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“THE SECRET OF THE STONES: A SILLY AND FRUSTRATING DETOUR”

Some stories take full advantage of the Doctor’s vast knowledge and experience, while others, like The Secret of the Stones, reduce him to a walking joke machine. This TARDIS-bound tale sees Ten and Martha discussing various historical mysteries, with the Doctor dismissing them all because he’s already solved them. What starts as a mildly amusing premise quickly becomes grating, as the Doctor’s silliness is dialled up to an unbearable degree, making him feel more like a parody of himself rather than the nuanced character seen on TV.

A WEIRD TAKE ON STONEHENGE

When the story finally decides on a mystery to explore—Stonehenge—it does so in a bizarre and underwhelming way. Instead of engaging with the history or providing an exciting revelation, the Doctor and Martha appear at the site for mere fractions of a second over a long period, inadvertently inspiring the ancient builders. While this concept could have been an interesting sci-fi twist, the execution feels rushed, childish, and unsatisfying, leaving little room for real intrigue or depth.

VERDICT: A TARDIS-BOUND NON-ADVENTURE

The Secret of the Stones is a frustratingly lightweight and overly silly story that fails to do justice to its concept. The Doctor is reduced to his most exaggerated traits, and the resolution is more absurd than clever. With no real adventure and little substance, this one is best left forgotten.

📝3/10

Some very fun little character stuff here, references too with mention of pyramids and the Mary Celeste.

I love the way the TARDIS is used here too, appearing briefly every so often to take screenshots and collecting a timelapse an order of magnitude greater than anything we could ever do.

And then the twist at the end with stonehenge being created around the TARDIS because the TARDIS is showing up there every so often, it lining up with the solstice because that's when The Doctor thought would be a nice time to take the picture, just a great little twist for a story like this.