I loved the way this episode highlighted the effect the time war had on ordinary people

☹️(4.8) = BAD!

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

This story sees Susan and Veklin chase a spy to the planet Florana, where they need to uncover a traitor before the Time War destroys the world.

This piece, while character-centric and a crime mystery story, lacks the energy, intriguing setting, and character of Sphere of Influence. Following the delightful story that characterised the opening of the Susan's War set, this one is disappointingly forgettable and eventless. Carole Ann Ford still puts in a fantastic performance, and Beth Chalmers is excellent as Veklin, but the character beats don’t do much for me.

As Susan finds herself in the path of fire, the level of warfare increases. That just makes this a more generic Time War story. This is one of those stories that sort of ends with little fanfare, leading onto the next one and leaving a sour taste in your mouth.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• I didn’t realise this until I listened to the interviews, but the title of the story is a clever pun ("shore,” pointing both to a beach and to being sure of something).
• The planet visited here, Florana, was first mentioned in Invasion of the Dinosaurs and previously appeared in The Elite.
• The Anti-Dalek Squad appears for the first time i performed Doctor Who, having been introduced by Terry Nation in his Dalek Annuals from the late 1970s.
• We meet robotic Ogrons here, and they aren’t any better than the usual ones.