The Monthly Adventures #95b - "Urban Myths" by Paul Sutton

Urban Myths, much like its predecessor - Urgent Calls - is built off a small but fun idea, this time being “what if Doctor Who did Rashomon?”. Whilst I like this much more than “what if Doctor Who was on the phone?”, this seems to be a lot less beloved story and after the disappointing return that was Exotron, I was expecting some light weight and forgettable fluff. But as it turns out, Urban Myths is absolutely the highlight of this group of stories.

Three CIA agents are gathering in a café. Their conversation: the persecution of violent criminal “The Doctor”. To catch him, they only have to get their stories straight. So why is it they can’t?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

The thing that instantly strikes me about Urban Myths is that it boasts an idea perfect for the short form. Very often, the downfall of a short story can be that it bites off more than it can chew and what it's trying to tell can only work with a longer runtime. Thankfully, Urban Myths knows precisely what it is, what it wants to do and how long it will take to do that; three people are in a café, each have a different account of the Doctor and Peri’s trip to a fated alien world, except the story keeps changing. Quick, concise, clever, fantastic. 

This was a super fun listen that moves with an excellent pace, the repeating story is versatile and short enough to not drag and there are enough hooks and mysteries set up in quick succession so that it grabs you instantly. There’s also a dark humour to it that I find very unique to this story, comedy being an area Sutton rarely strays but I dig it here, it works excellently.

I’d say my biggest complaint though is that it struggles to maintain the strength of its opening. By the end, it’s gotten pretty predictable and the final retelling feels like going through the motions, being almost entirely different to the other stories and feeling overly convenient so as to wrap things up. However, that doesn’t make Urban Myths not a brilliantly fun listen that is absolutely worth your time and a really nice palette cleanser after the slightly droll Exotron.

7/10

Pros:

+ Really good concept that works excellently in short form

+ Great pacing that hooks you instantly

Cons:

- The idea struggles to maintain its intrigue

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

Previous Story: Exotron

I love stories like this where we follow some other character's perspective rather than the Doctor. Here it's 3 CIA agents on a mission to kill the Doctor. Great premise for a short story like this. They're at a restaurant, waiting for the Doctor to show up and over the course of 3 meals recount 3 seperate accounts of the events that led them to believe the Doctor deserves to be executed. This story is honestly genius, the mystery is not that complex and you figure it out quite quickly but it's still enjoyable to listen to. Partly because of the banter between the CIA agents and partly due to the outlandish stories they come up with.

Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant get to play their characters slightly differently each time and it's a wonderful showcase of their range. The way it all ties together in the end with a weaker strain of the virus mentioned in the story causing the CIA agents to want the Doctor dead was a fantastic way to top off this little story. It's a shame it's bundled in with Exotron but I don't want the last thing I say about this story to be negative, it's great!

Next Story: The Caves of Androzani