The Slave War

I found this to be an impressive short story on the whole, and so far my favourite entry in Short Trips 24. The Slave War is a Second Doctor adventure where he, Jaime, Ben, and Polly all meet Spartacus and other characters associated with this historical figure.

I had seen a review of this one outside of TARDIS Guide where the reviewer didn't like how they were unfamiliar with the story of Spartacus, and therefore were let down by this adventure. As someone not overly familiar with Roman stuff, but at least vaguely aware of things, I wasn't bothered by my own ignorance much.

Really, it is trivial. All I did find beneficial was looking up some historical facts to confirm that yes, The Slave War follows the real history of Spartacus as we largely know it. It does so in a way that reminds me of the pure historical of the First Doctor Era where the characters really get invested and integrated into the time period they find themselves in. The Slave War is also a pure historical and one I found myself quite invested in. All four of our TARDIS crew get to shine, most particularly Polly and the Second Doctor.

Author Una McCormack does a remarkable job at making these characters feel true to themselves. Unlike the writers of From Little Acorns and One Faithful Knight, McCormack is an experienced Doctor Who writer and it shows. Within moments of meeting the Romans, the Doctor effortlessly develops a cover story, begins manipulating the situation, and presents himself as a bumbling merchant only to occasionally drop his guard around people like Ben to reveal a master manipulator at hand.

Another interesting side to The Slave War is that the Doctor and his companions are completely apart for most of his story. It was fun seeing Jaime, Ben, and Polly all forced to work together and figure things out without the Doctor, and it left me appreciating all three characters as companions quite a bit.

The first two stories of this anthology are fun but there is a lot more "meat" to The Slave War. It feels longer and more robust than both of the first two short stories combined. I got really invested in the character work and was moved over the fates of some of the secondary characters, like a slave going blind named Demetrius who the Doctor befriends and saves. It also fits nicely with the meta-narrative of Short Trips 24, being a complex lesson in leadership where the better leader in Spartacus ultimately falls to the superior force of Rome. I can understand why the Doctor would use this story as a thoughtful lesson to a would-be ruler.