Living History

Although the Winston Churchill narrating this story comes from a period post World War Two, the main narrative occurs in 55 BC at the time of one of the Roman invasions of Britain.

On one of the trips hinted at in A Christmas Carol, the 11th Doctor and Kazran Sardick arrive at Churchill’s door in the TARDIS and whisk him away on a journey back in time, ostensibly to help Churchill research a history of Britain that he is writing.

After the TARDIS gets shunted a few seconds ahead in time because of a timelock, Churchill and Kazran are stranded in a cave and consequently, the majority of the adventure is purely this odd couple fighting to survive in Ancient Britain, caught between Romans, Ancient Britons and a stranded Dalek.

It’s a fun romp. Churchill gets to meet Julius Caesar, a Dalek becomes a ‘bronze god’ and Kazran gets to be a bit Doctory with some technical jiggery-pokery.

There are, unsurprisingly, strong echoes of the 4th Doctor audio adventure, Wrath of the Iceni with Tristanhe, the Briton queen behaving very similarly to Boudicca although she is in the thrall of an alien interloper. The story also echoes the novella, I Am a Dalek which featured a Dalek appearing in a Roman mosaic.

I really enjoyed Danny Horn’s return as the young Kazran. He stood out in A Christmas Carol as having potential as an actual companion and here, although he is partnered with Churchill rather than the Doctor, he fulfils that potential. He is sparky, resourceful and brave – excellent companion material and a likeable performace from Horn.

One odd aspect is Kazran’s admiration of Churchill which implies he has a rather extensive knowledge of Churchill’s life and contribution to world history. The expanded universe has identified the unnamed planet in A Christmas Carol as a human colony, first colonised in the 38th century – although its inhabitants status as human isn’t explicit in the televised story. Kazran is from a few centuries on from the 38th century so it does become a little bit of stretch to believe he would know who Churchill was especially as the audio ends with him all but venerating Churchill. This, of course, also plays into the quandry I had with the first story from the box set – The Oncoming Storm – of whether or not Churchill should be venerated in this way. I’m not sure I’ve decided where I stand on the issue yet, but there are a number of Churchill stories to come so it will be interesting to see whether the ‘hero worship’ is sustained or whether some balance to his character’s documented faults is brought into play.

Churchill’s interest in Julius Caesar is a character beat which links neatly with the real life Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples and the idea that Churchill actually got to investigate primary sources for his research is a fun riff on the historical truth.

Living History is a fun adventure although, if I’m honest, moreso for the presence of Kazran than Churchill himself. The Dalek’s contribution to the story is fairly predictable (crashed ship, manipulating the natives so it can escape, ultimate plan to wipe everyone else) but I as I find Daleks a little dull and repetitive, it was probably my least favourite part of the story. The historical setting helps elevate that plot and the unusual pairing of Kazran and Churchill lifts it even further.