Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! 

“CURIOSITY SHOP: A DOCTOR LOST AND A FRIEND UNMADE”

Curiosity Shop brings Eleven and Valarie’s second set to a close with a story that plays with format and identity in an intriguing way. Taking us back to the junkyard at Totter’s Lane—where Doctor Who began—the episode initially appears to be a nostalgic return to where it all started. But something is deeply wrong. The Doctor has lost his memory, believing himself to be the junkyard’s owner, Mr Foreman, and speaking like the First Doctor. Meanwhile, Valarie struggles to bring him back to himself, telling him stories of his adventures in the hopes of restoring his identity.

But this isn’t really Totter’s Lane at all. Instead, they are trapped in the middle of a war on a far-off colony world, with the Doctor’s amnesia preventing them from stopping the violence. And as Valarie fights to bring him back, she is slowly sacrificing something of herself in the process.

A DOCTOR IN PIECES

The most fascinating aspect of the episode is how the Doctor’s memory gradually returns, shifting through different incarnations as Valarie reminds him of who he is. Each time she visits him, his voice and personality shift—sometimes subtly, sometimes drastically—as he recalls more of himself.

Jacob Dudman, already an excellent Eleven impersonator, takes on an ambitious challenge here: portraying Eleven as if he were slipping in and out of past Doctors. It’s a difficult balancing act, and while some of his voices are more successful than others, the overall effect works well. His First Doctor is the weakest of the lot—sounding more like a generic elderly Englishman than a true Hartnell impression—but that actually fits the story’s conceit. This isn’t really the First Doctor; it’s Eleven trying to be him.

Dudman fares better with some other incarnations. His Jon Pertwee is decent, though not as polished as Tim Treloar’s, and his Christopher Eccleston is surprisingly strong. His Tenth Doctor is particularly good, capturing the cadence and energy of David Tennant’s performance well. However, his Fourth and Sixth Doctor impressions are a struggle—his Tom Baker is almost unrecognisable, and his Colin Baker lacks the necessary presence. Again, this isn’t a deal-breaker since these voices are meant to be distorted through Eleven’s subconscious, but it does make some of the transitions feel clunky.

What does work brilliantly is how Eleven shifts between these voices mid-sentence, particularly when small memories break through unexpectedly. Those moments of instability—when his usual Eleven mannerisms creep back in—are a testament to Dudman’s skill.

A SLOW DESCENT INTO SACRIFICE

The bulk of the episode is structured around Valarie alternating between her desperate attempts to restore the Doctor and her interactions with Golas, who provides a ground-level view of the colony’s worsening situation. These conversations help build the tension, as time is running out and the war threatens to consume everything. But the real emotional weight of the story comes from Valarie’s slow sacrifice.

As the Doctor tinkers in his makeshift junkyard, he absentmindedly asks Valarie for small parts of her cybernetic body—bits and pieces for his experiments. At first, it seems harmless, even whimsical. But as time passes, it becomes clear that Valarie is giving up more and more of herself, to the point where she is being slowly dismantled.

Safiyya Ingar delivers a heartbreaking performance, moving from Valarie’s usual confidence to something much more fragile and broken. At first, she’s hopeful that she can bring the Doctor back. Then, as he continues to take from her without realising the cost, she begins to crumble. By the time he sells his own TARDIS and she finally gives up hope of rescue, she is barely holding herself together—physically and emotionally.

A RUSHED RESOLUTION, A LASTING WOUND

After all this slow, methodical buildup, the resolution comes a little too easily. The final threat—the battle fleet poised to destroy the colony—is banished with a single rousing speech from the Doctor. It’s meant to be a grand Doctor moment, much like his speech in The Pandorica Opens, but it feels slightly unearned given how much the episode focused on internal struggles rather than external threats. The moment of the Doctor passing his role onto Golas, asking him to protect the colony in his stead, is a nice touch, though.

But then comes the gut-punch ending.

The Doctor’s TARDIS and his brain circuits have been fried by the attack, and he has no choice but to rebuild them from scratch. And that means taking back everything Valarie had given him—replacing her lost parts with new ones, effectively undoing her sacrifices in a cold, mechanical way. He never truly saw what she had given up for him.

This decision will have dire consequences in the next story when Valarie, realising how much the Doctor has used her, finally confronts him in what promises to be an explosive reckoning.

📝VERDICT: 8/10

Curiosity Shop is a haunting, understated character piece that takes a fascinating deep dive into identity, memory, and sacrifice. The concept of the Doctor reconstructing himself through past incarnations is a brilliant one, even if some of the impressions don’t quite land. The slow, creeping horror of Valarie giving up more and more of herself is masterfully done, making the final revelation all the more painful.

The rushed resolution and slightly uneven voice work hold it back from true greatness, but this is still an excellent, emotionally charged story that sets the stage for a devastating fallout.