The Incherton Incident

"You're not supposed to shoot people and ask questions later."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs 

Format: Audio

Released: February 2023

Printed in: First Doctor Adventures 2.02

Featuring: First Doctor, Dodo

Synopsis 

Something intercepts the TARDIS in space. Attempting to escape its grip, the Doctor inadvertently drags it through time to coastal England in 1947. As the nation recovers from World War Two, an alien force threatens total destruction.

Verdict 

The Incherton Incident was an excellent story to conclude the second volume of what I’m going to call the new First Doctor Adventures! I thought the longer format really worked well and made it feel a little more authentically like the First Doctor and Dodo. Stephen Noonan perhaps went a tad overboard with the intentional mistakes in capturing the essence of William Hartnell, but as a whole I thought he was great. I always like when something threatens the TARDIS and something having ahold of it was brilliant as that’s something that shouldn’t be vulnerable. However in the early days here the trusty ship does feel like it could be taken over. The Doctor having to shut down the whole ship was a desperate move but I loved his brash confidence in putting on a show that he was always in control. That was the First Doctor at his best. The idea of them bringing the source of power that was controlling the TARDIS with them was good and pretty inevitable. The setting of Incherton was fantastic and I liked the predicament of it being hit by a deadly blast that left over one hundred head. With a full evacuation of the survivors in force, it was clear that there was more to it than simply looking after the safety of the town’s inhabitants. Captain Andrew’s was a good character and I liked that they were taking something secret. Secrecy in government after the Second World War was still rife. Virginia was a superb character and I loved her American attitude. She was mysterious and enigmatic at the start and was invested in her mission for the US Government to discover the UK secrets. They were allies after all! The secret object emitting a lot of heat was a good way to detect it and make it a threat, and threats were in abundance where Sanderson was concerned. She was superb and I liked how Andrews was clearly troubled by her. Dalton being cut off on the call abruptly showed that Sanderson had dangerous intentions and her calling for any outsiders to be shot on sight was a clear abuse of her apparently being from the vague Department. The fact she wasn’t questioned on her governmental credentials was a little surprising! Virginia blowing up the petrol station in the first part cliffhanger was really great stuff and injected action which heightened the excitement. Dodo being shot and left behind on the boat escape obviously didn’t please the Doctor and the relationship he shared with Virginia was rather testy! It was wonderful to listen to though and his referring to her as Veronica really did her head in. Dodo was safe though and I liked how Andrew suspected her of being a Soviet spy. It really was a fun time to explore and perfect for Doctor Who. 1947 really did work. The moment where Dodo realised he was really troubled and he showed her the makeshift burial ground was disturbing and really showed how drastic the situation at Incherton was. Sanderson knowing about the Doctor was an unexpected treat and it seemed he was the reason for her crashing which explained a lot! The spaceship sight left several dead and that didn’t please Andrews who was severely suffering from the mental coercion the hypnosis from Sanderson was having on him. It was played so well. Halloran being revealed as the Soviet spy was unexpected as was Sanderson revealing she was part of the Galactic Ecology Enforcement Council! That sounded quite ridiculous but many of its members had devoted their lives to the quest for the Doctor. He’d committed countless crimes in his figure which shocked Dodo and I loved the idea of them capturing at this point in his life to prevent his future misdeeds from ever happening. The Doctor offering to surrender himself and take Sanderson home was an unelected turn, and the genuine emotion that came from him saying goodbye to Dodo was excellent. The use of the last of the blow back energy from the TARDIS to take out Sanderson was a neat finish, and I loved the cliffhanger finish of the Doctor fading away from the TARDIS! That sets us up nicely for a future boxset. Dodo stranded and the Doctor nowhere to be seen. I can’t wait to hear where things go from here! Overall though a fantastic adventure. 

Rating: 9/10