Review of A Storm of Angels by Rock_Angel
25 May 2024
This review contains spoilers
A Storm of Angels timeline code number #U0.3 is the 3rd story in this trilogy. It was released in January 2005 written by Marc Platt. Geoffrey Bayldon and Carol Ann Ford reprise there roles as The Doctor and Susan respectfully.
From the start this story is gripping, but will i be gripped for long? The Doctor and Susan are running away from a Timelord for messing with time. At this moment i realise this is basically a what if The Doctor was The Monk. The Doctors recklessness has also lead to Susan falling ill and having treatment for a virus she caught on her travels.
The Angels also make there presents known right at the start, heavenly music starts when they appear and its quite enchanting.
The Tardis landing in the Elizabethan era but highly advance era due to The Doctor. When they arrive they meet Sir Fancies Drake played by Cameron Stweart they talk about there travels. The bond between The Doctor and Susan shines in this story, talking about there adventures of where they think they are, Even talking about the Aztecs which is a reference too a future story in the main timeline.
The temporal agent who was chasing The Doctor goes back on Gallifrey BUT twist Susan is there this reveals that there is a Susan with The Doctor and the president Susan on Gallifrey.
John Dee played by Ivor Danvers also sees the angels in 1588 The Doctor not believing his delusions until he sees them himself. The Doctor seeing The Angels for the first time was an interesting encounter wishing to never loose his granddaughter was also sweet. John Dee is used like a puppet for the angels bidding saying to get rid of The Doctor cause he’s not a believer adds the danger of the story.
Near the end of part 1 there’s an interesting moment where Susan is helping the crew of the ship but it ends up getting another ship shot down. They notice a coffin like shape in distress the doctor trying to shoot it down but it comes aboard, it’s the temporal agent zeuro meaning the doctor is so desperate to get away that he was willing to kill a time lord. I love how I end up siding with Gallifrey, probably for the first time ever they are in the right because of what i know about the show.
Agent zeuro played by Ian Hallard reaction to Susan is confusion at first about who or why she’s here cause she’s meant to be the president its quite funny if not a little off.
The story starts to get a bit biblical horror esc doomsday being on the horizon for earth with a storm of angels on the horizon. These also these jewels on the ship which have an amazing soundscape, they are also controlled by the angels.
The story feels like a big scale finale so far good if not a tiny bit concluded. Its a lot talk about probability and stuff like that, I feel I needed a note pad to follow it fully. In the final 5 mins of part 2 is honestly the best part of the story the music the angels it’s extremely uneasy feeling.
By this time I'm slowly realising the story is dragging a tiny bit, it could be because of the fact the other stories in the trilogy have felt quite quick and this story has a lot to round off on, like how through out the story The Doctors previous actions start catching up on him. The mention of Leonardo from the innocent saying that he could be the cause of this future, for example seeing his death date could have changed the world because of The Doctor its a lot to bring up and expand upon.
The Queen played by Kate Brown was my favourite side character in this story. The Doctor n Susan’s bond again shines through again joking about her enterance to themselves.
Lets talk a little about the villains, The Angels are a presents throughout the story and are the hook being this ever looming presents and if you stare at them too long they can turn you into stone, Its only at the queens court is when they fully make there move, the jewels from earlier start moving and have this mesmerising effect. I do feel the ending is quite blink and you will miss it with the doctor making a mirror from the Tardis to stop the angels, then leading the jewels into space its quite quickly wrapped up.
Later on Susan is in bed from the illness and The Doctor comforts her leading to president Susan interrupting them with fire in her voice. It feels like all the plot points are converging. president Susan being the moral compass is something I love to see near the end of the episode. The two Susan’s talk about the possibility generator and unmade choices this leads to a nice ending where the president Susan stays with the doctor not telling him but he always knows.
It’s quite a sombre end to the trilogy. I did see a few twists coming I definitely have a changed opinion listening to this in the trilogy, Rather then separately. The story is good but I can’t lie in saying I wasn’t a little lost making this the weakest of the trilogy. Which is quite a shame as it was strong until now.