Cataclysm

Unfortunately, I wish I had heard of the more common advice that it is better to start with the second volume of Ninth Doctor Adventures. Having found Sphere of Freedom a little disappointing, Cataclysm feels like a step down from even that.

I feel like the story has some neat ideas but we are constantly derailed by pretty boring dialogue and other stuff that get in the way of a potentially more interesting story with Audrey and time doing weird things. It just feels almost like a trivial part of the adventure, though. Really though, it feels like this didn't need to be three parts, and I might argue even one would have been too much. I'm just not a big fan of Briggs' script here.

Still, there was one great part I definitely appreciated. The doctor flirting with the guard and the whole thing around his use of psychic paper was both very entertaining and pretty well written. Cataclysm has its moments, and is competently acted and edited, yet nothing really feels like it is pushed into anything special. The music is fine but not amazing - on the other hand the acting does have its moments. Eccelston does get to shine, especially near the tail end of this story, basically letting Audrey make a mistake in a pretty cool moment I wish the rest of the audio better lived up to.