Lost Warriors: The Hunting Season

"I think they might want to eat you."

Writer: James Kettle

Format: Audio

Released: November 2021

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 3.01

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor meets many strangers on his travels. Some are destined to end up friends, while others were always going to become his enemies. And some were once warriors, with reasons of their own to remain hidden from the universe...

Duberry Hall is under siege, as aliens maraud through the estate. It's a frightful business, and as Lord Hawthorn battles the Fleshkin, the Doctor finds new friends below stairs. Can he convince the household to unite to save itself?

Verdict

The Hunting Season was an excellent start to the Lost Warriors third series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! I was a big fan of this opener and I think a lot of that had to do with the setting and the types of people the Doctor was interacting with. We didn't get an awful lot of the Ninth Doctor delving into Earth's history on screen so expanding on his visits to the past here was a delight. I love the dynamic of this rugged northern incarnation coming face to face with the feudal system and seeing the upper class at their pompous best. That was captured immediately as the audio began with Alice being chastised for letting the fire of Isabel and Stretton run out. That wasn't what they wanted given that it was cold, but it certainly did seem an overboard reaction especially considering she got it back up in quick time. The setting of 1936 and the focus on Duberry Hall was terrific and as a whole I was a massive fan of it. It just worked. It felt authentic of the time and was quite humorous to have the Doctor engage with, strangely even more so on his lonesome. His psychic paper revealing him to be a Brigadier was fun but that didn't last for the Doctor as he was questioned in a big way about life during the Great War and having to end lives. Of course, for the Doctor the First World War was actually masking the Time War in which he ended the lives of billions. That was a sublime link. The emergence of the Fleshkin was intriguing and I liked how initially it seemed they were craving flesh, but it was actually their name and something they cried out in pride during battle. That was nicely done and I quite fancy they'd have fun confronting the Sontarans! The fight between the locals and the Fleshkin was good and I was fascinated that it was the upper class referring to it as sport. The reiteration of a woman's place during this time throughout the audio was startling and a reminder of how far we have come in society. It was almost off-putting! But I liked that Isabel wanted to see the wounded. That was pretty dark. Something else that was really established in the adventure was the hierarchy between the elite and the servants. They were seen as so subservient it was almost crazy, much to the Doctor's disgust! The Fleshkin having faces described as being burned away was disturbing and I liked the humour that came with them thinking Duberry Hall was a fortress. They were confused to learn that there were no military division which was delightful and despite them wanting peace, they wanted to take out the General. The Doctor saw through them that this was Hawthorn which wasn't much of a surprise, but it was a good development. The Doctor's efforts to try and show that their information was wrong was admirable, describing him as a mere human that was ignorant and frightened. The use of the irritant to actually reveal that Hawthorn was indeed the General was a big surprise! I liked that he was DNA masking and just wanted to get home. The quick ending for the General was probably why this story didn't get full marks with the sudden impalement. It was impactful but just a little fast for my liking! Overall though, a marvellous audio to start the series! 

Rating: 9/10