Dare You

"Even aliens can fall on hard times."

Writer: Lisa McMullin

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 4.03

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

Something or someone is playing truth or dare with the people on the Powell Estate. And it's dangerous to play games with a Time Lord. 

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can REALLY hurt you.

Verdict

Dare You was an outstanding audio adventure to continue my way through the fourth series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! This really does seem to have rounded out a Powell Estate trilogy rather nicely and whilst that does serve as a great reintroduction to the era of Series 1, I do hope we can now take the Ninth Doctor and Rose beyond Earth which barely happened on screen. Now's the chance with the nine episodes remaining over the next year and a half to really push the boundaries, but this was a solid start in doing that in a familiar setting! I'm loving the emphasis on Jackie because she really is a fun character and injects charisma and humour into a story with ease. I thought the performances of Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper once again were mesmeric in bringing back to life their characters of two decades ago and it really does feel incredibly authentic. Touching upon the events of Father's Day here as well was brilliant in terms of chronology and the emotional state of Rose. The insinuation that she might subconciosuly blame the Doctor for him being dead despite him always having died in 1987 is quite incredible. But the mind plays tricks and gets us questioning and that's where this episode excelled. The concept behind the Hellion was really impressive and it definitely had vibes of being part of the Pantheon that would challenge the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors. It was a cosmic mischief maker and that's got great potential but I think the fact it was also immature added a lot. For Rose it was actually something of an emotional leaver which I admired and showed why she's a very good companion. The discussion on those internal desires that could become a consumption was marvellous and I loved the idea of the fear of falling actually being a desire to fly. That's somewhat beautiful. Digging deep into the Ninth Doctor being a Time Lord here felt good because that wasn't exactly always at the forefront on screen, but for him he would be incredibly dangerous without filters. The Hellion taking away his natural restraints and throwing him into the Void was really fascinating stuff. I enjoyed how the curiosity of the Doctor got the better of him in being consumed by the words and the desire to explore what might happen when the Hellion got what it wanted. The fact all of the desires of those on the Powell Estate were linked to silly things was quite amusing and I couldn't blame Jackie for wanting to topple the impressive display of baked beans in a supermarket! And touching upon the urge to step off a platform at a train station really resonated with me as I use that mode of transport a lot and I can confirm that urge absolutely exists! The way the Hellion spoke the title of the episode was freaky and worked really well in highlighting it as something evil. But Rose was on hand to show compassion and she would be the filter now for the Doctor that the mischief maker had taken away. I thought that was a lovely touch. I also liked exploring what Rose may be scared of and the Bad Wolf reference there was a delight. That just enhanced the authentic feel. I liked how the Doctor had to go back into the Void once he was pulled out and he was going to be ruthless to the Hellion, but Rose had a made a promise and with some companion convincing the mischief maker was grateful for the mercy that was shown. The Doctor still has a dark side as was clear here despite his filter being removed and Rose describing him as the scariest man she knew only perpetuated that which I loved. Overall, easily the best of the series so far and sets things up further moving forward which really excites me! A marvellous listen. 

Rating: 10/10

Hellion = cosmic mischief maker