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"THREE'S A CROWD – DIGITAL DETACHMENT, PANICKED PEOPLE, AND PARANOID PERI”

Three’s a Crowd marks a return to sci-fi territory for the Fifth Doctor, Peri, and Erimem after a string of historicals, and it opens on a surprisingly introspective note. Still reeling from the trauma of The Roof of the World, Erimem questions whether she can continue travelling with the Doctor. Peri, in turn, questions the Doctor's judgment and expresses concern for her friend’s well-being. It's an excellent moment of character continuity, providing emotional depth rarely afforded to companions in the classic era.

Sadly, the story peaks early. Once the TARDIS lands on a seemingly abandoned space station, the narrative slips into a familiar Doctor Who formula: corridors, confusion, and a slow uncovering of sinister happenings. The setting, while initially eerie, quickly becomes monotonous as the team encounters a reclusive human colony overseen by a mysterious figure known only as Aunty, a managing computer system, and a robot assistant named Butler.

THE FUTURE OF ISOLATION

The hook here is a clever one: colonists who live entirely alone, communicating only via screens and teleportation, crippled by agoraphobia and utterly incapable of human touch. It’s a dystopian scenario rooted in anxieties around technological isolation – a kind of Black Mirror by way of Doctor Who – and it could have been a rich exploration of loneliness, dependency, and the disintegration of communal life.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't go far enough with its central idea. Beyond a few conversations about fear and the occasional panic attack when a character thinks about crossing a large room, the concept is largely underutilised. There's little insight into how such a society truly functions, and the drama never feels particularly high-stakes. Instead, we’re left with a slow-moving mystery where much of Part 2 and 3 is given over to meandering chats and uninspired exposition.

ALIENS, EGGS, AND APATHY

The threat lurking behind the scenes turns out to be a standard issue alien species that’s using the colony as a breeding ground. They're laying eggs everywhere and preparing to feast on the colonists. It's grotesque in theory, and the sound design lends them an appropriately revolting presence, but they’re conceptually bland and feel bolted on – monsters for the sake of having monsters. There's no thematic link to the colonists’ isolation, no psychological resonance, just crunchy sound effects and a generic threat.

Even the twist that Aunty is complicit in the aliens' plans feels perfunctory rather than shocking. It adds a bit of momentum in the final episode, but by then the story has spent too long wandering in circles to recapture much interest.

ONE PERFORMANCE STANDS OUT

The cast is mostly forgettable, though Deborah Watling delivers a nicely layered performance as Aunty. Far removed from her usual turn as Victoria Waterfield, Watling brings a cool, commanding brusqueness to the role, imbuing Aunty with just enough ambiguity to keep things mildly intriguing.

Erimem and Peri, meanwhile, are underserved by the plot. After the promising emotional setup in Part 1, they largely split off into their own narrative cul-de-sacs, interviewing colonists and piecing together information with little payoff. The Doctor, too, spends most of the runtime doing exposition duty without much agency.

📝 VERDICT: 47/100

Three’s a Crowd starts with compelling emotional stakes and a provocative sci-fi premise – a society so isolated its people can’t bear physical contact – but fumbles both. The story plods through exposition-heavy scenes and never capitalises on its themes. The alien menace is derivative, the tension minimal, and the worldbuilding frustratingly shallow. Only Deborah Watling’s Aunty brings any spark to this sluggish outing. A lonely colony of isolated colonists may be a clever idea, but this audio drama leaves you wishing you’d remained in the historicals.