The Crash of the UK-201

"I know that this ship is going to crash."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: December 2018

Series: Early Adventures 5.04

Featuring: First Doctor, Vicki, Steven

Synopsis

You can’t change the past, every time traveller knows that. What’s done is done and cannot be unwritten. But what if it isn’t the past any more? What if it’s now the present?

The spaceship called the UK-201 was intended to fly to the Earth colony of Astra. But it never made it. Crashing on the planet Dido, a tragic chain of events was set in motion leading to the death of almost all of its crew and a massacre of the indigenous population.

The only survivor of these events was a young girl called Vicki. Rescued by the time traveller known as the Doctor, she’s been travelling in his ship for some time.

So when she suddenly wakes up in her cabin on the UK-201 again, without her friends, a few days before the accident, she’s faced with a stark choice... Can she stop the crash from happening? And if she can, should she?

Verdict

The Crash of the UK-201 was a decent story to conclude the fifth series of Early Adventures! I am a big fan of this range and I hope to see it return one day to expand on the era as we're only getting one boxset a year at the moment with each of the First and Second Doctors. This was a fascinating adventure and unlike anything that came before it in the series. This didn't feel like a story that could have worked on television back in the 1960s or one that would even have been attempted, but that was absolutely fine. The modern releases being able to take the characters from the Classic era and bring them into bigger stories that have a different feel is brilliantly done. This is a bold and brave idea and whilst a little more clarity and explanation other than some TARDIS shenanigans would have been welcomed regarding how Vicki came to be inhabiting her previous self, it was an intriguing exploration into her character. It's almost a what might have been regarding the events we saw the aftermath of in The Rescue which is really strong. I loved the mentions of Dido and Bennett, especially with the latter getting caught and admitting to his murderings. He wasn't even on the ship manifest which was fun and it was lovely to get an insight into the early stages of his plans. We even had a little mention of Sandy from Vicki towards the end when she had sent history back on course. The lack of the Doctor in the story didn't hurt things as this was all about Vicki. Sure, Steven was there to bounce around but she had created a whole new life for herself. When realising she was on board the UK-201, it would only be natural for her to prevent it crashing. I'm in the middle of watching the Final Destination franchise for the first time at the moment so I almost half expected the survivors to now be killed off in even more devastating circumstances, but alas this was kept somewhat non-gory. Definitely the right approach. Vicki using her foreknowledge was good but she was getting a little greedy. One small change and the course of history and her entire life was thrown into chaos. Insinuating that without Vicki the Doctor, Ian and Barbara wouldn't have landed on Mechanus in The Chase seems a little odd to me, but I can definitely get on board with Vicki's actions impacting Steven. It was a mighty big paradox. She had built a relationship with Jeran and now had two daughters which was lovely to hear! Steven was quite chuffed for her, but then they became the basis of Vicki's torment as things got a little out of control. Her realisation of her power to go back was good and was an intriguing concept! But then she tried changing things involving her husband and that meant all sorts of things fell out of order. She couldn't get ahead of the game and went from having children she didn't recognise to then not even meeting her own husband. It was emotional torment for Vicki which was quite sad. I thought the moment where she had to let the ship crash and say goodbye to her father as she knew he would go off to die was tough to hear. The resolution was a little underwhelming in having the Doctor and TARDIS do some jiggery pokery and have Vicki returned, with the means to send Steven on her timeline surely above the technology we knew of the era, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable listen. A big character story for Vicki which we didn't get on screen other than her debut. A good listen nonetheless. 

Rating: 7/10