Hooklight 2

"We must finish what the Dawn Bride could not."

Writer: Mike Tucker

Format: Audio

Released: April 2025

Series: Fifth Doctor Adventures 9.02

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

There is a light that must never be lit...

The TARDIS team are scattered throughout Morning. The Doctor is trapped in the past, Tegan is lost on the edge of the system, and Nyssa wrestles with the most terrible of forces. Only Adric remains to finish this quest, yet the young Alzarian will find himself sorely challenged. Can they all reach the Dark Forge in time? Who will be lost along the way?

For there is another who works in the shadows. Someone who once made a terrible mistake and will stop at nothing to put things right. The Doctor is following the plan of the Oracle, someone who knows him all too well and may try to oppose him...

Verdict

Hooklight concluded in great style with this second half of the mammoth twelfth part story to comprise the ninth series of Fifth Doctor Adventures! I must admit I had my trepidations about purchasing this release when it was announced because it sounded unfathomable to do this kind of thing on audio. How wrong I was! Sure, as I mentioned yesterday in my blogging of the first half I would certainly have preferred this to be split into separate episodes with Hooklight as the umbrella title, but what we got was still excellent and I appreciated the scale. Credit to Mike Tucker for the world building that was created here because the depth was off the charts. I do think things perhaps went a tad far when it came to how much differentiation there was in temporal setting and it became slightly difficult or just too much to follow at times, but that didn't take anything away from the quality of the adventure and the story being told. I'm seeing a lot of comments on social media about this being one of the all time classic Doctor Who stories from any format and whilst I do think that is a tad over the top, I can certainly see why this will appeal massively to some fans. The first part in particular was astonishing in terms of its atmosphere and I think that was something that was lost a little here. It's inevitable over the course of a story this long as there's only so long you can go without answering some of the questions, but at the same time that takes away from the mystique which is what happened here and why I preferred the first release. I think it was fun to include the Eighth Doctor as the Oracle and the circumstances in which he was present were fascinating! I liked the link to the Time War and alluding to the Time Lords wanting to use Hooklight as a means to end it was exciting! Of course, the Doctor knew very well the dangers that would bring and went to great extents to stop them using it. His eye-patch wearing look was different and I liked that going along with the aged description of his appearance. He goes through a lot here and orchestrates events into a very particular pattern to ensure that the TARDIS doesn't explode, that Nyssa isn't lost and that the timelines revert to normal. I thought the Doctor's reaction to the involvement of an extra-dimensional being was good and I actually really liked the 2D drawing of a circle analogy for why time meant nothing for one. I think it's a bit of a shame we never got a meeting between the Fifth Doctor and the Eighth as the Oracle, but the latter getting to interact with each of his past incarnations was a nice touch. He had to hide who he was and that was pretty much okay for meeting Nyssa and Tegan, but that got difficult when it came to Adric given the events of Earthshock and the Doctor now having power to change things with his design of events, the temptation was real! It must be hard to see someone you cared for before they perished, but he was simply helpless to warn him of his fate to come. I thought it was fun within the story to acknowledge that there were a lot of answers required because there really was an awful lot happening. The link of the Nyguard back to the Night Guard was fun evolution as the Doctor pondered in the previous release, and the role of Kessica Myles at the end was fitting. Her story was indeed not over as the Oracle had a big role for her, one that would be crucial. I thought the emotional journey for Tegan over the course of the story was powerful and she really can never seem to catch a break. Her relationship with Oscar was nice and I liked how he enjoyed her challenge almost immediately. The Doctor showing up for her after three years was something tough for her to accept, but I did like how she was still thinking of Heathrow and a different type of travelling. I liked how the Eighth Doctor got involved in the Hooklight origin and the search for the Dark Forge to destroy it was intriguing, but it almost feels wrong that it was the latter incarnation who essentially found the solution. Sure, the Doctor and his companions no it was Kessica to thank with her sacrifice in becoming the lamp bearer from Nyssa whilst she was on the verge of death, but the Fifth doesn't have to do a huge amount despite the plan he concocted with Davlin. Overall, an absolute epic that had so much happening and could definitely be adapted into a mini series of its own. A fine conclusion! 

Rating: 8/10