The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time

"I can go to a better place."

Writer: Nev Fountain

Format: Audio

Released: July 2014

Series: Monthly Adventures 188d

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

Michael is a young boy who likes to solve mysteries, such as the mystery of the extra gnome, the mystery of the absent father, and the mystery of the strange man in yellow trousers at the bottom of the garden.

Verdict

The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time was not the best of stories to conclude the Breaking Bubbles anthology that makes up the one-hundred-and-eighty-eighth Monthly Adventures release. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into this one and at less than half an hour in duration it's not a good sign that I felt like it was dragging. It may appear particularly harsh but I just didn't enjoy the character of Michael Jennings and having him as the narrator didn't help things at all. I think it was unclear what kind of age he was as the actor obviously sounded like an adult but the character himself felt like a little boy at times whilst also being mixed in as a teenager. I know it's established that Michael is on the spectrum as autistic and I think that representation is excellent, but some of the dialogue just felt a little too on the nose. It was almost like it was being force thrown at us what kind of disability he had. Everything was very much on the nose and so literal. It just didn't lend itself to that entertaining of an audio. We didn't get to hear too much of the Doctor and Peri given the nature of the story's format, but when we did it was a much welcomed break! I did think it was quite funny for Michael to establish that Peri was a boy's name because he knew two other boys with that name and therefore he was exactly right in stating that. I liked how much respect the Doctor showed Michael and the discussion on the word 'special' was important. That's not exactly an accepted term for someone with Michael's condition but the Doctor meaning the literal definition of the word in describing him towards the end of the story was a nice touch. This was definitely the softer side of the Sixth Doctor on full show which is rather marvellous. Peri wasn't exactly thrilled though when he burst into his imminent danger speech at the door with Michael's mother when Peri was so close to gaining access in the guise of being from the council. That was a fun moment of banter. The whole silliness of the gnomes was not something I really enjoyed and I honestly thought we were going to hear the names or description of all one-hundred-and-thirty that Michael's father had collected! Thankfully we didn't, but the threat was there. Llangragen was not the best of villains or monsters which was a shame, but with a name like that I did appreciate the Welsh accent! That was quite fun. He just wasn't exactly threatening in the form of a gnome and if Michael could lock him away in a shoebox then there was little danger really posed to the Doctor. I did think the scene where Michael was shaking the shoebox until Llangragen was silent was a little much and uncomfortable. That felt quite harsh towards the gnome he thought was his own father! Michael deducing that the extra gnome in the collection was his father just sounded barmy but it was difficult to argue with the straight to the point logic. It wasn't actually him of course, but Michael struggled in associating that his father could just be gone. The way he used the fire alarm to stop Llangragen and the battalion was fortunate and a bit quick, but the Doctor's conversation with him at the end to put his mind at ease and explain how his father was now in the past was magnificent. The highlight of the episode by a long way. He was just in the past now and if Michael closed his eyes he could go there and visit him. I thought that was really nice. Overall, not the best of adventures in all honesty but some strong representation and a powerful closing moment. 

Rating: 5/10