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

Previous Story: No Man's Land

I don't know what it is with these later Main Range two-part stories being, well, not great. I'm inclined to blame it on the runtime but some of my favourite stories are 2-parters so I don't really think that's it. This story is pretty nothing. It has a cool enough idea with extracting people's "shadows" but it's so wasted that it might aswell not have even been there. What could have been a really good introspective look into our TARDIS team ended up being "mean clone Ace and mean clone Hex make fun of regular Ace and Hex". There was no attempt whatsoever to actually do something with depth which is the biggest shame about this story in my opinion.

Next Story: World Apart

Pela primeira vez dando a chance a Ace e Hex de escolher um local, o próximo destino do Doutor e seus companions é o planeta “Umbra” - Envolvidos em um projeto cientifico que consiste em criar clones nomeados de “Sombras” onde basicamente as pessoas são divididas pela metade, uma dela sendo a sua melhor versão e a outra a pior (a versão com mais traços sombrios de sua personalidade), isso tendo como objetivo ajudar indivíduos a superar todos os seus problemas psicológicos conversando com si mesmo (com suas outras faces). Mesmo sendo estranho e um pouco confuso, seu conceito ainda pode ser visto como algo muito promissor, dá até para imaginar um plot onde as piores versões dos personagens causam grandes turbulências ao serem confundidos em diversas situações, principalmente o 7° Doutor - Explorar essa ideia em seu personagem seria algo fascinante considerando sua natureza amoral e seu lado denso manipulador. É ai que está o grande problema do áudio, tudo no papel é muito bonito, mas na pratica o que não torna “Shadow Planet” uma história brilhante é a forma como seu conceito base foi aplicado – Vemos um plot bem água com açúcar envolvendo uma perseguição previsível com direito a uma pequena (minúscula) exploração nos lados sombrios do personagens principais. No entanto, eu achei que houve algumas reviravoltas no final que me surpreenderam um pouco - Mas ao todo, “Shadow Planet” é uma história bem regular com um grande conceito infelizmente desperdiçado.

There certainly feels like there's a bit of lost potential here. The concept of characters meeting their shadow selves is interesting, and could be an excellent way for characters to confront their own flaws and self doubt.

However, this just... doesn't happen. Shadow Ace and Shadow Hex are largely apathetic and uninvolved in the story, not serving any meaningful narrative purpose.

On top of that, the whole plot thread about the native Umbrians being displaced and the rage of the planet itself seems tacked on, and isn't explored in enough depth for it to really pay off. It has potential, but it falls a bit flat.

The highlight of the episode for me was the Doctor doing a little dance with his shadow self to save the day. Was it tacky? Yes. Was it at odds with the tone of the rest of the story? Sure! But McCoy does silly like an expert, and it was a delightfully clownish sequence that made me laugh. Sometimes, that's enough!

Choosing their next destination, our team pick Unity - what could go wrong with a bit of therapy?

The 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex - it seems like a like a long time since we last heard Hex, and its nice to have him back. Here Ace and Hex get to meet their darker sides, as the therapy process on Unity can separate them and tranfer it to a robot double to 'confront ' yourself. Thing is they are not that dark. The story is the exploitation of the planet and its people, so misses the mark on an evil Ace/Hex adventure.

Theres nothing new in this tale, its nice enough, one of the issues with 'other' versions of characters is its much hard to tell which one it is on audio, especially if you get distracted. Ace and Hex are a little too pally for my liking. There are twists, but nothing is got into in depth. There's a great line but the Doctor, where he says something like 'a day ago, a month another year, another me' it the 'Another me' that I liked.

Its Ok, listenable, but not outstanding.