The Red House

"I'm a big bad wolf."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: August 2015

Series: Sixth Doctor Adventures: The Last Adventure 02

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis

The Doctor and Charlotte Pollard arrive on a world that is populated by werewolves.

Verdict

The Red House was a decent story to continue my way through the Last Adventure of the Sixth Doctor! This took us to a more familiar companion in the form of Charley after starting out with the as-yet-to-debut Constance in The End of the Line, but I thought this was actually a weaker story. It was still very good but I can't help but feel being left slightly wanting more. I thought the setting was pretty good and Doctor Who tackling werewolves is a concept that on paper should work, but for me that isn't always the case. I'm not the greatest fan of Tooth and Claw and this had similar vibes here. Although I did appreciated the unique nature of having Dr Paignton meddling with the genetics and science behind them. It was brilliant to have her firmly believe that Charley had werewolf tendencies and the twist of the Valeyard actually saving her from being subjected to double the frequency to get that inner werewolf to the surface was tremendous. After a fleeting and disguised role in the opener, I thought it was good for him to feature in a bigger way here. He was still in disguise as the porter, but not the one Paignton and company had known. I am very intrigued that he couldn't have Charley's position in the Web of Time impacted by her early death here and I love how he confronted her about who she really is as a companion of the Eighth Doctor. Of course, the Valeyard is positioned between the twelfth and thirteenth incarnations of the Doctor (which would actually between the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors - perhaps the Valeyard is a bigeneration and that's why there was such an explosive regeneration in The End of Time?) so his knowledge of Charley here was fascinating. Was he able to now tie his knowledge of two selves together to realise that Mila was in fact his old Edwardian Adventuress? Charley giving that as her job title was hilarious by the way. She's reckless in this position as the Sixth Doctor's companion which I like and provides a different dynamic to the character we know with the future incarnation. I thought the fear that came from the titular Red House was good and it wasn't much of a surprise to find out what was going on in there when it came to the werewolves. Paignton being given the moniker of Dr Pain was a nice touch and not at all inaccurate given what we heard happening to Dennis. I also liked the reaction of the local inhabitants when the Doctor introduced himself solely by his title. Paignton was not very well revered! I thought the narrative background of what had happened on the planet and how the humans had increasingly grown to have more werewolf tendencies. Paignton was priding herself on being the only pure human around so she couldn't believe the lack of hair coming out of Charley's arms when she was experimented upon! Ugo was a really strong character and I quite liked having the Doctor and Charley having differing opinions on him. The way things ended felt a little sudden with the Doctor and Charley not even getting a chance to depart and finishing on a recommendation, but it is good to leave a thread hanging in not having the Doctor know which Time Lord was around to freeze the missile and play around with the time freezing technology. I can't wait for him to realise which one it is later in the boxset! Overall, a decent episode to continue the milestone release.

Rating: 7/10