In the Bleak Midwinter: The Empty Man

"Give me who I am."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: December 2023

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures 12.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, Audacity

Synopsis

Good evening, faithful listener. It's time for Eldridge Brinkwood, that splendid scribe of scary stories, to tell another of his tales this Christmas Eve.

Except this is a horror like no other. The Doctor and his friends have stirred something in the dark, something ruthless and relentless. And the Empty Man must feast...

Verdict

The Empty Man was a decent episode to continue my way through the In the Bleak Midwinter series of Eighth Doctor Adventures. I thought this followed up the Twenty-Four Doors in December opener in strong fashion, but it almost followed it a little too much. I think in isolation this is an absolutely fine episode, but I think part of why my rating isn't higher (despite still being good!) is because it felt very repetitive and similar to yesterday's offering. It followed it in style very much and that was a tad off-putting at times to be honest which was a shame. I'm liking the slow burn of Audacity getting to know the Doctor and Charley well, and she's starting to see through him a little bit now which is fascinating. I like the idea of her reading him and the fact she's heard the Doctor refer to Charley once again now as the girl he had saved was brilliant. I'm sure it will but I'm looking forward to hear how that plays out moving forward. We know Audacity will leave a long time before Charley does so I'm keen to explore this aspect and the gap in the chronology. It's exciting stuff for sure. I thought Eldrige Brinkwood was a pretty good character and he was certainly mysterious. The creepy Christmas theme continued for this series as I expected and with him being a supposed horror author, the feel of his readings were definitely eery. I just don't think we leant enough into the concept of the titular Empty Man which was a shame. I liked how Charley was understandably disturbed by seeing a creature baring her face from the Vortex and the way things seemed to return to that early Eighth Doctor and Charley era with the reference to Ramsay was lovely. It really did feel nostalgic and it's lovely to hear. Audacity being shocked by how much Charley was taking things in her stride and her lack of surprise at finding out there was a Second World War showed how much of a seasoned traveller she was now which was good, and presents a fascinating companion dynamic. Brinkwood continuously being questioned by the Doctor on his horror works was interesting and the way he had to keep denying that he was the author of whatever piece the Doctor presented was fun and almost harsh. By the end he was sick of not being recognised and that was part of the problem for the Doctor. He should have known about Eldridge and that led him to questioning whether he was even real. The sacrifice of Eldridge was admirable and the impact this had on the timeline was pretty strong! I liked the concept behind everybody he was due to meet being pushed out of sync by the creature. It just felt like there could have been slightly more impact. There was a lack of urgency and action for me that could have really given this a better feel. The creature suffering from draining the Doctor was amusing in that it was then haunting itself, making it quite the ongoing cycle! I thought the way some semblance of Eldridge was saved in the Marci painting was a nice touch to finish on, but again the feeling at the end of the Doctor not being wholly sure on things was familiar. It must be a theme and I hope there is a payoff, but for now I felt this was holding the episode back slightly. Overall, a good episode to continue the series! 

Rating: 7/10