The Side of the Angels

"He's already won. Gallifrey is his"

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: March 2017

Series: Doom Coalition 4.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

Cardinal Olistra has plans for New York, plans which involve the Deputy Mayor and her sponsor, one 'Reverend Mortimer' – better known to the Doctor as the Meddling Monk. The Eleven arrives to stamp out the resistance, but that isn't the only danger the Doctor finds lurking in the shadows – for New York is a city of Weeping Angels.

Verdict

The Side of the Angels was another excellent episode to continue my way through the fourth and final series of Doom Coalition within the Eighth Doctor Adventures! Whilst things do indeed seem perilous for the Doctor and his companions with the impending destruction of the future in five centuries time, there does appear to be a resolution in sight and whilst it is predictable I like the proposition of the titular coalition falling apart. They're all power hungry and I figure that will be their downfall, but this was a tremendous outing for them all to tie together. The Eleven does seem to be the biggest of the villains despite the achievements of Padrac in bringing about the future's demise, but the Sonomancer being present again was great. She wasn't around for long but she made a big impact! I was very excited by the title for this episode as having the Weeping Angels around is always a bonus, but they didn't actually have to do all that much. Their presence was more than enough and it's surprising how well they figure out in the audio format. The use of sound effects is stellar and so impressive. I thought the New York setting was fantastic and I must admit I was actually expecting a bit more of a link to The Angels Take Manhattan other than the Angels simply being present. The Monk's return was brilliant and the Eighth Doctor in particular showing distain towards the meddling Time Lord was excellent continuity considering what happened to Lucie Miller in To the Death with his involvement. Rufus Hound is as tremendous as ever as the Monk and I liked how he was going by Reverend Mortimer this time around. His allusion to starting afresh with a new regeneration was good but I don't think the Doctor would be so willing to give him a chance. I thought his reaction to what Ollistra was doing was great as well as she didn't seem all that phased by what Padrac had done. She had a plan in mind, but it wasn't exactly great. The proposition of all of humanity being fed to the Weeping Angels as Earth plunged into darkness was very exciting. Hearing Liv and Helen together as a pair in the museum was fantastic and I loved how they were threatened by the image of an Angel very much becoming an Angel. That played out well in the audio format. I thought the interference of Ollistra and her Planning Council in New York was intriguing and very un-Time Lord like, but with the Vortex frail and the future literally uncertain, it seems some rules are out of order. I thought Veklin was terrific and having her future self that was touched by an Angel emerge sixty years later was tremendous. There was so much going on here with all of the different characters so I was impressed that things never got clunky or in the way. The Eleven's continued killing of Volstrom and causing consecutive regenerations showed the maniacal sense of the villain, and the Monk's reaction to his presence said all that was required. This was an incredibly serious threat. The Eight being on the inside and actually using the time ring to get the Eleven back to Gallifrey was fun and it seems the grand finale will indeed take place on the Time Lord home planet. Ollistra being pushed was horrifying and the cliffhanger finish of her regeneration into the incarnation we are more familiar with alongside the War Doctor was a nice touch. It's tremendous to hear a regeneration on audio! The paradox defeating the Angels was really well done to bring everything together and set things back for Ollistra's timeline, and it does seem they are quite susceptible to temporal defeat! It's good though because it keeps their presence in New York for the Eleventh Doctor to encounter intact. This was an intriguing sidestep in the ongoing arc in taking us away from the main play of action, but it also served as an exciting ordeal as we head towards what is set to be an explosive finale! I can't wait to hear how things play out. A fantastic story! 

Rating: 9/10