Protect and Survive

"Find out what it feels like to die."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: July 2012

Series: Monthly Adventures 162

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex

Synopsis 

If an attack with nuclear weapons is expected, you will hear the air attack warning. If you are not at home, but can get there within two minutes, do so. If you are in the open, take cover in the nearest building. If you cannot reach a building, lie flat on the ground and cover your head and your hands.

Arriving in the North of England in the late 1980s, Ace and Hex seek refuge at the home of Albert and Peggy Marsden... in the last few hours before the outbreak of World War Three.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is missing. Will there be anyone left for him to rescue, when the bombs begin to fall?

Verdict 

Protect and Survive was a sensational Monthly Adventure! This was a masterpiece from start to finish and kicked off a trilogy of stories for the Seventh Doctor and company in glorious fashion. I was hugely impressed with this. I love the idea of the Doctor not being on board the TARDIS when something goes wrong as that’s rather precarious! Hex not knowing about the cloister bell was good and it really allowed Ace to showcase her seniority as a companion. She was able to land the TARDIS but the destination was an absurd one. Right from the off it didn’t seem right and something more was at play, and that was perfectly evident when the threat of World War III was happening! It was on the brink and the threat of nuclear war was very real which was trepidatious to say the least. I loved that and it was good that Ace and Hex knew their own personal history and that events were not proceeding as it ought to. The threat of nuclear war in the late 1980s was good to play around with and there’s no better Doctor than the seventh incarnation to do that with. If there was ever a Doctor for meddling on the scale here then it was him! I was quite surprised that he didn’t appear until the very end of part two but to be honest he wasn’t missed because the story was that impressive. Ace and Hex were brilliant in meeting Peggy and Albert. They were a likeable elderly couple who certainly appeared to love each other very much and wanted to protect one another amidst the threat of war. They’d had the leaflet through the post from the government instructing them on how to best protect themselves if a nuclear strike did happen, but Ace was quick to point out that these leaflets weren’t actually sent! It was clear we were on an alternate timeline or parallel universe and that was very exciting. I’m still confused about the significance of the TARDIS being either white or black as there doesn’t seem to be too much bother about the colour of the exterior, but it is fun that the version Ace and Hex arrived in was white but they left in a black one that contained Aristedes and Sally. That set us up for the next story very nicely, but I’d like to focus on this one and the looming threat of war. It was fun to play with global politics and Russian involvement was fantastic.   sublime and the way they were splintered 1jqc do throughout the story was incredible. They added so much and really helped make the threat feel genuine. It was exactly what you’d expect of a government announcement with nuclear war as the threat. I loved it. The fact we got to a nuclear bomb actually happening and Ace and Hex having to stay in confinement in a basement with Peggy and Albert was unexpected! It provided a good scale for the story though as we learned that they were stuck there for two weeks. The moment where time was rewinding and resetting was terrific and again something I didn’t see coming! The fact Albert and Peggy were aware of the reset and had been going through it for a century was an incredible revelation! We soon learned that the Doctor was behind everything and Albert and Peggy were actually Elder Gods being punished as humans who needed to know what it felt like to be human and experience death. Over and over. That was quite the punishment! The only way out was to become so human that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for someone else. That wasn’t too difficult for Ace and Hex which was a lovely moment. Ace and Hex having to normalise their situation and try and shift the time loop around them was tremendous but it just sped up the radio announcement process and pushed proceedings quicker than normal. That was good and I loved that Hex had his doubts, whilst Ace was determined to see it through. And she was right! I thought that was really good and as a whole this was a quite sensational story! 

Rating: 10/10