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

“RHUBARB – A WAR OF WORDS... LITERALLY”

Rhubarb continues Benny’s misadventures with the Eternity Club, this time throwing her into the middle of a diplomatic spat that escalates into near-total disaster. The story pits a Sontaran, Starll (Dan Starkey), against a Draconian, Professor Altazar (Shai Matheson), as an argument over petty insults threatens to ignite full-scale war between their species. Benny, of course, is caught in the middle, desperately trying to defuse the situation—only to watch it spiral out of control as both parties lose track of what originally offended them.

A CHAOTIC DIPLOMATIC DISASTER

As the situation worsens, the absurdity ramps up, with blame shifting, tempers flaring, and both sides growing more paranoid by the minute. Lisa Bowerman once again proves her incredible comedic talents, portraying Benny’s increasing exasperation as she struggles to contain the madness. Dan Starkey is in full comedic mode as Starll, relishing the Sontaran’s eagerness for battle, while Shai Matheson delivers his strongest performance yet as Altazar, whose exaggerated sense of insult provides some of the biggest laughs.

THE RHUBARB VIRUS – FROM SILLY TO SINISTER

The title Rhubarb refers to a seemingly innocuous word that, to Sontarans, is deeply offensive. What begins as a ridiculous misunderstanding soon becomes something far stranger. The word “rhubarb” starts appearing everywhere—repeated so frequently that it loses all meaning. Characters unconsciously slip it into their speech, the infection spreading like a linguistic virus, twisting normal conversation into an escalating spiral of nonsense.

At first, this is played for laughs—the sheer ridiculousness of the word infecting dialogue makes for some brilliant comedic moments. But as the story progresses, the repetition takes on an eerie, almost unsettling quality. The shift from absurdity to tension is executed masterfully, leaving Benny as the only one still aware of what’s happening and racing to stop an all-out war driven by sheer nonsense.

A TOUCH OF HEART WITH DEREK THE TREE

Amidst the chaos, Rhubarb still finds time for quieter, more character-driven moments. The scenes between Benny and Derek the Tree in the Garden offer a softer contrast to the madness, providing not only some emotional grounding but also the key to solving the crisis. Benny’s neglect of Derek’s care—and the role of his bees in spreading the “dark rhubarb” infection—ties neatly into the story’s resolution, blending humour with a surprisingly thoughtful message.

VERDICT: BRILLIANTLY STUPID, HILARIOUSLY SMART

Rhubarb is Doctor Who absurdity at its finest—an episode that starts as pure comedy, slowly morphs into something more unsettling, and ultimately delivers a uniquely clever story. The performances are spot-on, the writing is razor-sharp, and the balance between humour and tension is perfectly judged. It’s both ridiculous and brilliant—exactly what a Bernice Summerfield adventure should be.

📝89/100

extremely camp and a fun listen! i love the 30 minute format it works so well for benny and this series so far is a delight!!! super refreshing.

A very lovely, very funny, very rhubarb story. Even if it doesn’t necessarily have much depth, I’ve gotta give it to mister Foley for just going: rhubarb it, I’m going to make a story where everything’s rhubarb.

It’s a nice rhubarb of how the small rhubarb matter. Every war starts from something small and insignificant. And yeah, most conflicts on our rhubarb could probably just be resolved if people just rhubarb damned listened to each other. But no, those in power and their egotistical wants gotta ruin it. The rhubarb is a very nice metaphor for rhubarb in that way. Our real life rhubarb really aren’t much more rhubarb than the average rhubarb and Sontaran huh?

Rhubard outside of the scope of interhubarberic-war, the theme of small rhubarb leading to big things still rhubarb. Never think: “Ah, I’ll rhubarb that later.” About watering your rhubarb or cleaning the table. It might not lead to a rhubarb-rhubarb, which leads to, you know. But rhubarb get what I rhubarb. As I rhubarb what the story rhubarb.

Some really lovely Tim Rhubarb moments as well, rhubarb the rhubarb and Sontaran and Draconian rhubarb, which are really really wonderful. And of course Bernice who rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb.

There’s also what’s of rhubarb mentioned in the behind the rhubarb about how this is a more rhubarb story, likening it rhubarb to the rhubarb main rhubarb. Also a great rhubarb for how, in rhubarb, Bernice can rhubarb a rhubarb rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb.

Rhubarb rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb. Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb. Rhubarb!

Interesting story id say slightly weaker start then volume 1 but still fun