Expulsion: The Curse of the Duergar

"I am not here to mourn."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: April 2026

Series: Sixth Doctor Adventures 10.03

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri, Turlough

Synopsis

Shieldmaiden Hervor braves the ghosts of her ancestors to claim her birthright, the sword Tyrfing. Made by the Duergar, the Dwarf kings of the below, the blade is cursed: once drawn, it must kill. Even the Doctor cannot resist the power of the sword, and to the horror of Peri and Turlough, he is forced to take a life...

Verdict

The Curse of the Duergar was another great episode to conclude the Explusion series of Sixth Doctor Adventures! This has been an intriguing trio of adventures for this unexpected and fascinating TARDIS trio! I was surprised how long it took for the trio to enter the story but that's no pro?blem as it set up the world in which they were going to enter very nicely. We don't get a lot of that in the audio format so this was a refreshing change and I do think it definitely helped establish a lot of characters and story elements that would prove critical. I thought the concept behind the Tyrfing as a sword that was a whole lot more than a simple blade was marvellous. Dealing with curses is usually a good deal of fun and that's not just with Danhausen (if you know, you know). The concept of a blade that once drawn must kill was really strong, especially when its possession had the potential to be passed around. The Doctor being the one to take matters into his own hands was honestly what I kind of expected as I had read the synopsis prior to listening in a rare occurrence and that feels like a little bit of a spoiler which is a shame! Especially when it was the cliffhanger! I did enjoy the threat that came from him planning to bypass the need to kill somebody else and take his own life, but things didn’t quite work out as planned. I was honestly expecting the curse to not work on the drawer of the sword but surprisingly to me that didn’t turn out to be the case. Instead, what occurred was something altogether different. The sword actually worked in absorbing the personality of the one it stabbed and with the Doctor, that meant things got a little whacky. Essentially we had the Sixth Doctor revert to the Fifth Doctor but in mind only which was really intriguing and just a little strange. But Colin Baker playing him didn’t feel as impactful as it could have been. I was impressed that Peri noticed the Sixth Doctor wasn’t quite who he normally was because I didn’t get any hint at all! It does just seem a little strange especially in audio to try and have a different actor play a different incarnation of the Doctor. It wasn’t necessarily bad because the Doctor is the Doctor after all, but I didn’t quite get on board with it. Turlough being actually quite pleased by the fact and hoping to have the Fifth Doctor help him save Trion was fascinating and I suspect we will be revisiting that story element in the next series with this trio. It feels impossible not to! I liked the mystery that came from the Dwarf Kings and the whole origin of the sword, and the constant warning being ignored to not be there was quite amusing! Warnings like that are never adhered to. I liked how mature Peri was in this story and it is often difficult to remember that she’s post the events of The Trial of a Time Lord. She’s been a queen for a long time and has definitely grown as a character which is good to explore and brings a different dynamic to her character for sure. I do think the way the Sixth Doctor regained his personality was a little weak and lacking in explanation, but the play on words at the end from Peri about him being the Doctor whether we liked it or not was a very nice touch. Overall, a great episode to conclude the series!

Rating: 8/10