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11 July 2025
Catastrophix I don't like being mean about a story, and it definitely suffers from being between two great stories, but this one is not for me at all.
I'll start with the positives - it has a great 7th Doctor moment at the start when he nudges the boat's captain into doing the right thing I love that characterisation of 7 as someone who'll gently nudge people into doing what's right rather than doing it for them (very much reminds me of part 3 of Gods and Monsters which is heavy praise). I was hoping for a story where we see 7 slowly deescalate the apocalypse, unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. Another positive is its set in Cumbria. As a Cumbrian, I do like to see Cumbria in Doctor Who (especially after 2013's Hide besmirched our county's biggest town).
Now for the negatives. The story has a lot of really interesting ideas. BUT, in my opinion, at every point it chooses to be as uninteresting as possible. It's got a show, don't tell issue. We're told how Catastrophix destroy the planet rather than shown, told that 7 has been at every key point of Catastrophix rather than shown, etc. Plus for what is effectively Harry and Naomi's last story, they feel incredibly under-utilised. Compare that with other companions last stories: Hex, Charley, Molly, Evelyn, Valarie, etc, we see them at their best. I don't think we see that for Harry or Naomi, which is disappointing. Plus, I think it just kills the pacing for the better story, With the Angels by being sandwiched between it's two halves. I think another issue I had was that I kept expecting the Angels to be in some way relevant, or at least something from With the Angels. But that never happened, which just makes marathoning the boxset (As I did) feel a touch disjointed.
It's a decent enough re-introduction to Ray, but even then, she feels a bit like a prop. Aside from a few references to Delta and the Bannerman, she could really be anyone and have no change in her impact on the story.
Muddyviolet
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