The Hallamshire Incident

"How do I tell my sister she can't date an Ice Warrior?"

Writer: Rochana Patel

Format: Audio

Released: July 2026

Series: Thirteenth Doctor Adventures 1.07

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz

Synopsis

A huge UFO has crashed in Hallamshire Forest. Are there survivors? Is the site safe? There are a lot of questions to answer. With UNIT and Torchwood gone, the police must step up, while keeping the incident under wraps...

Fortunately, they have officers with extensive experience of otherworldly threats... Patricia Menzies is on her way. Yasmin Khan is being recalled. But Yaz's sister, Sonya, believes the world has the right to know the truth about aliens...

Verdict

The Hallamshire Incident was an excellent episode to continue the ongoing Thirteenth Doctor Adventures! This really was a terrific story to kickstart the second half of the series and after an ongoing story arc surrounding the Tourist, this really served as a fine example of just going back to basics and giving us a stellar adventure. This developed and advanced the relationship between the Doctor and Yaz massively, even if it does contradict quite important elements of Eve of the Daleks. If Yaz was going to confide in anyone about her feelings for the Doctor, how could it not be her sister? Sonya returning here was really well done and I thought she served a very strong purpose. I liked how she was initially arrested and her connections from her surname didn't get her very far when it came to trying to convince the officer to not go through with his decision. But she was withholding evidence when it came to the crashed Ice Warrior ship which was amusing and even Yaz basically dobbed her in about her claiming to not have a phone by admitting she's never off it! I thought Sonya was really clever though as she realised that whenever strange things were happening, Yaz would be back around. Namedropping the events of Fugitive of the Judoon and Revolution of the Daleks as examples made a lot of sense and I also liked how Sonya harkened back to Arachnids in the UK as well when it came to Yaz's feelings for the Doctor. The way Sonya threw those events back at Yaz as examples of a liar when she claimed to be able to spot one was brilliant stuff and a really powerful moment. I also love the series continuity in having Sonya mention Vampire Weekend with her attending Gina's funeral and also getting to showcase history with her Lionesses of Winter celebrity figure mention. Reunions weren't limited to just Yaz and her sister though as PC Khan was given a call by a returning Patricia Menzies! I thought that was a brilliant idea when it comes to Yaz's employment and she was owed a favour from the Doctor. The Thirteenth Doctor wasn't quite the Doctor she had in mind though! I thought their reunion was wonderful and the dynamic was just perfect with this female incarnation of the Doctor alongside an older Menzies who had been promoted. The threat of the Ice Warriors was really strong and I love that the Thirteenth Doctor has now had an encounter with them. There aren't many incarnations yet to face them now across some sort of format! The contrast between Lord Vaznyr and Ssorl was strong and the revelation that the ship was actually decommissioned and reconstituted as a prison ship worked perfectly. Sonya knew the Ice Lord was lying and having her on hand to detect that was marvellous. I thought the threat of the anti-matter reactor exploding was pretty darn severe and the action that came in preventing it from exploding with Ssorl using his own armour remote control wise to save the Doctor as she stepped in was tremendous. I wonder if we'll get more of the supposed Earth Division that is in place of UNIT and Torchwood at this time headed by Menzies? It seems perfect for more appearances down the line or even their own spinoff! Overall, a fantastic episode to continue the series. More please! 

Rating: 9/10