Connections: Albie's Angels

"Everything is as written."

Writer: Roy Gill

Format: Audio

Released: December 2022

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures 10.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

When the Doctor and friends hunt down time anomalies in 2020s Soho, Helen steps into the past and meets the brother she thought she'd lost forever. 

But there are Weeping Angels in London – and one of the stone assassins wants something from the Doctor and Liv...

Verdict

Albie's Angels was another excellent episode to conclude what has been a consistently brilliant Connections series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! And this might be the biggest connection of the entire boxset as we dove deep back into Helen's past. I think it was good to really explore some emotional elements with here as we're still feeling quite closely removed from the events of Stranded and that was certainly more focused on Liv and her relationship with Tania. This time though the finale was firmly about Helen and at times I really did think this was going to be her last hurrah. It would have been a fitting way for her to depart as companion but I'm absolutely delighted that she will be sticking around! I am loving the trio of the Eighth Doctor, Liv and Helen and it's lovely to hear how much they really do all care for each other. The setting of 2025 did surprise me a little as Liv mentioned I can't imagine this would be a decade they would be keen to be returning to after everything that happened on Baker Street and beyond! They'd done a lot of damage and had a lot of damage done to them. I'm surprised Liv didn't mention Tania with it only being a few years removed from leaving again even though we know she ends up back with her, she doesn't know that for certain at this point despite having the best intentions! The return of the Weeping Angels was very exciting and they worked well in this audio for sure. I thought it showed a different sign of the lonely assassins and having one being tormented and used to basically go back in time and acquire vinyls to then sell them as classics in the modern day was quite something. Surely there are easier ways to make some money? The continuity with The Side of Angels was great and was always going to happen when the Weeping Angels were back. Helen knew what to do and the way she timed things perfectly to sink one was sensational! That was a really innovative way to tackle their threat which I loved. Helen being shocked at unexpectedly being reunited with her lost brother Albie was great stuff and the emotional pull of the episode was strong from there. It was so nice to hear her have some with the sibling she thought she would never see him again but it was also a dark reminder of the recent past. The year Doctor Who was first broadcast and men were being outed and reported to the police for being gay and sending love letters. It's crazy to think how recent this was but we cannot escape history which I thought this episode did a fine job of capturing. Helen got to learn what happened to Albie and why she was taken from him, but at the same time she was also thankful to the Weeping Angels because without being touched by one she would never have had him returned. That was some solace to take from things! It was a fun image to hear Helen having the spare (apparently!) sonic screwdriver in hand but that backfired and helped Jack Harper power his Angel torture. Audio is a difficult format for the Weeping Angels but I appreciated how they borrowed a voice only minimally. The Angels escaping torture and embracing was a bit of a shock and brought a whole new meaning to the term lonely assassins. What do Weeping Angels get up to when nobody is looking? The prospect of the Angels embracing together but not being able to look at one another was deeply horrifying. What love is that? The Doctor and the Angels combining together was a nice touch and I liked how the latter party kept their end of the bargain once freed of the torture from Harper. He was hardly a nice guy and his fate was befitting of the man he was. Just when he thought he could continue to exert control he was sent back spiralling in time. The little song at the end from Albie's band was a nice way to finish and the lyrics there focusing on goodbye really did make me think Helen was in danger of departing. Not just yet by the looks! Overall, a superb finale to a really strong trio of episodes. A fantastic series!

Rating: 9/10