Hidden in Plain Sight: Tyranny of the Judoon

"We are here to protect you."

Writer: Ben Tedds

Format: Audio

Released: August 2026

Series: Eleventh Doctor Adventures 2.01

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Eleanor 

Synopsis

An ominous threat has left the people of Hefestis living under the shadow of the Judoon. But award-winning journalist Octavia Cain is here to sniff out the truth. She's even found two Shadow Proclamation detectives who'll help her unmask it.

If only the Doctor and Eleanor were actually from the Shadow Proclamation...

Verdict

Tyranny of the Judoon was a great start to the Hidden in Plain Sight second series of Eleventh Doctor Adventures! I really enjoyed The First Question opening series and Eleanor Fong made an instant impact as a very likeable companion. I was delighted to see that a second series was coming pretty quickly and starting off with a Judoon two-parter is definitely appealing! I've always thought of the Judoon as a more neutral monster rather than an enemy and given that they are essentially an intergalactic police force that makes sense. That wasn't quite the case here though and that was good to have them in a more antagonistic role. They suited it well and whilst it was clear that the Shadow Ambassador was the central villain of the piece, the Judoon more than played their part! Eleanor is already very well settled into her position as companion but it's good to maintain that things are still new to her. She was revelling in the sights here and even in her description of the Judoon it was just good. She's really likeable and she isn't afraid to take initiative which I also admire. It's a really strong companion trait and I have nothing but good things to say about her at the moment. I hope this run is a long one, even if it is download only! I hope that isn't putting people off from experiencing her because she really is tremendous. I thought the setting of Hefestis here was intriguing and the politics of this society were clearly not all they ought to be. That was evident from the role of Octavia Cain who was a superb character as a journalist. Knowing that the second episode of this series is basically a part two of this one, I feel like she was killed off way too quickly! It was an impactful moment for sure and Eleanor goes through a lot in blaming herself because it was she who Octavia told to run on and buy a little time for, but she was just so good! She was really fun and I loved how she reacted in finding that the Doctor and Eleanor were also off worlders. The plan of the Ambassador was dastardly indeed in basically trying to terraform the planet into another, and then move it! It's an audacious plan but the Judoon fit in nicely there with the links to the Shadow Proclamation and the legalities being proclaimed. Cromarty was a bit of a fun and lighthearted character in a story that was otherwise subtly rather dark. I'm not sure he offered all that much other than some lodgings but potentially with Octavia out of the picture now he'll take a more central role in the next episode? It'll certainly be interesting to hear. I wasn't all that fussed by the cliffhanger with the Ambassador and company revealing themselves to not actually be all they appeared to be. It was definitely a feeling of imposter and plans were clearly more advanced than the Doctor thought! It was very reminiscent of Aliens of London for me with the skin shedding, although in a way that seemed like a little bit of a knock off which was a shame. I thought the bulk of the episode was really strong but I don't think the next episode will have the same feeling which is a shame. I sincerely hope I'm wrong but the cliffhanger didn't do much for me! Overall though, a really good episode to kick off the series.

Rating: 8/10