False Friends

"This is the planet of the Autons."

Writer: Timothy X Atack

Format: Audio

Released: October 2026

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 4.08

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

Minnie and Gary are trapped on a planet of robots, a fake Earth, and they're the only humans. Hoping no-one spots their humanity, they summon the one person they know will answer their call for help.

But can the Doctor and Rose save Gary and Minnie from this false Earth – and who has built this very bad copy of human civilisation in the first place?

Verdict

False Friends was a great episode to continue my way through the fourth series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! I am loving the bimonthly release schedule with this series alternating with its Thirteenth Doctor counterpart and it's just so good to really max out the time the Ninth Doctor and Rose spent travelling. It's incredible to think that by the time this series concludes we'll be at nearly fifty episodes of Ninth Doctor Adventures which is just staggering but I am so thankful for it. I am sure this won't be the last for Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper together, but even if it is I am so happy we got a returning monster for them to face. I remember reading in the Doctor Who Magazine preview interview when the Ninth Doctor Adventures were announced by Big Finish that the Autons were returning, but I'm sure then it was stated that it was in the seventh episode. Of course, that didn't come to be last time out in Dark Tides so I kind of forgot about it. I thought the nature of the episode was building towards something familiar and it was clear from the hints that the reveal of the masters of the strange mirror planet of Earth was going to be something or someone we knew as the listener, but with talk of robots I was suspecting the Kraal! I thought things were oddly reminiscent of The Android Invasion which was fun and I wonder if that was done on purpose? Either way, the moment Rose and the Doctor realised they were on the planet of the Autons was superb. The Nestene Consciousness was out to conquer humanity once again, but this time around it was channeling its inner Monks and having a practice run. I like that as a concept even if the scale is so unbelievably huge because it is unique. I thought Billie Piper was excellent in once again capturing the younger Series 1 era of Rose as a character and considering she's playing that role over twenty years later, it really is continuously impressive. It really adds a lot and her reaction in learning that they were tackling the Nestene Consciousness again was fantastic. It really sold the threat as being a big one and her first encounter was always going to leave a mark! I thought Minnie and Gary as the supposed only humans on the planet were really strong characters and it was clear they were made for each other! Would they really be just friends after everything they had been through even if Gary had a fiancé back home? It would appear not if the hug at the end of the episode is anything to go by. Playing around with two versions of Rose as one was an Auton was done pretty well, but I do think the doppelgänger plot device is not best placed on audio. Minnie did her best in labelling the respective versions but we can't see the slight tear in the shirt and Piper has her voice so it's very hard to differentiate. The human Rose admitting that she couldn't prove she was human was proof enough and I rather liked that in its simplicity. Being honest in a situation like that wouldn't be easy but she did so and that saved her. I think the ending was a little out of nowhere in that exposing the facade was essentially enough, but Gary and Minnie were even Autons and they didn't know it. They accepted the fact which was intriguing and the Doctor being prepared to leave them behind was brutal but Rose was on hand to save them by convincing the Doctor to think otherwise. I like how he knows the Nestene Consciousness isn't defeated, but he's certainly provided a setback here! Overall, a very good listen to continue the seres along! 

Rating: 8/10