The Doctor and Carnacki: The Institute of Forgotten Souls

"Do you believe, Doctor, that madness can ever become airborne?"

Writer: Jonathan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: November 2024

Series: Seventh Doctor Adventures 6.03

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

In the heart of England in 1936 there lies a home for wounded men. It is a strange, shadowed place, full of secrets.

Terrible beasts prowl the grounds, as if guarding something dreadful. Inmates are disappearing, picked off one by one, while a singular resident – a certain, now retired ghost finder – bravely staves off the darkness.

Yet tonight is the night when it's all going to end. For tonight is the night when the Doctor comes to call...

Verdict

The Institute of Forgotten Souls was a great episode to conclude The Doctor and Carnacki series of Seventh Doctor Adventures! This has been a thoroughly enjoyable series with the boxset being really consistent in terms of both quality and feel. I must admit that I barely knew anything about Carnacki before listening to this series but I now feel like I know him rather well after three different adventures spanning a large portion of his life. It's been a fascinating tale and this kind of thing was perfect for the Seventh Doctor. I was glad that the finale kept with the dark atmosphere and tone and I don't really think it had much of a choice given what was happening. The titular institute was very eery as a setting and given that we've had two episodes already with Carnacki, it makes his predicament and appearance here all the more painful. He's clearly not himself but neither is time and I thought that was great to play around with. The interwar period is a favourite of mine because the impact the Great War had on society was huge even here eighteen years after concluding, and little do the people know what's to come in just a few years with an even worse atrocity and conflict. Carnacki not being himself was intriguing but I loved his reaction to hearing that the Doctor had arrived. With the appearance confirmed, Carnacki was back in full detective mode and I thought that was good to explore. I was impressed with how this felt a little like Hide with the contained setting but with more of a darker theme. So it's quite ironic that the big surprise was the Actually as an agent of the White Guardian! Light amongst the darkness indeed. I thought that was nicely done and was definitely not something I envisaged happening. I thought the kind of continuity was good and with the taunting from the Actually it was clear that something familiar was going to be revealed, but I don't think I'd have ever guessed! The Doctor challenging it and communicating with his bravado familiar of this incarnation was wonderful stuff and I must say I don't think I've enjoyed this incarnation more than in this boxset. It really has been a sublime performance from Sylvester McCoy throughout and that very much continued in the finale. I thought the concept of the Actually being reprimanded by the White Guardian was a neat touch and showed that even on a scale as wide but as simple as good and bad, light and dark, that there are still elements that go rogue. And rogue he went! Taking Carnacki out of time and preventing his death in the First World War is a pretty big deal and definitely an example of going off perimeter for sure. I think the reprimand was very much deserved. I thought the last five minutes or so of the story felt like an epilogue and whilst I'm not always a huge fan of that, I understand why that happened given the timeframe of the series as a whole and the journey Carnacki has been on. And I mean, surviving your supposed death is a pretty big deal! He would need the Doctor to talk him through and guide him to where he will end up. Overall, an eery tale and a fine way to conclude what has been a thoroughly enjoyable trio of adventures! A great listen.  

Rating: 8/10