This was not a particularly great story.

In my quest to find any and every story set in Birmingham, I approached this one, understanding that it is one of those very few stories set in the city.

The story itself is basically a rehash of The Unquiet Dead, only without the charm of that story's setting, cast, visuals (granted The Other Side is an audio drama so can't exactly compete), etc.

The villains in this, the Bygone Horde, are literally just the Gelth but more annoying. So annoying, in fact, it took me out of the story and left me dumbfounded. They are a grouping of species that were erased in the Time War, and now, in the post-War universe are trying to break back into reality by (whoever could guess this) sacrificing humanity. The Doctor tells them this is obviously a dumb idea and that he can actually save them and do so without destroying another race in the process, which is an absolute win-win. The Doctor was offering them everything they wanted and more... and they inexplicably turn his offer down, and the Doctor inevitably stops them, because of course he would.

This just infuriates me. Any semblance of logic or realism is tossed out the window because the Horde are the bad guys and therefore cannot have any nuance.

Given this is set not long after The Unquiet Dead, this story would have actually worked much better if it subverted the expectations set by that story; to show a species that did take up the Doctor's offer.

The sound design was about average, the music didn't really feel very Murray Gold-y, and as for the acting, Langley gives a good, if a slightly roped-in, performance. Nicholas Briggs is a good actor, but his impression of Nine isn't the best, but it is better than his Rose.

This story doesn't add much to the overarching plot of series 1, as its events — by dint of it featuring Adam — can't be impactful else discontinuity with *The Long Game*.

And as for Birmingham? The only thing this story had to really say about it was its location and that it has a cinema. It didn't even make fun of Birmingham!