Just before listening to this story, I was listening to a review of the latest TV episode of the program (which is, at the time of writing this, “Legend of the Sea Devils”). The reviewer mentioned how Doctor Who should look towards its past failed ideas and try those again, instead of trying to recapture existing magic.

Color me surprised when the next audio I listen to does exactly that. And succeeds.

Domain of the Voord has a lot going on in it’s 2 hour length. It starts with a battle on the open seas that feels like a grand space opera. It feels as massive as it presents itself. It takes the only thing we really know about the Voord, namely that they have submarines, and blows up the scale to a massive battle. They make it threatening too, although Ian manages to barely capture 1 Voord, they kill an entire ship. Including both the Doctor and Barbara.

This sets a precedent. Although they were a villain in a 6-part story, the Voord have been poorly established up till now. Yet, with the only trait we know about them, they’ve already become a threat.

After this the story scales down and only lets us see 1 Voord. His dialogue is intriguing. The Voord see themselves as a blessing, and they make it clear that many of the human shall soon “see the light”. Honestly, at this point the story is brilliant. We have seen nothing of the true Voord power, like their skills, their relationships and way of life,

but we know their motivations and their military strength. It’s a fantastic balance between what’s known and what’s unknown. We know the way Voord are, but we do not understand why.

Afterwards the story does, sadly, get a little weaker. It still has a lot of good parts, but it scales down quite a bit and loses a bit of individuality in the process. We have already seen how threatening Voord are in massive groups, but the story doubles down on that idea and decides to show that again, which doesn’t really serve a purpose.

Still, it keeps going with adding interesting traits to the species. Namely, they aren’t a species. Voord are basically psychic totalitarians. They see their rule as perfect and indoctrinate those around them. If they get true loyalty, the new recruit gets to wear the mask and becomes a true member, who is connected to the hivemind. It’s a combination of a dictatorship and a cult.

The execution has its ups and down. I’m totally down for psychic dictatorships. The stories in the ‘alternative season’ have a huge focus on those 2 aspects in particular. So blending them makes the story feel like a season finale. It’s a unique take I haven’t seen from the modern series.

Problem is that, if the members get connected to the hivemind, they lose their individuality and personality. I’m not a fan of that, since if feels like it closes doors on both the species and the message. Isn’t the point of totalitarian rule that anyone can be affected? That anyone can be a victim to propaganda and brainwashing? It feels like a step back to remove individuality after the victim has expressly rejected a life without Voord. They have chosen dictatorial rule as preferable to the alternative. Why just wipe them afterward, after they’ve reached that conclusion?

The other part I don’t care for is the ‘Voord Bloodline’. There are a few ‘True Voord’ who are basically royalty and have Voord DNA. Just like the loss of individuality, this is a part I could do without. It takes away the idea that Voord can be anyone, since there’s always the same guy/species at the top.

What I do like is the infighting between the Voord leaders, who have personalities. One wants to rule, the other hold to traditions. Like the mask being a tool of choice rather than weaponry. That’s worth exploring.

So that’s the Voord re-established as an actual threat with a unique take. Question is, what does the story do with it?

Sadly, at this point it’s a lot of dawdling. Will they convert Susan? Or won’t they? That’s the focus of the last half hour at least, and it gets tiring. It also wraps up astoundlingly quickly. Suddenly you’re back in the Tardis with the party, and the story is done. It felt like I missed 5 minutes and that was distracting.

‘Domain of the Voord’ is an epic. It feels like a finale. A culmination of elements from previous stories, that come together in a new, unexpected way. Its scale starts grand, it reinvents the species and adds layers that could be explored for years (But sadly, from the looks of it, they won’t be). Not everything works, and the pacing is a bit off in the second half, but I’m just too impressed by the ambition on display to actually care.