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Review of The Touch of the Nurazh by Speechless

2 May 2024

Plot:
After a fateful visit to her uncle nearly ends in disaster, Jo calls upon the Doctor for help investigating the mysterious Kenstone Hall, where a miracle cure can do as much as regrow limbs and every resident seems to be acting incredibly strangely.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

The Touch of the Nurazh is, fine. It's one of those stories where I have no strong opinion on it. It's a pretty good emulation of the UNIT era, it almost feels like a minisode from Season Eight, but it's simply unremarkable. The Nurazh are conceptually a pretty interesting antagonist, but they don't do much. The Master shows up, as is tradition, but his inclusion in the story was entirely unnecessary. The Third Doctor and Jo are both written well and are charming, so that's a positive, but I'm just apathetic to the whole thing.

There is a weird moment towards the end where the Doctor dies, begins to regenerate, but then just, stops, I guess. Not only is this a moment that is not needed and has no impact on the story, but it's also just confusing; I didn't the realise the Doctor could choose to stop regenerating, I feel that would've come in handy very often.

7/10


Pros:
+ Jo and the Doctor are decently characterised
+ Emulates the 70s pretty well
+ I like the ideas behind the Nurazh
+ There's a nice action scene towards the start that surprisingly well written

Cons:
- The Master's inclusion was completely pointless and the story could've done without him
- The weird regeneration moment towards the end was incredibly confusing
- It's a story I feel utterly apathetic towards


Monsters | Ranked:
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4. Last Rites by Marc Platt - 6/10
3. The Touch of the Nurazh by Stephen Hatcher - 7/10
2. From Eternity by Jim Mortimore - 8/10
1. Best Seller by Ian Mond and Danny Oz - 8/10

Overall - 7.3/10

Review created on 2-05-24