I had a good amount of fun with this short story.  It was neat getting what felt like an origins story for Osgood, I like the ties this has to the Sontaram Stratagem two-parter from the show, and it was a lot of fun exploring the "Grey Archive" as a setting.  I really liked the idea of different archives, like the Blue Archive and Grey Archive, which have different purposes and roles when compared to the already established Black Archive.  That's very good world-building and Dave Rudden shows he is a creative individual who has a lot to offer as the writer of this story.

Beyond that, it is a very simple and straightforward take on the "base under siege" formula all too common in Doctor Who.  At least the whole angle of Sontaran clones being not fully developed was a lot of fun.  It's not amazing, but it is fun enough and a pleasant listening experience overall, even if it felt pretty predictable.  Plus, as always with the Wintertime Paradox, if you listen to the audio version, Sophie Aldred very much enhances the experience overall with her voice work.  It really feels like she is able to inhabit all these characters and adds so much to the story.

You know, in hindsight, I think I liked Luke Rattigan from Sontaran two-parter so much because I'm also very autistic /hj

Osgood is always a delightful character to center a story on, and this glimpse into her early time at UNIT really doesn't disappoint. The Grey Archive in concept is already just a brilliant idea, it has a very SCP vibe, which, given the original SCP was inspired by Doctor Who (probably), just feels really nice. Osgood is written suitably autistically (/hj), and I love the little glimpse we get into her home life here as well, more information about (and interaction with) the older sister mentioned in Day of The Doctor is just fun.

The small nods there are occasionally to other areas of the Whoniverse are always a delight, the anti-grav (anti-mav?) device that Osgood uses being the ones from Victory of the Daleks is just a fun bit of continuity, of course they'd end up in UNIT's posession.

And the Clone PoV stuff is also really nice. In generally I always like it when stories answer "What happened to that thing from that story", so the cloning chamber being used here is already great, but then the fact that we get to see through the leader clone's eyes, see how he thinks, and get the eventual reveal that this more human clone is a clone of Luke Rattigan. All of that is just so so good.

📝8/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

"CLONES, CLEVERNESS, AND CHRISTMAS IN THE GREY ARCHIVE"

This charming tale shines a spotlight on Petronella Osgood as she spends her Christmas tucked away in UNIT’s Grey Archive. However, her festive solitude is soon interrupted by chaos—a malfunctioning Sontaran cloning pool, left over from The Sontaran Stratagem, produces four grotesquely disfigured clones, leading to a uniquely quirky crisis.

Much like Steven Moffat’s novelisation of The Day of the Doctor, this story enriches Osgood’s character, delving into her family background with mentions of her sister Nova and her father, Frank. These personal touches give Osgood greater depth and make her resourcefulness all the more engaging.

The plot thickens with an unexpected link to The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky: the Sontaran clone threatening the archive turns out to be a clone of none other than Luke Rattigan. Osgood’s ingenuity shines as she outmanoeuvres the clone and thwarts the Sontarans’ plans to take over the planet. Her clever actions not only save the day but also secure her a promotion within UNIT, making this story a delightful origin tale for one of the organisation’s brightest minds.

With its mix of festive charm, light-hearted humour, and clever callbacks, this story is a delightful addition to the Doctor Who universe, cementing Osgood as a fan-favourite character.