Review of Trouble in Paradise by WhoPotterVian
21 June 2024
This review contains spoilers
This is a great story where we finally get to hear the Doctor meet Christopher Columbus!
Here, we get a story that feels more involved with the greater 'Destiny of the Doctor' story arc, with the Eleventh Doctor specifically tasking the Sixth Doctor and Peri with tracking down something known as an 'Omni-Paradox', explained as what happens when time collides against time itself.
There's some brilliant exploration of the Sixth Doctor & Peri's toxic relationship, and I like how it tackles the problematic side of Christopher Columbus. Peri really takes the Doctor to task for being so eager to spend time with Christopher Columbus when he enslaved the American population upon discovering America, and it really makes you question other instances where the Doctor gets giddy about meeting important historical features with problematic attitudes. Not only that, but Peri even directly challenges the Doctor over his less sympathetic side in this incarnation, when he refuses to treat a guy with a disease currently not curable in this time period, when he has the cure in his TARDIS. It's great to have a full-on acknowledgement that this Doctor and companion had quite a toxic relationship.
It's a bit of a slow burner, but there's some genuinely captivating character moments captured in this audio. This is the Sixth Doctor and Peri story we should have got in the TV Series!