The Song of the Reed Man

"I feel the tremors on the great web of life."

Writer: Katharine Wheeler

Format: Audio

Released: October 2026

Series: Halloween 2.02

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

When the Doctor and Jo land in the marshes of Essex, in 1562, they find themselves at the dawn of England's witch hunting mania. 

But lurking beneath the waterways, there lies an ancient evil, ready to hunt and feast. Can the Doctor help an isolated coven see reason, before it's too late?

Verdict

The Song of the Reed Man was another great episode to continue my way through the second series of Halloween! I think the title was more than enough to feel like a kind of horror adventure so it was an added bonus when this was revealed as the Krynoid story of the set! I think The Seeds of Doom has made a profound impact with the Krynoid being an instant classic of a monster, but their spinoff range at Big Finish with Planet Krynoid means they were made for this boxset. The vibe of the two series we've had pf that so far has been incredibly dark and whilst we never reached those heights here, there were definite similarities which I appreciated. I thought it was good to not name the Krynoid until a good half an hour or so in and I realised that with talk of tendrils and the like that they were going to arrive. I think in terms of Third Doctor Adventures continuity this episode was set quite a bit ahead of where I'm currently at with the Third Doctor travelling alongside an older version of Jo here, but I don't think I was jeopardised by not being up to date! It was nice to hear Katy Manning perform a little closer to her natural and current self whilst maintaining that youthful charm Jo is famous for. She's such an iconic companion and I'll be very intrigued to catch up on her return to the TARDIS alongside her Doctor in her older age, especially thinking how that will tie into Death of the Doctor at all. I thought the sixteenth century setting here was really good and I liked going down the witch route. That feels perfect for a Halloween release on paper but I'm not actually sure going into the past was the best way to represent that. The Doctor was insistent that there was no magic at play which was true to his reaction in other witch stories like The Shakespeare Code and The Witchfinders so I appreciated the consistency there. The Third Doctor feels like a strong incarnation to take on the Krynoid too and I like that it's clear he knows them well despite their first television appearance being some way off chronologically. His line about them being a glorified bramble was magnificent too and perfectly in line with what I would expect of this incarnation. Tim Treloar was sublime to be honest here in capturing the essence and likeness of the Third Doctor. The religious element of the episode was fascinating stuff and I thought Mother Ada was a really strange and intriguing character. Her fate at the end of the story as she was taken over by the Krynoid but fought from within was admirable stuff and you could sense the kind of appreciation the Doctor had for what she did. Godith was a really strong character too even if I constantly kept thinking of her as goddess with the way people were saying her name in their respective accents. I don't think they'd be any good with Welsh names. The Marshall was an amusing character in how quickly he was fooled by the Doctor into thinking he was part of Her Majesty's Privy Council because that's exactly what he suggested and the Time Lord just ran with it. The Krynoid going more than just plant life consumption was really good and I think this might have actually benefited from some more time. Still, it was a really good hour or so that was just dark enough whilst feeling like a traditional episode. A great listen to continue the series! 

Rating: 8/10