Identity Check

"What gives you the right to question?"

Writer: Eugenie Pusenjak

Format: Audio

Released: February 2023

Series: Short Trips 12.04

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

The Colossus River Diversion is one of the greatest engineering projects in the universe, created by different species all coming together to create something spectacular. However, the Doctor and Rose arrive, old tensions boil to the surface and threaten to derail everything.

Verdict

Identity Check was a great little story to continue my way through the twelfth series of Short Trips! I was excited to see that this was a Ninth Doctor and Rose story as those have been few and far between at Big Finish, with this episode predating the fourth series of Ninth Doctor Adventures that reunites Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in their iconic roles by over two years! So with that just starting this feels like a little bonus which is terrific. I was also very glad to see that Jacob Dudman was the narrator and I must say, his impression of the Ninth Doctor was fantastic. Pun very much intended. It was so good and it provided an immediate sense of authenticity to things. Every aspect of the mannerisms and likeness was absolutely incredible. I don't remember him being this good for the Ninth Doctor Chronicles series so this was a real treat. His take on Rose was less impressive as you would expect, but she didn't have a great deal to do in the story so that wasn't felt at all. It was generic female and that's all it needed to be really. This episode was all about Irving. He was an intriguing character and the concept of somebody literally glitching is intriguing. I thought the fact he was speaking English was going to have something to do with the TARDIS translation circuit and the arrival of the Doctor, but the truth was a little more complicated than that! His dreams of the War for New Rock despite that conflict being over a decade ago was fascinating and the mystery of hearing the name Vragroth was certainly intriguing. The Doctor was keen to help and a quick TARDIS trip later to the source ensured we got answers. I thought the truth regarding the individual now known as Irving was actually pretty sad and showed the horrors of war. When he realised he was on the losing side, he'd taken a dodgy deal to rewrite his life. He took the concept of a disguise to a whole new level as his DNA was rewritten and his memories were overwritten. I can't imagine being willing to give up your memories no matter the life experiences endured, but he was desperate and ashamed. He had conducted murders and the Doctor was not going to let that slide, as he shouldn't. He was pretty harsh towards Irving because that's not who he really was. He had taken someone else's memories and replaced him with the dodgy doozy he'd done the deal with and taken the tech from only able to utilise the resources around him. On a battlefield, those resources are the dead. That was pretty grim, but it didn't take Vragroth too much convincing when the alternative options were the likes of squirrels! Irving seeing his past unravel and the Doctor realising the tech that was holding the new identity and DNA together was dodgy and worn out was certainly a predicament! The Doctor helped ensure he would do right in his returned body and with the conflict long since over, I thought it was could how he saw the Dravonians in a different way. The right way. Oh, that species name is such a rip off! I got very excited at the start as I thought I heard Draconia as the setting. That would be a great place for the Ninth Doctor to visit! It was strong for the Doctor to reminisce on his efforts in the Time War and what he did wrong to then become the better person he was now. That's what Vragroth had going for him now after encountering the Doctor. Overall, a really strong audio adventure! 

Rating: 8/10