Three’s a Crowd

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: The Roof of the World

This started off really well. The TARDIS scenes at the beginning were a highlight and I love how often the TARDIS is being explored in this run. There was a pretty nice moment between Peri and Erimem here and I like that it touches on some of the stuff that happened in the last story. I'll still maintain that I don't think anything in the last story has really changed her character but it's nice to see it being explored regardless.

The story remains really good even when we get to the actual plot, the idea of people so isolated physically that they are afraid of being in a room with another person is a interesting if unsublte commentary on things like the Internet and mobile phones allowing you to talk to people without needing to go and visit them.

We meet Deborah Watling as the leader of the colony, Auntie. She gives an incredible performance and it's hard to believe that she's the same actress who played Victoria Waterfield. I really enjoy Big Finish bringing back older companion actors to play different roles, it's a nice way to get them involved before the existence of companion chronicles or recast Doctors and it ends up being some of their best performances.

After such a terrific start though, this story devolves into generic running about. The betrayal of Auntie is a good moment but she quickly realises her mistake so it doesn't even really matter. I don't know how I'd do it differently but for me the alien felt really bland and uninspired. Overall though, I'd say it's not a bad listen if only for the excellent performances.

Next Story: The Council of Nicaea