The Unbound Universe: Planet X

"The Doctor is far too exciting for public consumption."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: August 2016

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 3.02

Featuring: Unbound Doctor, Bernice

Synopsis 

Bernice and the Doctor land on a planet so dull no one ever bothered naming it. Finally something interesting is about to happen here.

Verdict 

Planet X was an excellent episode to continue my way through The Unbound Universe third series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! This was a really strong story and followed on nicely where we left off in The Library in the Body with Benny joining the Unbound Doctor in the TARDIS. However, this TARDIS was pretty broken and on its last legs. The Doctor giving her a choice of just three planets that it would be able to travel to was amusing and of course he picked the one he wasn’t interested in being Planet X. It sounded dull and that’s how the Doctor described it. It was the only planet not impacted by the previously mentioned war that ravaged this universe and that’s because neither side were bothered about it! That was quite funny. The girl who we would come to know as Millie was introduced well as she had failed her excellence exam and even encountered Prime Minister 470 who was adamant there were no recounts. She was designated girl twenty-three million and something and the blandness of no individual names seemed to add credence to the Doctor’s claim on the planet’s dullness. The fate of those that passed the exam being gassed was horrific as they showed potential and that wasn’t welcomed on a planet where the extremes of emotion was not deemed constructive. There would be no forced ideas here. Being average and mediocre was the way here and that was a very good concept. Millie warning Benny of the emotions was tremendous as she was not shy in hiding how she felt! The warning of the Blank Squad was good and that was a really great name for the planet’s military. Benny christening Millie with her name as it was short for million was fantastic and they built a really strong relationship despite the danger of being associated with someone as visibly emotional as Benny. The squad taking the TARDIS away because it was too interesting was brilliant and that only added to Benny’s agitation which she wasn’t doing a good job of hiding. The Doctor being subjected to the gas was glorious as it wasn’t compatible with his systems so it didn’t have the desired effect of murder! He revelled in that. The Doctor’s conversing with the computer and realising that there had been twenty million deaths in the five years since the calendar was reset to 0 was quite a shock. Processing was the result of over 68% of them! Prime Minister 470 spotting Millie on the video of the Doctor and Benny’s arrival was good as the security alert was set out for the pair deemed undesirables. The Doctor seeking out the rebellious man number fifteen million and something was good and right up his alley. Benny and Millie visiting the north quarter was a wake up call for the latter as this was supposedly the destination of all those who passed the excellence exam, but she soon realised what happened now when pushed by Benny into thinking the truth. The moment where the rebels were jumping to their death was rather confusing but we soon learned that Ego was part of the Blank Squad and that explained why he hadn’t been caught which certainly made sense! He had a dampener to endure he could be as emotional as desired, and it was fun for him to think the Doctor was too interesting to be killed. The Prime Minister trying to get in on the gassing act with the Doctor was amusing and this allowed David Warner to shine as the Unbound Doctor for the first time in the series. He taunted her and was breaking her down which was very good stuff. The Blank Squad being revealed as the processed ones was a strong but hardly unsurprising revelation, and the conclusion came quite quick as the Doctor removed the emotional dampeners of both Ego and Prime Minister 470 which brought things crashing down nicely! Overall, a superb episode!

Rating: 9/10