Twisted Folklore

"The Doctor brings peace and order."

Writer: Lizzie Hopley

Format: Audio

Released: December 2021

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 3.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen, Tania

Synopsis

Tracking the course of the future, the Doctor and friends arrive on Rarkelia – where human forces rule. Earth – and Divine Intervention – are shaping the universe in their own image.

Helen, Liv and Tania embed themselves in society, while the Doctor starts a revolution.

Verdict

Twisted Folklore was another excellent episode to continue my way through the third Stranded series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! This was a terrific tale and I'll be stunned if this story had no influence on the recently broadcast Wish World because the similarities were easy to hear. Obviously, this particular episode came first which is good but it isn't that long since watching that penultimate Fifteenth Doctor story so it felt fresh in my memory and the parallels were easily drawn. The whole nature of the Doctor telling the story was fun and I just adore the concept behind the Book of the Doctor. I'd certainly love a copy! It worked really well to just have him in the background and when Tania eventually got to him, it felt quite sudden on the ears that the story had stopped. I'm loving exploring the paradoxical timeline that centres around London 2020 and Divine Intervention, so going into the future to see how things changed makes sense. I would potentially like a little more clarity on why they had gotten here earlier on and the overall aim of the series as it doesn't feel overly connected at this point, but there's plenty of time to correct that and bring things together. It's intriguing to split up the TARDIS team once again for the second straight episode after Patience putting them in different pairings, but now they were all off on their own! Tania in place as a sergeant was a fun dynamic and it was good to also have Helen as Victoria's assistant. The latter certainly suited that kind of role. The power of stories is not something that is lost in the Whoniverse and it was crucial to the resolution in Last of the Time Lords and just look at the entire Land of Fiction! Exploring it again here is terrific and having the unique slant of a paradoxical future worked well for me. The society of Rarkelia was quite haunting listening here in 2025 as the parallels to Israel and Palestine and the atrocious conflict that's happening in the Middle East right now were clear. We even had a mention of the occupied territories when it came to the forced rule of humanity and the Earth Empire over Rarkelia. I thought that was telling and I appreciated the message that was being told. The idea of another Doctor in this distorted future is brilliant and I hope it's something that comes back to the Curator as he's been prominent in this umbrella title of EDAs thus far. Might the paradoxical timeline be an explanation for his existence? Now that would be something! Victoria's extensive story collecting was brutal in the way she converted the people to the way of Divine Intervention and the use of a parasite to control the population was fantastic in its villainy. I thought the moment she infected Liv with the first half and revealed that the second half was in the air was excellent and I was expecting a cliffhanger finish to come with Tania witnessing what was happening on the warning broadcast Liv put out there. The vents needed to be blocked to prevent the catalyst triggering disaster and the worry in Tania's voice was paramount as she thought she was going to lose the one she loved. The scale of the episode was great in that it really felt like the TARDIS team had been away from each other for a long time judging by the happiness of their reunions. The Doctor insisting on answering what was worse than finding a worm in your apple was amusing but it was actually really clever to bring that full circle when it came to the resolution. It was pretty simple in adjusting natural frequencies and allowing the Rarkelians to flourish, and the Doctor inventing a word that sounded a lot like a dinosaur type was a nice touch to finish on. I'm excited that the Doctor is intending on returning to the source of London 2020 for the paradox as that seems the logical place to go to try and put things right. It's a strong direction to turn to and I'm looking forward to hearing it! But for now, this was another terrific episode to continue the boxset along very nicely. 

Rating: 9/10