Frozen Worlds

"Small decisions weren't meant to change things this much."

Writer: Katharine Armitage 

Format: Audio

Released: June 2023

Series: Interludes 06

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

On the peaceful world of Nauros, the children play a game. There are creatures in the skies – the bat-like Flitters – which feed on possibilities, and the game is to find out who scores the highest. But now, crops are failing and the planet is in danger of starving. And when a time traveller meets the Flitters, it seems things can only get worse...

Verdict

Frozen Worlds was a great little episode! I've jumped ahead a little here in doing the Interlude that comes with the release of the Far From Home series of Seventh Doctor Adventures but given that it features Ace as the companion instead of Harry and Naomi, I felt it was pretty safe to get listening to this one and tick it off. It was a really intriguing concept and I'm almost disappointed that it was just an Interlude and not an extended full-cast adventure! I am absolutely grateful to get the Interludes to accompany a number of releases over the last couple of years – even if they now appear to have come to an end – but they are limited in their scope. They're basically longer Short Trips which is no problem at all, but I do think the idea at the centre of the plot would have benefitted from being longer and with more than just one actor. Sophie Aldred did an absolutely fine job as the narrator for this story, although I must admit it feels a little jarring to hear her familiar voice refer to Ace in the third person! A Companion Chronicle this very much is not. Her Scottish impression when impersonating the Seventh Doctor continues to be wonderful though and it did help with giving the story that authentic feeling, even if he didn't feature a huge amount compared to Ace. I thought Nauros was a strong setting and it's actually quite nice for the Doctor and Ace to visit an apparently peaceful world! It certainly makes for a change. I would have liked Ace to be a little more appreciative of the Doctor showing her the world, but she wasn't exactly thrilled about the ice sight he was providing. The line from him about it being incredibly cool was tremendous though as an absolutely supreme dad joke. I could just hear the disappointment on Ace's face. The Flitters were frankly wonderful and whilst the biting description actually sound like it would hurt and definitely more than a nibble, I was intrigued that it was almost treated like a drug. The concept of the multiverse is of course not new but the scale of it here was incredible. We saw on screen in Rise of the Cybermen that things can be different based on small decisions gravitating one way or the other, but hearing them be endlessly created here was incredible! Literally a decision as small as keeping ahold or dropping a rock by Ace set things into all sorts of temporal directions. Being a time traveller here was unlike anywhere else and exploring that was done really well. I thought comparing the number of worlds they had visited and created was incredible. Ace was down for competition but she was experiencing something she hadn't dreamt of. It was almost like a feeling of being high the entire time, at least that was my interpretation. I can't say I have ever taken a recreational drug in my life. The atmosphere and background music really gave it that kind of feeling which was good because it was just an hour of Ace tripping! Talk about unique. Touching upon different worlds in this regard was brilliant and the potential really was endless with so many decisions differing meaning so many different possibilities. I liked that a lot. Overall, a great little listen! 

Rating: 8/10