The Waters of Amsterdam

"Love conquers all."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: January 2016

Series: Monthly Adventures 208

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

Reunited with the Doctor and Nyssa, Tegan joins them on a trip tp Amsterdam's Rijkmuseum to see a new exhibition of the work of Rembrandt van Rijn, featuring his drawings of "Vessels of the Stars". The Doctor is astonished to discover that they are designs for spaceships that would actually work, and decides to pop back to the Dutch Golden Age for a quiet word with Rembrandt – but the world-weary artist is no mood to help.

Meanwhile, strange forces are swirling in the canals, creatures from ancient myth, the water, goblin-like Nix. What is their connection to the mysterious Countess Mach-Teldak – and to the events of Tegan's life during her year away from the Doctor?

Verdict

The Waters of Amsterdam was a very strong story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures! This has kicked off another trilogy and this time around it’s a very fun and quirky timeline placement in catching up with Tegan immediately after the events of Arc of Infinity. That’s some really good placement and there’s definitely room there for some more stories. The fact the story takes place in Amsterdam itself is excellent and that city is one of the most beautiful on the planet so I could appreciate everything that was going down there. A water creature is a brilliant monster to have for this city setting because the canals that go throughout the city honestly are endlessly beautiful. It’s stunning so providing an aquatic danger is great stuff. I thought the Nix were an intriguing villain and them being on the hunt for the Countess was strong. I liked the direction and learning more about what happened between them was fascinating. They were relentless in their pursuit which was impressive and unfortunately for humanity, they were in the way and were just collateral damage. Nothing else mattered except retrieving the Countess and dishing out justice. Initially believing that she was the last of her species that they had wiped out was good, but with the feeling of wrapping things up in the TARDIS at the end of part three it was clear she was going to turn. Perhaps I’ve just consumed far too much of the Whoniverse but that predictability was a shame. It was still a good moment though and the allegiance of Kyle was certainly a surprise. He was a really good character and I loved getting some real life history and background for Tegan. I mean what else was she going to do after being left behind in Time-Flight? Of course she was going to get into a relationship across the year. I thought the flashback sequences of how they met aboard the flight was great and it was fun that she ended up getting fired pretty much just by being her normal boisterous self. I was taken aback a little by the revelation that Kyle was an android as it seemed a bit sudden which certainly made an impact! Tegan already was not exactly thrilled at being proposed to after two months and considering Kyle had constructed himself on Tegan’s ideals and she still wasn’t happy was pretty hilarious. To be fair though, her luck is due a turn! She doesn’t get it easy. I loved how she was keen to point out that she was Australian as well when referred to as an English spy. I’m patriotically Welsh in the same way and that’s certainly a distinction I would be making. I thought the race across time was good and venturing across centuries and the Doctor just popping back to see Rembrandt and ask about his spaceship blueprints was glorious in its simplicity. He was a good historical character and it’s nice to know that he would be remembered much better in time compared to his contemporaries. Unappreciated in his own time indeed. I thought the shift in part four with the Countess threatening and asserting her control after it was established she was actually the one who wiped out her people was strong, but it almost felt like an epilogue after the Nix were basically dealt with. The alternate timeline in 1983 based on what she had implemented in the past was good and warranted more time for exploration. It was really interesting though and I wanted more! The use of rain with the Nix to finally wipe out the Countess was strong and she didn’t know when to quit when she was ahead. She severely underestimated the Doctor! Overall, a really strong story with a wonderful setting that perhaps should have been longer to warrant depth. Still, a great listen!

Rating: 8/10