The Last Days of the Powell Estate

"A vibe on the passing of time."

Writer: Timothy X Atack

Format: Audio

Released: October 2025

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 4.02

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

South London, 2036. The Doctor and Rose team up with an urban explorer to investigate the case of Mr Fingers, an invisible killer haunting an abandoned corner of the city. If you feel a hand on your shoulder: don't look around...

Verdict

The Last Days of the Powell Estate was another great episode to continue my way through the fourth series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! Whilst this is the fourth series, it also does feel like the first in many ways with it being a bimonthly schedule and having the wonderful addition of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler in the companion role. It really does make a difference to have her around and I'm so impressed with how Piper has captured the essence of Rose during Series 1. That's not as easy as it sounds and she plays the part with that youthful immaturity which I think is fantastic and really makes things feel authentic. Having Rose around also allows the Ninth Doctor stories to explore present day Earth and returning to the Powell Estate feels like a no brainer. There's a lot of focus on Rose's home estate where she grew up and it makes me think that perhaps a bimonthly schedule was not always the plan, but alas here we are and I've got no complaints. It's a very strong setting and it's always fun to have Jackie Tyler around! Especially with the Ninth Doctor in particular. I really enjoyed going to 2036 and jumping thirty years into the future was pretty bleak for Rose given the state of the Powell Estate now. It was abandoned and a ghost town, and that obviously shouldn't be the case. The way they interrupted Ellis as he was hosting his abandoned spaces show was terrific and he was a really strong character. He clearly fancied Rose and she wasn't exactly against him which led to some funny comments from the Doctor. The events of Dalek and The Long Game with Adam weren't exactly much distance in the past! Has she forgot about Mickey? I think the answer is yes. I liked the mystery surrounding the Powell Estate and linking Rose in 2036 to her mother three decades earlier was a nice touch when Ellis revealed it was around that time where things started to go wrong. The Hyphen were a fascinating prospect and you could sense trepidation in even the Doctor's voice. Even to him after everything he had seen they were like a myth. His describing of the universe as actually not having a physical edge was intriguing and the scale of it is again something which is almost incomprehensible, but even on those boundaries this is where the Hyphen came from. To him, time was not linear and just something to pass through like going from one place to another. So that meant he could easily attack across the span of thirty years like it was nothing! That was exciting. I thought the mystery behind Mr Fingers was excellent and whilst the Doctor wasn't sure about that name to describe the Hyphen, I really enjoyed it and it felt dark and eery. It was perfect horror! I thought Betty was a marvellous character as Jackie's friend and the fact her cast listing actually details her as Brainy Betty is hilarious. She added a lot of humour and I did like her intelligence! Her explanation of the effect of how the Hyphen was dealt with was actually really helpful. The Hyphen feeding on fear was not an original concept, but doing so at this point in the Doctor's life meant we got a really strong moment from the Ninth Doctor as he had to relive his actions at the end of the Time War. The scale of it was still something that haunted him and it was happening always, across time. This was a stellar moment from Christopher Eccleston. I thought they managed to trap the Hyphen in the circle maybe a tad too easily considering the lore and mythological significance to the being, but it worked with that fear exuding from the Doctor. I was less keen on the idea of him being scared by Jackie. Annoyed? Sure. Scared? Come off it! Overall though, another strong episode to continue the series! 

Rating: 8/10