The Infinite Quest

A fun little animated episode that has its positives and negatives. The story is serviceable, with a sprawling array of locations. There is enough variety of locations that the story doesn't get bogged down. With the use of animation you get to see things that normally would be out of reach of live action and that adds to the different feeling that this episode brings. The voice acting is top-notch with familiar names attached. Overall, this is an easy watch that doesn't outstay its welcome.

Alan Barnes is a great writer so manages to overcome some of the basic limitations of this animated children’s adventure. It originally aired in 12 parts, split into sub-4 minute episodes - which is a weird pressure to put on a story and means that plot is destined to be surface level. The Doctor and Martha chase after a macguffin in order to prevent major destruction. Little do they know they are being coerced into their action. All in all it’s a charming Saturday teatime cheese fest.

A handful ideas particularly stand out - the skulls hidden behind darkened space helmets, which are then revealed by the light, pre-dates the same concept seen in Silence in the Library. I also generally love the scale of the storytelling, less limited conceptually by budgetary constraints.

I am actually fond of the animation style as well. For the budget it’s working with, this shaggy dog story is well realised, though it’s fair to say that the team face are more limitations with rendering human faces than anything else.