This was the weakest story of 8’s run so far.

Whilst it was always nice to hear from the Brigader, and Charley was great.

This false doctor stuff threw me right off The setting felt wrong for my liking,

Other side characters felt forgettable when listening to this in two sessions.

Ok, I know this is not a beloved story. I also don’t think it’s good. But it is kinda fun, and I can’t explain why.

Charley is memory wiped, and then is nearly raped 3 separate times, which is just bad, and her reaction to it was incongruously tame. The Doctor lost his memory too, was found howling at the moon (do they even explain this bit??), immediately taken to an asylum. The “Eight loses his memory” is a well known, overused shtick, we all know it, we all mock it. But this is the first time it’s done in the audios, so from a certain POV, it’s only the second time it’s happened. And shoot me, I kinda like it, okay? The explanation for how he and Charley lose their memories is… not convincing. Neither is the explanation for that guy Gideon getting Next Doctor-ed. Neither is anything in this story, to be honest. Really, nothing is well explained. The Demons are actually aliens, of course, but why are they there? Why was Dashwood so obsessed with the whole demon thing, how did he get so many people involved, how did they make a new state? Why build the PSI-859, why try to marry Charley??? Becky Lee, vamp- I mean demon slayer, happens to be the granddaughter of an important senator?? And she has superpowers? Okay, the demons are aliens, but she… she really has been fighting demons all her life, though. She knew things. Were those alien demons, or demon demons?? And the Brigadier is there??? It was good to see/hear him, and him talking to the Doctor warmed my heart. “My best friend” <3. However, he is not very well utilized and doesn't get to do much. The day is saved by televising the Awful Politician saying Awful Things, which in real life is more likely to get him more fans/voters than prosecuted. A big thing people complain about is this audio is the American accents. I was okay with Dashwood and Becky Lee’s, but Pickering’s really was insultingly bad.

Ah, one thing I liked: Gideon at some point has most of the Doctor's memories and knowledge. Interesting that he acts quite snooty, contemptuous, and even kind of evil then, when his normal personality is nice and kind. To me this shows just how much compassion the Doctor really has, to have those memories and knowledge all the time and still be kind.

So you see, objectively, it’s a bad story. But I had fun with it, for reasons unknown even to me.

Oh, and goodbye, Ramsey!

Nicholas Courtney as Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, the beloved Brigadier, such class. A delight to my ears. Tbh he is why I managed to enjoy this at all—a very dull story. The accents weren't great, a little distracting. The Doctor spends most of the time incapacitated which was frustrating, but I was hoping something interesting would happen with that, and Crane. But nope, it was building towards nothing. Just a distraction so the doctor could sit this one out for 3 parts.

Random. But, the last few bits that the Doctor and Alistair share are beautiful.

5/10

Oof one of the harder ones to articulate. Admittedly, that was my last from the first run of Charley/Eight Stories, and honestly it’s for the better. Some Stories are so well known by their reputation, and this is one of them. Is it as bad or one of the worst? No. But sadly not the Brig/Eight Outing I would have hoped for. I’d think the Ideas are stellar and fun to explore, but does it work in execution? Not really. I think some others have already mentioned it greatly, but the Accent is really super jarring. And overall I am a bit unsure I enjoy the Banter we get with the Brig and 8 but do I like the Story? I am not sure, perhaps I have to give it a re-listen.

I cant for the life of me understand why so many people hate this one, yes, its edgy, weird and a bit too long but i think again the setting and the meta reference with nicholas briggs "being the doctor" as a reference to the audio visual stories really make this story interesting and cool to listen to, Paul McGaan s acting is superb and his interactions with the Brigadier are sweet, i think Charley draws the short end of the stick because that plotline may be the thing why people dont vibe with the story, on the other hand i think the villains and supporting characters are also interesting, i dont really have a problem with bad accents lol, my favourite scene is obviously the ending and it makes a great setup for the next arc