The Haunted Windmill: The Crystal Ship

"You're going to turn people into diamonds!"

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: August 2026

Series: Second Doctor Adventures 5.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Raven, Liz

Synopsis

A failed rocket-plane mission crashes to Earth. But where are the crew?

The Doctor and Raven encounter Professor Quigley and his trusty, undervalued assistant, Liz Shaw. Will scientific hubris lea to the end of the human race?

A certain Miss Heriot has other plans in mind.

Verdict

The Crystal Ship was another great and intriguing episode to continue my way through The Haunted Windmill fifth series of Second Doctor Adventures! I'm really enjoying the enigmatic feeling of this series and that continued here. I do think there may be problems when it comes to juggling this as an Earth before the Doctor ever touched down, so even his reference to historical events here didn't matter because he hadn't been present to influence them. He never landed on Earth in 1963 and took Ian and Barbara on board the TARDIS, so is that to suggest that he never became the man he was at this point in chronology and every wrong he righted on Earth was undone? That's my impression but that's so dangerous in terms of making a slip up! Considering that Alan Barnes writes The Fact of Fiction in Doctor Who Magazine every month though, I think he would be the safest person to try this audacious move! I really like how this timeline and version of Earth feels unlike anything we've had before and that's impressive because being unique in the Whoniverse now is not an easy thing to achieve. I like how the TARDIS is also out of action otherwise the Time Lords will track them right away, so having Raven on the search for scientific equipment in 1963 to try and make some repairs is great. Her role here was great fun as she was alongside Professor Quigley and it's safe to say he wasn't impressed with her driving! That was pretty good comic value. I thought the use of Liz as his assistant was intriguing and I like that she meets the Second Doctor here. Neither will know the significance of that though which is a bit of a shame but I do like getting to know a version of her in 1963 prior to her becoming the Doctor's assistant in Spearhead From Space. I'm a huge fan of anything Liz so whatever more we can get of her I'm all game for. I can't wait for the Character Options figure of hers arriving next month! It's a shame that the cast list spoils that the Krotons will appear in this boxset and whilst it's not stated anywhere which episode exactly, given the title contains the word crystal it was pretty clear it would be this one! I'm a big fan of them as a concept because they're so different and the appearance is certainly a standout. I wasn't in huge favour of their voices here as it felt a little too much like an amalgamation of a Dalek and Cyberman, but hearing them use phrases like high brain was excellent. I'm not sure why the Doctor struggled to remember about the Krotons though as it was pretty clear it was them and it can't have been all that long ago since he encountered them alongside Zoe and Jamie. Miss Heriot was a fun character here as Lucius's mother and she was very firm that she was not Zoe which was difficult for the Doctor to accept. I thought the sonic screwdriver playing a part here was intriguing and even though this incarnation is who it debuted with, it still feels too early for the Second Doctor to be using one. It made sense though with the sonic resonance and the crystalline structure of the Krotons. Their plan of dominating the planet and using carbon to basically create a diamond population was pretty diabolical! It was rather ludicrous but I enjoyed it. Liz making the sacrifice to see them off was a strong moment and I wonder if that will come to play a part moving forward as the series rolls on. Overall, another fascinating adventure and I'm liking that the windmill is the Doctor's makeshift laboratory as a good series arc. A great listen! 

Rating: 8/10