Nightfall: Sunset

"I'm sorry that the next time we meet I'll have to kill you."

Writer: Jonathan S Powell

Format: Audio

Released: April 2025

Series: Planet Krynoid 1.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Governor Hodan

Synopsis 

For a hundred years, Sunlight has been a beacon of hope shining across a troubled galaxy, an artificial paradise on a frozen world offering safe haven for the super-rich, and employment for even the poorest of labourers. At least, that's what the adverts say.

Unfortunately for Governor Robert Hodan, one of his engineers has just discovered a pair of strange-looking pods lodged in a satellite. So Sunlight, that glittering verdant oasis, will never be the same again.

Because, as the Doctor knows only too well, on planets where the Krynoid gets established, the vegetation eats the animals...

Verdict

Sunset was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Nightfall first series of Planet Krynoid! I mentioned in my blogging of Sunlight that I thought the cliffhanger finish with the emergence of the Eighth Doctor might prove something of an interruption, but it was far from it! I thought the benefits of having the Doctor around were fantastic and this was a great performance from Paul McGann. The horror and darker themes of the series were very much felt and this incarnation of the Doctor was a fantastic fit. I thought his knowledge of the Krynoids going back to The Seeds of Doom was really helpful and almost might have been better placed in the series opener. I thought it was fun to establish that the planet was Verdana and Sunlight was a colony, and the planet of the Krynoids getting a name was certainly overdue. It wasn't much of a surprise to find that Verdana was the original home of the Krynoids given the name of the series which might seem like something of an oversight now, but I'm glad we got the confirmation either way. I think it's pretty fun for the Doctor to have overslept after having frozen himself and woken up after a century. That was some way to fight off the Krynoid infection and the image from the artwork with the Doctor being infected was quickly wiped away as he just described it as vegetation. After a century of confinement that's certainly understandable but it does feel like something of a shortchanged way to incorporate such a striking image into the series. I think it's good to confirm the 26th century setting of 2547 and I really enjoyed the concept of the Doctor being drawn to Verdana by a psychic force. He wasn't alone though as the Krynoids were also answering the same signal and finding out that this was actually the roots of the Krynoid themselves was excellent! I loved the concept of roots for roots in a cry for help, but the terraforming of the satellites from the Sunlight colonists had very much gotten in the way. The threat of the planet temperature altering and the impact that would have on the Krynoids is brilliant to explore. I like the worry the Doctor has when it comes to Liv because he's been asleep for a century so his plan of simply returning to the past where she exists to reunite with her is a nice touch, even if it does feel like cheating! I thought Governor Hodan referencing the historic standing orders about the pods was good and I like that there's more of a deep-rooted history on the planet that the authorities and super-rich had knowledge about. The Cultivators being primed to destroy such pods was a strong revelation and explained a lot. Hodan being quieter on his sting knowledge was very well done and it was intriguing to learn that he was an actor turned politician. It was good to get that kind of background for what is essentially the main character. His desperation was clear to hear with his demands of the Doctor to go back and change history, but the Time Lord was having none of it. His wife’s infection was now a fixed point in time. I thought the sacrifice of Joan was a sensational moment and really highlighted the threat the Krynoids posed. Defeat was almost the default. The Doctor leaving things to Maggie as he set off to find Liv was a little bit of a surprise but things did seem safe with the temperature alteration. The light emittance backfiring in a bad way provided an incredible cliffhanger as everyone exposed on the colony was blinded! As if that wasn’t enough, hundreds of pods were now on hand. They’re here to liberate their world of animal filth and that sets us up brilliantly for the finale! Overall, an excellent episode!

Rating: 9/10