The Sleeping Blood - ★★★☆☆

The Sleeping Blood is an atmospheric story with a strong theme but not enough time. The first part is very engaging because it is structured like a horror story. The Doctor fell ill after being infected by an unknown disease by touching a wild plant on a planet he and Susan visited, and now they are traveling in search of a cure. He is taken out of the game very early in the plot when his health worsens and so the focus goes completely to Susan. Caroline Ann Ford's performance is confident and emotional, perfect for the structure of the Companions Chronicles, and the core of the narrative is a moral conflict that arises for the character at the end of the story.

That's part of the problem. For most of its running time, The Sleeping Blood is a good character study for Susan who, for the first time, must stand on her own and save her grandfather, while maintaining a tense atmosphere with horror elements. She spends about twenty minutes alone exploring this abandoned research station where the TARDIS has landed and the entire time you, and the character, have the impression that someone is watching her. The first time I listened to this audio, I thought it was going to unfold into a hunting story following the footsteps of Predator. That's not what happens. At one point, Susan will come across a military team that is there after a local criminal who has threatened the lives of important politicians, the Butcher. The horror elements continue from there but take the form of a more traditional serial killer story, albeit with the twist that he kills remotely.

The sci-fi part is interesting although a little contradictory. There's kind of a medical museum in this building that Susan landed in where she goes into to find antibiotics. It is also established that this planet, called Rua, has long abandoned this traditional model of producing medicines and now most diseases are cured through nanotechnology. And of course, at a certain point it is revealed that the Butcher has been killing his victims by hacking this nanotechnology present in the blood of practically everyone who lives on Rua. This raises the stakes of the story because, as he demonstrates during a scene, he can kill the characters at any time. I think Rua's world-building is very well done and tied together; What's a little weak are Susan's motivations. Nanomedicine was apparently child's play for her on Gallifrey, but she insists on looking for an antibiotic the entire story – shouldn't it be an outdated technology for her? Besides the obvious: there was NOTHING in the TARDIS that could help the Doctor? In the end, this doesn't matter because it's just a justification to isolate Susan from the Doctor for most of the duration of this audio and give her a reason to explore this planet alone, but it's still a small problem I have with the plot.

But as I said, the real argument of the plot only emerges at the end, when she discovers that Butcher, who is actually called Gomery, was doing all that to try to democratize access to medicines, especially those based on nanotechnology, after the death of his grandmother. It's an interesting debate of public health versus capitalism and how even the most well-intentioned of people (one of the soldiers Susan knows) can be co-opted by the system to reinforce it, but I think this discussion is a bit too on the nose – and comes too late. We barely spend time with Gomery, so when a flashback begins showing him talking to his dying grandmother in the hospital it seems like the story is trying to make you emotional – but it's very artificial. Yes, an elderly woman dying because she doesn't have money to take care of her own health is sad, but you only addressed it in the last five minutes. I understand that this is positioned at this point in the plot precisely to end it with a feeling of injustice, that Susan unintentionally perpetuated a cruel system on this planet. It is also to draw a parallel between the antagonist and Susan, both motivated by love for a grandparent, but the key difference here is that I, as a listener, know and care about Susan and the Doctor in a personal level. The story tries to make me care in the same way about Gomery and his grandmother, but it doesn't work in so little time. Therefore: it's an interesting premise that does not have room to breathe.

There are several interesting moments of characterization for Susan and they are the real reason why this story is worth listening. Her guilt at the end, all the questioning whether she should have interfered in that situation, the feeling of injustice that takes over her, the resilience she shows to save her grandfather, even her impressions about their trips and what her stay in the TARDIS has been like – there are moments, she says, when she feels completely suffocated in there. There is even a cute suggestion that it is the TARDIS itself that takes Susan to Rua knowing that she will get the cure for the Doctor there; since the TARDIS lands there without Susan piloting it and she assumes it was her grandfather – it takes place before The Edge of Destruction so they both still don't know that she has a certain level of sentience. The direction is also very good, with impeccable sound work. The plot, unfortunately, does not reach its full potential.

