The Romanov Project

This is a solid adventure, this time putting the Doctor alone with Graham. It’s an episode that actually explores who Graham is, why he’s here, and the grief he’s experiencing, all of which we get little bits of throughout the show, but is explored better in spinoff media, such as this and the novel, ‘The Maze of Doom.’ The alien threat isn’t super memorable, but the interaction at the end more than makes up for their interaction at the end of ‘Can You Hear Me?’

🙏🏼(6.03) = OKAY!

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

The prologue is an atmospheric start to the tale, as it transports us to the North Pole in 1970, during Silvia Sandstorm’s lone drive. We then follow Thirteen and Graham as they arrive at the North Pole at another point in time, where they meet with a displaced Silvia and begin investigating. Niel Bushnell comes up with a natural reason to keep Yaz and Ryan largely out of the story, allowing them to focus on a smaller group of characters.

Considering how well the North Pole setting is initially described, it's a shame the rest of the story hardly makes anything out of it.

The Romanov Project maintains a positive air of tension and a sense of mystery. There's a timey-wimey aspect to this as well, and strange creatures lurk about in the shadows, occasionally revealing their presence through cold screeches. Eventually, we learn about Stefan Romanov and his Romanov Project, which threatens to destroy the planet at several points in time. While it may not be particularly innovative, it is a classic example of Cold War-era science fiction.

Toby Longworth narrates well enough and is particularly good at capturing Graham’s and Romanov's voices, while his Doctor is a bit more generic. Graham overall is well written, and I like the sass and determination of Silvia as well. Bushnell gets most key aspects of Thirteen correct, and I especially like how he makes her take charge and stand up to Romanov’s ignorance.

Bushnell is also excellent at writing tension and action, especially considering the somewhat abstract nature of the surroundings in this story. Silvia is given a proper role to play at the end, and she receives a good conclusion, even if this means that the Doctor and Graham barely play into the culmination of the story.