While I can see why this story is not so loved, it provides a gentle moment for us to explore the TARDIS, and does it with plenty of charm. Seeing The Time War book in the TARDIS library is delectable. The TARDIS’ reconfiguration room and its giant organic bulbs is also particularly charming, adding to the show’s lore by fully explaining things we already had an idea of. Despite all this, these scenes could have been pushed a bit further - why did we see so little other than corridors and slight glances?

When you move beyond the TARDIS’ corridors. It’s not as elegantly written. The three antagonists did not make much sense. Tricky believes he is an android because his brothers have tricked him as a “joke”, but he is in fact not an android. This revelation is neither believable nor a satisfying dramatic reveal. It’s not helped by the fact that Tricky is played by a bad actor - a rare thing in Doctor Who.

This combined with the convenient ending which ties up neatly by fudging the whole plot with a big button weakens any serious potential this plot had. It doesn’t take away from the story’s good bits though.