In the Garden of Death

"How could I ever forget you?"

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: The Eighth Doctor: Time War 2.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Bliss

Synopsis

In a prison camp like no other, the Most Dangerous Man in the Universe is held in isolation. The rest of the inmates have no memory of who they were or what they might have done.

No memory even of their captors. Until the interrogations begin.

Verdict

In the Garden of Death was a decent little episode to continue my way through the second boxset of Time War stories within the Eighth Doctor Adventures! I was a little disappointed there was no apparent follow on from Planet of the Ogrons and the whole lost memory thing did work pretty well whilst feeling slightly unoriginal at the same time. I think it's difficult within the Time War series to have a story like this one as you can't really hide the culprit. It's obviously going to be a Dalek ploy and whilst that is fun, it's predictable. I feel like this would have worked better within a different time setting, but as my rating reflects that's not to say it was bad! I thought the Doctor being imprisoned was fun and showed that he was the most important of the inmates. It was also good for he and Bliss to realise that they held something that was desired otherwise they would just be dead. It worked well to have them interact with the Daleks and whilst seeing them face to face, their memories were temporarily restored. That was a good little twist. I enjoyed the Twelve being looked upon simply by her appearance and demeanour as an elderly woman, but the episode slowly built into her tapping into her other selves. The suggestion at the end with Ollistra was fascinating as it was unclear whether she was voluntarily withholding vital information or if she really didn't know she had it. That's fun to think about heading into the finale! I am very intrigued as to what this might be and just having the Twelve interact with the War Council sounds awfully exciting. I'm just waiting for that full on villain moment for this incarnation. It's surely bound to arrive! I thought Bliss was really good and she's shaping into a really fine companion. I feel like there should still be a bit more of a lingering effect on the events of The Lords of Terror given everything that happened to the world she knew and her parents, but we can always come back to that. I sure hope we do. The garden setting worked well and whilst it did have a fresh atmosphere, it probably wasn't wholly fitting of the Time War setting. I imagine dark and gruesome but this almost felt upbeat? There was something of a contradiction there, but it was still good. It did its job. I liked the role of the Dalek Interrogator and as soon as I realised its presence I remembered where I had seen the CD artwork before. I think the actual design here is pretty woeful if I do say so, but I remember seeing it upon the back of the box for the Eighth Doctor and Dalek Interrogator Prime figure release in the B&M wave a few years back. Unfortunately I didn't pick up a set at the time as I was unfamiliar with the release, but now I'm kicking myself! The second hand market isn't cheap when it comes to the Dalek unfortunately. I'll be keeping an eye out! I thought the build to the memory dampeners being defeated was good but the way the Doctor and Bliss had their memories restored felt far too quick. Considering that was essentially the basis of the entire episode, it didn't half feel like a blink and you missed it moment. After a brilliant previous episode, I do feel like this was something of a filler episode to build towards the finale. It's been a calm start for the Twelve but now it seems like we're going to get her in full gear for the conclusion of the boxset. I wonder what her plans are for the Time War! As a whole, a fine way to spend an hour but a predictable premise that we've definitely heard variations of before. Still, a good continuation! 

Rating: 7/10