Another short one from the same writer as “Edge of Destruction”. One thing is clear: David Whitaker knows these characters inside out.

We land on the planet Dido and start of with a small rescue ship. After a huge explosion among locals, the 2 passengers are the only creatures left alive, but are threatened by another local force.

This story introduces us to Vicki, the new companion that will replace Susan. In some ways, it might be justified to call her a bit of a Susan clone, but I think this story makes the differences quite clear.

Vicki seems, at first glance, different from Susan in a few ways. She’s quite temperamental, way more than Susan was, and at the same time isn’t as knowledgeable as the girl that was there from the start. This connect wonderfully to the changes our main character has had in the last season. He always had a parental role, but with Vicki, he has to take more time, take her through the steps way slower than Susan and make time for emotions. It’s lovely, because it allows him to use the skills he has now learned through his travels.

The other characters shine bright as well. Ian and Barbara get some fun moments together, which is surprisingly rare. Their dynamic is great. Ian still has a little sternness, but it is less pronounced this time. Maybe the doctor rubbed off on him a little. I wonder if we get back to that.

The doctor, as mentioned, also gets some new stuff to do. There are several highlights for him in this episode. He gets a fantastic opener, where he dances around the tardis, gets a bit forlorn about Susan, and immediately pick himself back up when he gets help. His more energetic self is a joy. That energy also gets channeled later on. For the first time, it is the doctor that gets an actual fight scene, which is great.

The best moment by far, however, is the meeting with Vicki. He’s the grandpa who just lost his granddaughter and meets the girl who just lost her parents. It’s a great dynamic and immediately feels comfortable. Like a family has already been formed. I can’t wait to see more.

The overall story is fine too. It’s clearly a character tale first and foremost, but it is serviceable. Has a neat mystery that allows for fun moments, more than being strong on its own. That’s completely okay!

The Rescue and Edge of Destruction are like two peas in a pod. Both are small scale, short, but with leaps in character growth that are some of the best moments in the show. I hope we get tons more of this, because it is fantastic.