Review of Shockwave by WhoPotterVian
29 July 2024
This review contains spoilers
This is an absolutely fantastic Seventh Doctor and Ace story. The Doctor and Ace arrive on a spaceship orbiting a dying sun, and there's these strange doomsday worshippers called the Senders who believe that they will ascend to become higher beings when the sun's shockwave hits.
It's basically like Doctor Who does a space disaster movie (so similar to Voyage of the Damned in that regard), and really does a good job of demonstrating this Doctor's more manipulative side. We as the audience are made to question why he has brought Ace to an event which we are told sees the death and destruction of many human colonies, and which is one of those events the Doctor can't interfere with because it's a fixed point in time, and we query this Doctor's motives when he refuses to save the Senders from their pretty suicidal beliefs.
I like that the Voice of Stone turns out to be a Time Lord psychic cube from the Eleventh Doctor - a lovely callback to stories such as The War Games and The Doctor's Wife - and also how this Time Lord device has developed a mythological status within the eyes of humanity (a neat touch).
Overall, this is a thrilling addition to the Destiny of the Doctor range, and one that really captures the dynamic of this particular Doctor and companion.