The First Doctor #12

'The Sleeping Blood' (2015) from The Companion Chronicles.

Possibly my favourite story so far in my non-televised First Doctor adventures. Lovely to have a Doctor-lite serial here, really giving Susan the reigns to handle a situation all by herself. Great set-up in the medical research facility location here, with an intriguing time following Susan as she explores looking for medicine for The Doctor as he lies feverish in the TARDIS. Learning about the planet and the nanotech alongside her is fun and her intelligence shines nicely here. Kendrick is a very appropriate Doctor Who side character, and his way of dealing with The Butcher at the end really feels like a modern story with the way it explores themes of soldiers and terrorism and Susan's interference is a nice viewpoint into this. The Butcher is a tad lousy but that's almost entirely just due to a voice performance that doesn't work for me personally. His motives and descriptions are all very interesting stuff.

Sleeping blood timeline code number #0.5

*spoilers*

The story opens with Susan describing The Tardis as a make shift home, its cute, even if she struggles with this new feeling. It reminds her of the time The Doctor falls ill after a plant scrapes his hand. This reminds me of the Varga plants from Kembal. Susan really starts taking charge and responsibility here, I enjoy the desperation but also the courage Carol Ann Ford performs for Susan.

They arrive on the planet Rua, which has Nanotech to help with stuff like medicine for the body is a very interesting concept. Susan encounters these robot spider creatures which stings her, reminding me of the spiders used in the new series. In this story they are used as security robots.

Susan heads back to the Tardis but shes being followed by something else, someone else. The way Susan describes the environment around them is gripping as shes running from this thing, but she is slowly caught by a man called Kendrick described as a robotic giant. Kendrick seems to be on edge about someone called the Butcher who seems to have hacked into the mainframe of the Nanotech, holding the entire planet hostage. Kendrick and his team are hunting him down.

The Butcher is quite threatening, with a flick of a switch he could kill anyone in this story. It really creates a feeling of no one being safe. Whats interesting is none of the team have seen a Doctor, so how did the Butcher kill one of the crew. This is answered with the Butcher stabbing people with the security robots, earlier this was used showing now Susan is also at risk. The way they describe the nano tech in the body is so disgusting and makes me feel sick, its one of the best parts of the story. Susan is shown to be quite smart in this story too, the driving power behind it but still trying to not interfere it's a good inner-conflict for her.

It Dose feel a bit star wars with the tech talk and trying to keep up with it can be a little exhausting.

The Butcher is extremely powerful even decommissioning Kendrick's robotic armour, in the end all coming down to Susan to stop the Butcher, to reprogram a medical scanner and stop him going through with his plans. This cuts the power and stops him from releasing the kill switch, he was about to explain why he needed to do this message but Kendrick shoots him down, being a true soldier and just completing a mission without thinking.

We start to think maybe the Butcher wasn't in the wrong, he did horrible actions but not unjust actions. I love stories that make me think about who to trust and who the real good guy is.

Susan finally makes it back to the Tardis, finally being able to treat the Doctors illness. Susan manages to find a way to play the Butchers message and the penny drops, the motive is very real to our world wanting free healthcare. Which is extremely sad because we know both sides did terrible thing but is a small sacrifice worth the lives saved. I think so.

The companion chronicles are off to an amazing start in this timeline marathon, some extremely strong stuff here.

See! That’s more like it! A step forward!

After one of their earlier adventures, the Doctor has been infected with a mysterious disease this has left him delirious and mostly unresponsive. This leaves us alone with Susan, who’s landing the Tardis in various locations, looking for a cure. Things change, however, when Susan lands right in the middle of a counter-terrorist operation, where her role might be crucial.

The first thing that’s really of note in this story is the presentation. It sets its tone quite well! Susan is alone, stranded on a strange and unfamiliar world. The story decides to reflect this by having Carole Ann Ford very close to the mic. It really makes her feel like a blip in a massive world. Insignificantly small. Very well done.

