Operation Werewolf

"What made you decide to betray your own country?"

Writers: Douglas Canfield & Robert Kitts (Adapted by Jonathan Morris)

Format: Audio

Released: July 2024

Series: Lost Stories 8.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The TARDIS has brought the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to Normandy in France, not in 1066 as intended, but in 1944, three days before the Allies are due to launch the D-Day landings. 

Joining forces with French partisans, they learn that the Germans have been conducting secret experiments at a nearby chateau. These experiments form part of a plan that German high command believe will enable them to win the Second World War. The name of that plan? Operation Werewolf.

Verdict

Operation Werewolf was a very strong adventure! Although officially the second release in the eighth series of Lost Stories, this was actually released first so I thought I'd best get around to it. It's a mammoth tale of six parts and over two-and-a-half hours long, but that didn't sway my enjoyment in the slightest and it never felt like it was overstaying its welcome which is a big bonus. I love the trio of the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe and it's intriguing that with a reference to The Seeds of Death when it came to likening the teleport device to T-Mat, this was quite close towards the end of their run. That was even more sadder to realise when it came to Jamie refusing to believe that he would ever return home to Culloden as he encountered one of his ancestors here in the form of Fergus. He was a fascinating character as the true doctor that was sent over to France by the British, and I loved how Jamie seemed audibly disappointed by the fact that he now deemed himself English. I don't think Jamie would accept that for his family, but here they are now settled south of the border. It's good to know that Fergus was familiar with the family battle cry. It's nice that some things aren't lost through the generations. I thought the way the story started was pretty humorous in having the Doctor excited about taking his companions to see history in Normandy in 1066, expect the year was entirely wrong. It couldn't be much worse really in that it was just a few days prior to D-Day. What a place to be! Talk about history. Although it was much more dangerous, I'd argue it was a more historically significant place. I was intrigued to read in the DWM preview that the original outline for this story would have included Victoria, but after listening I definitely think it was the right move to shake things up and go with Zoe. She's more suited to a war zone with her scientific expertise, so it was quite surprising when she was subjected to the Nazi indoctrination and submitted to their will. I thought the entire concept behind Operation Werewolf was quite mad but given this was the Nazis in 1944, the desperation was something I could appreciate. I also loved the use of teleportation to get from Normandy to the shores of Britain undetected and simultaneous. That would be quite the advantage! Sir Aubrey as the turncoat on the British side was good and I loved how deluded he was in wanting to instal himself as Prime Minister by the time the day was out and then lead a new Reich. The true villain of the piece though was SS Gruppenfuhrer Ulrich Schneider. She even shot Aubrey in the resolution to the excellent part five cliffhanger because she knew of the usefulness the Doctor provided. I thought she was callous and chilling which were perfect qualities for a villain of this kind. I loved the dynamic between Fergus and Jamie with the former not taking too much convincing to believe that the latter was actually his great-great uncle. Or beyond. I thought the Doctor using knowledge in the guise of trying to deceive was a good way to end the story, as a collision of particles on both sides of the teleport would see them both sent out into the fourth dimension of time. That was quire an emphatic ending. I do wish that the moments involving Churchill could have had a voice on the other side of the phone as that was noticeably lacking given that we'd had previous phone calls in the story, but it wasn't a huge issue. I thought Michael Troughton was outstanding in taking on his father's role here in a story that I could definitely have seen working on screen. It felt very authentic of its era which is brilliant. Overall, a great listen! 

Rating: 8/10