Scavenger

"Rewriting history, you really are British."

Writer: William Gallagher

Format: Audio

Released: March 2014

Series: Monthly Adventures 184

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Flip

Synopsis

Thursday 28 May 2071: the day the Anglo-Indian Salvage 2 rocket launches. Its mission: to clean up space; to remove from Earth's orbit over a century's worth of man-made junk...

From the viewing window of a nearby space station, the Doctor and Flip have a unique view of Salvage 2 as it sets about its essential task – and of the disaster that unfolds when Salvage 2 encounters something it's not been programmed to deal with. Something not of human manufacture...

Back on Earth, the Doctor fights to save Flip from becoming part of a 500-year tragedy being played out in orbit, hundreds of miles above. And millions will die if he fails.

Verdict

Scavenger was a great story to conclude this trilogy of Monthly Adventures with the Sixth Doctor and Flip! It's been a solid batch of stories and I'm very fascinated by the fact we get a cliffhanger finish with Flip heading for who knows where. I liked the format of the story in having the Doctor and Flip separated quite early on as that reunion was the basis for most of the plot as far as our main characters were concerned. There was more than one threat to their safety throughout and the fact they were so far away from each other provided a good sense of vulnerability for our companion. She feels very much of the present being from 2011 although I must say I was a little disappointed by her lack of appreciation for seeing the Earth from space! That would be a dream and something incredible but she was nonplussed which was a surprise as she's still pretty new to travelling with the Doctor. Has it all really become so familiar already? I find that a little difficult to buy into. I thought the background of the Anglo-Indian Salvage 2 rocket was excellent and I really enjoyed how much racial tensions played a part. The British were implied as seeing the Indians as inferior on more than one occasion which was quite something! You'd like to think that by the time we reach this point in 2071 things might be different in how we look at people of other nationality and race, but sadly I doubt we will and that's a big shame. Salim was an intriguing character as an Indian representative on the mission and his relationship with Jessica Allaway was less than amicable. I thought she was pretty unlikable which was the intention and her position as a former Wimbledon champion seemed odd. The Doctor recognised her from that achievement though! He also knew Salim without knowing it because he'd heard the story of his heartbreak as if it wasn't fiction from the man himself when he was much younger and in a different body. Salim having existed for over six centuries was quite the torment as he was separated from his love who became one with the Scavenger, and it was quite nice for him to think that it was his love that kept him alive. The Doctor thought there was something a little more to it than that which was true, but for so long that love had kept him going. He knew about the Scavenger and wanted some semblance of reunion with the one he loved. Flip almost getting absorbed was a strong threat and I liked how she was almost welcoming it to gain knowledge that could aid the defeat of the ship. The memory and knowledge acquisition working both ways was very good and really helped level the playing field. Some of the cliffhangers were strong given the proximity to space and the obvious dangers that poses. I also thought Jyoti was a strong character and I enjoyed the way Colin Baker pronounced her name! There was a fun emphasis. The way Jessica was blamed in the news after she was caught admitting on record that she caused the power outage to get on the ship was good and it all tied together pretty neatly in the end! The continuation of Flip mentioning that the Doctor might be all set to go and find Peri when she believed she would be lost was admirable but I'm also interested in this very much. Will she give up her role as a companion to allow the Doctor to find Peri again, or will she be there at the inevitable reunion? I look forward to finding out, but Flip might not be anywhere at all given the cliffhanger finish! 

Rating: 8/10