Other than that, it’s kind of surprising how well this story matches up with my expectations from the previous review. For early stories, everything is a first time. I want to see how those “first times” affect our cast. Which is exactly what happens here. This story makes Susan interfere with her environment, which leads to a different outcome in the central conflict. That’s huge! Let’s look at the details:

When arriving in an abandoned laboratory, Susan meets up with a group of soldiers in giant mech suits. These soldiers are trying to stop a hacker-terrorist called “the Butcher”. This man has hacked the medical nanobots that are in everybody’s bloodstream, which allows him to turn off their heart with the flick of a switch. Susan, too, has secretly been injected with those nanobots by a spider-shaped robot. Leading to a dire situation for all involved.

It's a solid premise! The hacker has their lives in his hands from minute 1. This should lead to some really tense storytelling! Sadly, it’s held back by quite a few conveniences and contrivances.

First, the threat is immediately diminished when Susan, our famous master hacker, fixes the nanobots and removes all control the Butcher had. She has full control of the situation and the Butcher is no longer a danger to them. This exact scenario shows up again when Susan saves the day by outhacking this hacker, so he can’t release his virus and message to the world. This kind of computer talent has never been Susan’s forte. She has never shown tech wizardry before. This is more something Vicki or Steven could accomplish. It’s a clear retcon to make Susan look more capable. I wish it was more earned instead.

Stories with Susan tend to do this sometimes. They look to “fix” her by giving her random skills or talents that she never had on screen. These attempts are always far from subtle. I won’t go on too much of a tangent here, but I prefer it when her skills build upon the foundations the show already has. On TV, Susan is sociable and bold. She might be afraid of danger, but will still do what is needed. On top of that, she’s also the granddaughter of our main protagonist. A man who can talk himself out of all kinds of scenarios. Maybe that’s a familial trait?

I would prefer it if the story played with those kinds of elements. Have Susan convince an AI interface or pull a dangerous plug from the machine. Maybe just convince the Butcher himself with kind words. That’s something even the Doctor can’t always do. It would fit her character way more than sudden hacking skills.

Another contrivance happens in the finale. When Susan saves her soldier friends, they kill the Butcher. He never got to spread his message. When she returns to the Tardis (with medicine), the spider-bot appears again and shares how the Butcher wanted equal healthcare for all. He lost his grandmother because only the rich get treatment. He wanted to make clear that things should be better.

A bit flimsy when you consider he was about to kill millions. But the story is smart enough to not take a side on this one. It is just a reason for Susan to reflect: She has potentially interfered in the outcome. If she hadn’t hacked his systems, he might’ve killed millions and changed the world in a significant way. She has upheld the status quo. She is worried about this and the Doctor consoles her and reflects on interfering.

This could’ve been more impactful. First, the message. Right now, it comes out of a random robot, but maybe the impact would’ve been greater if it had actually come from the Butcher’s grandmother.

Imagine the same scene, but after the Butcher is shot, a room opens up that reveals his ailing grandmother. Delirious and almost dead, just like the Doctor is. There is no hope for her, because any kind of reasonable treatment would be reserved for the rich. Immediately the similarities to the Doctor would hit Susan. Maybe it even affects the soldiers as well.

When back in the Tardis, Susan reflects on how things could’ve been different. Would she have done the same to save her grandfather? Or would it truly have been madness? Just how much has she changed time?

And since we still have an early Doctor, it’s way, wayyyy too soon to talk about potentially interfering. So instead, make him angry. Make him furious, because all laws have been broken. Yet add a little twinkle, because if they hadn’t been broken, he would’ve been dead. The first drop in the bucket of interference.

Maybe that’s just my imagination running wild. But I feel like the pieces are there. The priorities should just be shuffled a bit. Susan isn’t great because she can hack. Susan is great because she has empathy. The big conclusions around interfering basically come down to: “That was a bummer, maybe interfering might be worth a shot”. It could’ve been more than that.

Don’t get me wrong. The story is still very good. The characters are all likeable and understandable, the morality of the story is in check and the overall setting is pretty great. It’s just that I can feel there’s more here. The ending reflection feels way too tacked on, while that should be the most exciting part. And of course, I don’t agree with the skillset they give Susan here. But I still think it is very much worth your time for what it does do well. Let’s call it a diamond in the rough.