Of the three CDNM stories I've heard so far... this is unfortunately the weakest. But it definitely feels a lot like a JNT, by the way it's so deeply rooted in lore.

For a character that's driven by morality and has to stay the good guy, it's really interesting to hear him having to abstain from fighting evil or saving people, because he knows the future of the war between the Racnoss and the Time Lords, and can't change it because it's a fixed point. It's nice to explore that dynamic, but I wish that we saw more of that. I like the youthful energy Peter Davison brings and his character is captured interestingly with the dilemma he's put in, and this moral ambiguity he has to take on challenges his personality well.

The Racnoss are... alright. Let me start off with positives - the performances are superb. Adjoa Andoh especially manages to emulate the creepy and slimy personality that Parish had in The Runaway Bride. It was great to develop more of the Racnoss empire, with the failed love story driving the majority of the plot. However, this is the main problem I have with the episode; a lot of the dialogue is purely exposition, and there's not much action. The story seems to be prioritising the Empress of the Racnoss arguing with her old husband, and explaining the issues in their relationship and the function of gender in their race - which, to be honest, didn't interest me too much. Also, I don't really understand how the Racnoss managed to get inside the TARDIS - even if they could get through the police box doors, the Empress is far taller than the console room itself.

The setting is pretty good - I like that the TARDIS is pulled into the Dark Times (a time period that's had a bit of hype around recently with Time Lord Victorious) and we get to see more of this period, with mentions to the Time Lord/Racnoss war, though again I wish we had more of that. There's a really creepy tone throughout, especially when they land on a planet of webs - as an arachnophobe, that'd be my worst nightmare!

The Time Lord hostages are alright. They're never particularly special, but I like how they confront the Doctor on his "betrayal" due to his ambiguity in the war. I'm not overly keen on the way the Doctor dismisses Alayna's wishes to leave the Time Lords and travel with him, and returns her to Gallifrey anyway; if it was Romana, he would've kept her on for as long as possible, but he's just like "Oh, well."

The score is fun and bombastic, again, really matching the motifs of the Tenth Doctor Adventures, and while I like the track which I presume to be the Fifth Doctor's theme that plays in the cold open, it felt a little forgettable, and I don't think it's in any other Fifth Doctor adventure, which is a great shame.

Favourite Line: "I didn't win, Alayna, nobody did. I just lost a little less than everyone else."

This is an interesting concept, but the episode itself isn't exactly engaging. There's not much going on except for lots and lots of arguing, and the side characters are just a bit dull. However, the final twenty minutes are what the story should've been.

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Fallen Angels

5 is really getting to play out all of 10's best moments huh? First a story in the vein of Blink and now one very much like The Runaway Bride, only without the humour and banter between the Doctor and Donna. Still, that doesn't detract from this story too much and it does a lot of other things that I appreciate.

We get to delve into the conflict between the Time Lords and the Racnoss, something mentioned only in passing in their debut story. If I understood the ending correctly I believe the Racnoss is now another species that the Doctor was responsible for the creation of, it's funny how he makes his own worst enemies.

Adjoa Andoh gives an electrifying performance as the Empress of the Racnoss. I can see how it would put people off as it's very over-the-top and a little grating. It's very accurate to the original story though which I appreciate. Peter Davison gets some great monologues aswell, some that I really should have noted down.

Overall, this is a great story, especially if you want to partly understand why the Doctor treated the Racnoss as he did in The Runaway Bride, it's got some great moral dilemmas and generally an all-round interesting idea to explore.

Next Story: Aimed at the Body