Absent Friends

"You never forget losing a loved one."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: September 2016

Series: Doom Coalition 3.01

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

Earth. The late 20th century. Across the world, the mobile phone is gaining popularity as more and more people decide to join the digital age. But for the residents of a sleepy English town sitting in the shade of a new transmission mast, that ubiquity has a troubling cost. 

When the TARDIS veers off-course, the Doctor and his companions find themselves in the middle of a mystery. Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you. And sometimes the future does as well.

Verdict

Absent Friends was an excellent start to the third series of Doom Coalition! This was a real emotional rollercoaster and one I thoroughly enjoyed. There wasn't too much in terms of the overall story arc which was absolutely fine, but we did get a fun insinuation of River Song's presence still being close by given that there was an archaeologist staying at the pub but she hadn't paid up her bill. Given the cover of the boxset, we know she's going to show up at some point and it's fun to think she might be a step or two ahead of the game. The Doctor aiming for Gallifrey was fun as I'm all for sending this incarnation back to his home planet, but instead we got a little closer to Helen's home than his. Although she's from the 1960s, Helen could really see just how close she was to her home life now the TARDIS had landed in 1998. She convinced Liv to let her run off back home with the Doctor's debit card to pay for the train, and what she found there was probably a little more than she bargained for. She was clueless to the decimal monetary system which was amusing and there was no contactless for taxis at this point of time! Her encounter with George was really strong and powerful as she learned of the destruction and damage her hasty departure had caused to the family. She also got a double dose of death in finding out that her parents were both dead, as well as Harry. That must have been cruel and not what she was expecting, but I could understand the temptation. She had no initial plans to ring the doorbell and interact on her way to her family home, but once she was there how could she not? The emotional pull of the episode didn't stop there though as with a new phone mast being installed in the town, all the residents were provided with free phones as a form of compensation. The irony there was not lost on me and I found it quite humorous. The residents all receiving disturbing calls was a fun basis for a story and I loved the emotional pull of them having calls from the past. From loved ones now lost. That would be horrible enough in thinking that somebody was impersonating them and trying to taunt you, but I think it was even harder for Liv when thanks to the Doctor she realised that her father was actually calling from the past. It was really him. Not a memory. She got that final chance to let him know how much she loved him which was quite beautiful, and I also liked how she tried to convince Kate to take the call at the end of the story. She'd lost her little boy at age eight which must have been dreadful, but here was a chance to interact. Anyone would kill for that kind of engagement I'm sure. I thought Selwyn was a decent character and a typical businessman as the front for Superville Com, and his reaction to being threatened by the Doctor and Liv was good. I thought she was good value as a fake photographer considering she wasn't entirely sure what taking a snap meant. I thought the revelation of what was actually causing the phone calls was slightly underwhelming with it being a rogue clock part of a much bigger clock that was warping space time, but the emotional value of the rest of the episode meant this remains very strong for me. I sense we're not entirely done with the Doctor planning on taking the component to an alien friend in London, and I was left frustrated but smiling by the ending and the listener not getting to hear who would be on the other end of the phone when the Doctor answered. That's a bit of a shame, but it's not impossible we don't find out later in the series. I suspect we won't though! And who was he kidding in claiming he wouldn't answer? Curiosity was always going to win the battle there. Overall, an excellent episode to kick off the series! 

Rating: 9/10