The Difference Office

Doctor Who – Doctor of War: Genesis

#1.03. The Difference Office ~ 5/10

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◆ An Introduction

‘The Android Invasion’ remains one of my favourite stories from the Hinchcliffe era. Something of an odd choice, I know, but the whole concept of replicating a small English village and filling it with facsimiles really sparked my interest. That’s probably why I was so looking forward to hearing James Kettle bring back the Kraals for this season finale.

Unfortunately, this box set has already showcased one excellent writer falling from grace. Let’s hope history wont repeat itself.

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◆ Publisher’s Summary

The Warrior is President of the Time Lords… and suffering from visions. Is he the right man to combat an invasion? Because there’s someone out there in the wilderness of Gallifrey. Someone with the Warrior’s face. And he’s heading for the Capitol.

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◆ The Warrior

‘The Difference Office’ is already disappointing me, as it features an average performance from Colin Baker.

The Warrior doesn’t go into the Matrix to hide, informing Borusa that he is actually looking for information: the Time Lords did used to be scholars, after all.

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◆ Story Recap

Under the authority of the Warrior – who has now taken office as Lord President of Gallifrey – Narvin is being sentenced to death by Chancellor Borusa. But something is wrong.

A man claiming to be the Doctor has journeyed to the Capitol – with the native Gallifreyans on his side – looking for a confrontation with the Warrior. Unsurprisingly, he turns out to be a Kraal android.

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◆ Conclusion

“It’s them or us!”

James Kettle has penned some great scripts for BigFinish – ‘Snow’ genuinely made me cry because of how emotionally charged it was – so can someone explain to me how this ended up being such a nothing episode?

The Kraals are attempting to invade Gallifrey, and I couldn’t be less interested. The basic skeleton of the plot has been ripped wholesale from ‘The Invasion of Time’, but it quickly devolves into a showdown between the native Gallifreyans and the Time Lord elite.

‘The Difference Office’ has been a relatively short review, but that’s because there is so little worth discussing.