Families: The White Ship

"How many of these passengers could swim?"

Writer: Paul Morris

Format: Audio

Released: April 2025

Series: Companion Chronicles 15.03

Featuring: First Doctor, Steven

Synopsis

The Doctor and Steven land in Normandy, where Henry I is preparing to set sail for England. Steven gets mistaken for Stephen of Blois – the cousin of Henry's heir and the future king... on the day the White Ship sank.

Verdict

The White Ship was an excellent story to continue my way through the Families fifteenth series of Companion Chronicles! This might just be the best of the set so far and that's testament to its quality because it's been a very strong series. I'm so happy the range is back and I hope it makes a yearly return. It could so easily venture through each era of the Doctor. I was delighted to hear that Stephen Noonan was back reprising his take on the First Doctor and it's good to get him going more widespread than just the new First Doctor Adventures range. Whilst I don't think his impression is all that spectacular, I have very much accepted his interpretation of the role and whilst he's usually opposite a recast Dodo, it was terrific to pair him up with Peter Purves as Steven for this story! Doing adventures for just the First Doctor and Steven is a brilliant use of the audio format because it didn't happen on screen without a companion departing or arriving, so it's nice to establish something of a gap between The Myth Makes and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. I might actually prefer Purves' take on the First Doctor historically in this range, but I liked that we got more than one actor. I've actually really liked that about this entire boxset as whilst the adventures and cast are still quite contained, it is better than a single actor. The historical significance of this adventure was incredible and whilst I do have a Bachelor's and Master's degree in History, I was unaware of the events of the White Ship and its sinking. I did some research afterwards though and with their only being one survivor in the form of Berold from a crew and passenger itinerary of around three hundred people, it's a tale worth telling for sure. It's perfect for Doctor Who but it made for some rather bleak listening. It was powerful stuff. The contrast between the two parts was striking and that's understandable given the ship sunk! I thought the Doctor and Steven getting separated was good and the latter getting a message to the former about the location of the TARDIS and it being on the ship that the Doctor knew would sink today was terrific. I love it when the TARDIS is in danger or lost because it adds so much jeopardy to things. How can the Doctor and/or his companion get away? Steven was a long way from home here in the twelfth century and that was good to explore because his grasp on history isn't exactly the strongest. His lack of knowledge was fun and his surname coming into play as mistaken for a profession when he was wearing a questionable tunic was a delightful moment! I enjoyed William Adelin as a historical character as the son of Henry I, and him being the one to provide the means for some humour in having Steven adopt the guise of Stephen of Blois was tremendous! He tried to use that to his advantage in retrieving the TARDIS which was a delight. The potential of the TARDIS being at the bottom of the sea was very exciting because of how irretrievable that is! Alas, the Doctor had set the HADS which was fun to incorporate into this era. He wasn't worried at all. The bleakness of part two was honestly extraordinary as the ship had sunk and we heard less and less passengers as they all drowned. The description of your legs losing feeling first before your arms and then drawing with your energy sapped so you couldn't even scream was powerful stuff. Talk about being illustrative with words! Steven initially had gotten stuck in a crate which was fun leading to the cliffhanger, but the resolution of him simply being found could have been dragged out longer with a bit more panic from the companion. Not that I want him to suffer though! Once Steven and Berold were found, I liked that the Doctor wanted the stories to not include them and at first Berold liked the idea of being the only survivor, but how could this tale be told without Steven Taylor? Of course, history tells us that was the way, but putting a Doctor Who spin on this historical event was tremendous storytelling. Really powerful stuff. Overall, a fantastic listen! 

Rating: 9/10