The Acheron Pulse

I would love to have anything at all to say about this episode, but I really feel like I've just spent the last two hours of my life listening to nothing. That sounds perhaps harsher than I really feel - in truth, this episode elicited little to no response in me for good or for bad, and as I always say, the worst thing a Doctor Who story can be is boring. And this episode, alas, really was.

Colin Baker is, as always, a sparkling presence in this episode, but that's about all that stood out to me. As a direct continuation from The Burning Prince, we return to the Drashani Empire thirty years after the Doctor last came to meddle. It feels, at first, like this episode is going to be a commentary on the Doctor's effect on people, and what happens in the aftermath, and it kind of does. However, it did it in the least compelling way possible. Prince Kylo, now masquerading under the name Tenebris, is hell bent on revenge after the losses he felt in the previous episode. He and the Doctor, and the Empress Cheni - who Kylo is at war against - argue about whether revenge is good or bad, and whether or not they should stop the war.

And that's about all that happens for two hours.

The titular Acheron Pulse was, to me, quite an underwhelming weapon as it zaps people indiscriminately and banishes their souls to the Undervoid, which is a brilliant name for something that is disappointingly non-scary and easy to get out of. The whole episode felt to me to be going round and round in circles and not really saying much. The bottom line is, it was fine, but definitely another victim to the disappointing middle episode trend.