Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! 

“THE ROMANOV PROJECT – THIRTEEN VS. TIME, ICE, AND COLD WAR SCI-FI”

The Romanov Project is BBC’s first Audio Original featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and these additional adventures are kicked off with a confident and atmospheric entry, penned by Niel Bushnell and narrated by Toby Longworth. The story opens with a chilly bang: it’s 1970, and we follow Silvia Sandstrom—an ambitious, determined explorer on a solo mission to reach the North Pole. It’s a striking introduction, capturing isolation, danger, and wonder all at once, only to yank Silvia out of her time through mysterious circumstances.

Thirteen and Graham arrive at the Pole much later, stepping into an eerie, abandoned outpost overtaken by strange creatures and whispering winds. Yaz and Ryan are conveniently (but believably) written out of the tale—Bushnell sidestepping the overcrowded TARDIS conundrum that often plagued early Series 11. This is a tighter, more focused character piece, and better for it.

GRAHAM SHINES IN THE SPOTLIGHT

One of the story’s major triumphs is its portrayal of Graham. Bushnell has a clear handle on his voice—equal parts warmth, dry wit, and awkward sincerity. There’s a lovely thread of admiration here as Graham comes face to face with his childhood hero, Silvia, who he remembers from history books and grainy black-and-white photos. It’s a joy to hear Graham slightly starstruck, and it offers a fresh angle to his dynamic with the Doctor, who gives him more room to lead than usual.

Silvia herself is a compelling figure: resourceful, guarded, and fiercely independent. Her suspicion of Thirteen and Graham is well-founded, and her gradual thawing (pun entirely intended) is handled with nuance. A standout moment has Graham drawing on his knowledge of her exploits to earn her trust—a well-earned bit of character-driven storytelling.

AN ICY SETTING LEFT TO MELT AWAY

While the initial setting promises a desolate Arctic thriller, much of the plot abandons that backdrop for a more generic research base filled with zombie-like monsters. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the switch, but it does feel like a missed opportunity. The frozen wilderness, so well described in the opening, is largely forgotten in favour of corridors, experiments, and time anomalies. The monsters—creatures linked to temporal distortions—make for suitably spooky antagonists, but they never quite live up to their early mystery.

The villain of the piece, Stefan Romanov, is a well-worn archetype: a Cold War-era scientist whose experiments risk tearing time apart. He’s bombastic, egotistical, and blissfully unaware of the consequences of his work. Though hardly reinventing the wheel, Romanov adds a classic sci-fi flair reminiscent of The Tenth Planet or The Seeds of Doom. The technobabble explaining his experiments and their reality-breaking consequences might baffle casual listeners, but it’s pleasingly Doctor Who in tone.

TIMEY-WIMEY TENSION AND A SHIFTING FOCUS

Bushnell threads in just enough time-travel convolution to keep things intriguing without losing the listener entirely. There’s a strong sense of cause and effect spiralling out of control, and the Doctor’s attempts to rein in the chaos are some of Thirteen’s best moments here. She’s calm, commanding, and firmly opposed to Romanov’s recklessness.

However, the narrative focus drifts uncomfortably in the second half. Silvia, initially the emotional heart of the piece, is sidelined once Romanov’s plot takes centre stage. It’s disappointing, especially since her reappearance in the final act feels more like a footnote than a satisfying resolution. Graham and the Doctor, too, are pushed somewhat into the background as the climax barrels forward, leaving the story to conclude on a less character-focused note.

PERFORMANCE, PACING, AND POTENTIAL

Toby Longworth handles narration solidly, with standout performances as Graham and Romanov. His Thirteenth Doctor is competent, if not especially distinctive—lacking the unique cadences of Jodie Whittaker’s portrayal. Still, his range makes the audiobook easy to follow, and the mood is carried well throughout.

The pacing is well managed for a shorter story, and the tension never quite lets up—even if the setting becomes less distinctive and the characters more broadly drawn as things escalate.

📝 VERDICT: 69/100

The Romanov Project is a promising debut for Thirteen in the BBC Audio Originals range: a taut, time-twisting adventure bolstered by excellent character work for Graham and a fascinating guest star in Silvia Sandstrom. The eerie North Pole setting and Cold War-style mad science give it a strong identity, even if the narrative eventually shifts its focus too heavily towards the villain at the expense of the story’s emotional core. With crisp pacing, strong dialogue, and a fittingly strange concept, it’s a worthy, if slightly uneven, addition to the expanding world of Thirteenth Doctor EU stories.