Jonah

"I'm not sure command suits you."

Writer: Timothy X Atack

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: The Eighth Doctor: Time War 2.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Bliss

Synopsis

In the depths of an ocean world ravaged by the Time War, the weary survivors are pressed into service by Cardinal Ollistra. 

Something is hidden beneath the sea: the Twelve knows the truth, if only she could drag it from her jumbled mind. And when the Doctor becomes the captain of a submarine boat, all omens spell disaster...

Verdict

Jonah was a decent episode to conclude the second Time War boxset of Eighth Doctor Adventures! This series has felt slightly disjointed to me with it feeling like a mix of a continuing arc and separate episodes. The quality is still absolutely good as my rating reflects, but I do feel like things could have perhaps been a little more seamless. We seem to be joining mid-adventure which is intriguing but I found myself questioning why the Doctor was referred to as Jonah and why he was the appointed Captain of the Bloodhound. It was a fun position to have him in and I like that we're building towards the frosty relationship shared with Ollistra that would become frequent in the War Doctor Adventures that these stories serve as a prequel to. She doesn't feature a whole lot, but when she does it's clear she means business and has that sense of authority. She's a fine character and I was sad to learn after listening that this was Jacqueline Pearce's final performance in the role before passing away. She's a talented actress and her character here has made a big mark on the Time War era! I thought the Bloodhound ship was good and the journey to Uzmal was intriguing. I loved the concept of the waters on the planet preventing any kind of time travel and with that being targeted in a Time War, the contradictions were rife. The Daleks being on the hunt for the Ourashima was interesting and I like the concept of the Twelve having hidden and fractured memories of it, but I do think a little more information and elaboration on the target would have been beneficial. I felt like I didn't wholly understand the significance of the Ourashima. It sounded odd and the vagueness of knowing everything was almost too big of a scale. I'd have rather some more simple specifics to really lay down just what possessing this would entail. I thought it was good for the Daleks to simply vanish when getting too close and the way they reacted to being told to dance and sing was hilarious. They had to ask it to repeat on both accounts because it almost seemed stunned to be asked! I thought that was a good comedic moment. The Daleks simply vanishing from within when they refused was very good. I liked how Bliss was able to touch upon the trauma she felt following the events of The Lords of Terror and the fate befallen on her planet and parents, and that's surely something we have to come back to later in the series. It feels too big to bypass. Having her ponder on the events of The Starship of Theseus and how the escape occurred was excellent and I'm a big fan of the enigmatic energy surrounding that. It's fun stuff and just works within the Time War. Everything is just a bit of a cosmic mess and I enjoy that greatly. The Twelve goes through a lot over the course of the episode as the fractured minds take their toll, and I loved how she reacted with smugness when it came to the potential of being subjected to the mind probe. Which mind would the Daleks choose to extract the knowledge? She had twelve in there! The use of Old High Gallifreyan language was also a nice touch to include and I just love touching upon anything Ancient Gallifrey. I thought the ending felt a little bit anticlimactic with the Daleks simply gone and then the Ourashima perishing as the Twelve was sent unconscious. We won't have heard the last of her I'm sure with Ollistra ordering her to be in stasis, and I'm still waiting for that villainous turn! It has to be building. Overall, a more than decent story that had a strong idea at its core, but potentially a little more clarification and elaboration could have got this one a higher rating. Still, a good listen! 

Rating: 7/10