening. The threat of the praxis gas to Time Lords was superb and the Doctor inevitably ended up infected. Everything seemed to resolve itself fairly quickly which you need in a format this short, but it all tied up well and very neatly! Overall, a really good idea and a great use of the Time War without it taking full focus. A great listen!

Rating: 8/10