A strong start, but it quickly drops off and ends mediocre.

The Doctor and Dodo are investigating a mysterious warehouse in 1947, when they get split up. Dodo, now alone, flees from the men following her and soon meets Edith Garrud. A feminist with a knack for martial arts. Together, they try to find the doctor and try to unravel the mysterious happenings behind the scenes.

Let’s start with some behind the scenes “controversy”. This story is not only voiced by Dodo, but also by Stephen Noonan as the First Doctor. They caught some flack for doing this, since the companion chronicles usually only feature the Doctor through imitation or in a narrated way. Meaning this is the first time the main voice actor for the Doctor role is present in this kind of story.

I’ll be honest, I don’t see what the fuss is about. Noonan’s Doctor is always a delight, and the alternative would’ve been Lauren Cornelius reading the exact same lines in a Doctory voice. It gains way more from its inclusion than it loses and still includes the narrated style and the inner thoughts of the companion.

And those inner thoughts really shine in the first 5 minutes of this story, which is the best scene in this whole story. It almost feels modern in execution. Dodo is on the run from the aforementioned bad guys and we hear her describe every step she makes and every thought she has. And it really, for the first time, makes her feel like a proper character on audio. It felt tense, atmospheric and yet totally in character.

This comes to a close when Dodo runs into alley which turns out to be a dead end. Out of options, Dodo only has one last resort for this exact situation. She turns and faces her enemies and, without hesitations, starts screaming for help.

This moment is a highlight for me because it shows the exact strengths and potential of this range. If done well, it gives you full insight into the character. Their logic, their way of thinking and their feelings in different situations all come to light. You feel yourself standing with Dodo in that alley and you fully feel that it’s the only logical conclusion she could draw in the situation. You almost feel it before she does. It’s really impressive and I wish the story kept this type of narration up.

Instead, after Dodo is saved, the story quickly drops off. After a bit of preamble, Edith and Dodo go out to find the Doctor, who is fully in Fanservice mode. For some unexplained reason, the Doctor feels like he’s going to regenerate. In practice, this means he just keeps quoting and quoting future stories. “Change, my dear”, “The moment is not prepared for”, almost every classic regeneration gets mentioned and it really adds nothing. It feels cheap and lasts the entire first half.

Another irritation is the way dialogue is structured within the story. It relies a lot on one-sided narration, where one person talks, but the other side gets narrated. For example:

“Where are you keeping the monster, fiend?!?”

“The evil man responds by laughing and tells us that we will never find it”

This kind of narration, when used over and over again, starts to get really irritating and makes the story hard to follow.

Not that there is much else to latch on to in this story. Aside from the points mentioned previously, there’s really not much worth talking about. It’s a fairly basic story about discovering a threat, trying to fight it and ultimately defeating it. Not much that sets apart.

It tries to be something more by mentioning the feminist movement and tying that to the current narrative, but using Dodo as a vehicle for progressive feminist values was never going to be smooth sailing. It almost feels laughable. Even Dodo deserve her rights, but if you want a story that actually invests in this topic, go to “The Suffering” instead.

And that’s all we have for ‘The Y Factor’. I truly hope the writer knows what he has with those first 5 minutes and we get more of that kind of storytelling. But other than that, the story is basic and sometimes unnecessarily tough to follow. It’s a good start and I hope the Companion Chronicles keep playing with this Doctor-Companion format, but as a story this is nothing special.

A story that starts kind of wobbly and never quite reaches its full potential, but with an ending so poignant it’s easy to forgive.

We start this story off with an older Susan, sitting near a campfire on a hill in the middle of nowhere. No one is around, until a local man decides to join her for a while. After some general pleasantries, Susan decides to tell him a story, something that happened long ago.

This brings us into the meat of our story: The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan land on a mysterious ship. The crew of the ship is missing, but the computer is still active. However, some of the commands and rules it follows don’t seem to make any sense. What is really going on?

The main plot in this story centers around the computer and it constant need to follow protocol. It is bound to abstract rules and regulations, yet it finds itself in a condition where those kinds of rules don’t make sense anymore. For example: Access to certain parts of the ship is limited to the captain, but the captain is long gone. This causes a web of rules, terms and agreements that our party has to wiggle around and work within. Which is interesting!

However, it never feels like the story fully dives into this concept. It feels like we never discover the boundaries of the rules and restrictions. They never really test what they can get away with or what happens if an established rule is broken. The most they’ll do is hit a wall and try something else.

It would’ve added some tension if the loopholes they find close up after use. Or if the privileges they do earn are frail and could be taken away again. It would differentiate the situation within the group and spice up the generally slow exploration of the ship.

Another part that didn’t really agree with me is the main topic of the story: Suffering alone vs. suffering together. Susan and her guest discuss this topic every now and then, as if it is relevant to the story. The idea being that the computer, even though it adheres to all these weird rules, tries to help our team so they can turn him off and end his suffering.

That alone is a solid concept, but I never bought the idea that the computer is helping them in any way. It tries to connect the dots: There’s a recording device here, a loophole for interaction there, but it never feels like it is the computer’s doing. It just feels like our party had a clever moment. Nothing really signifies the computer is actually doing anything. It is pure speculation that doesn’t feel backed up or even logical.

That said, at the end of the story, this discussion of alone vs together does become relevant. As the story ends. Susan reflects and comes to the conclusion that it is better to have others around in difficult times. As she has walked up this hill several times, but never finished what she meant to do here: Give a last farewell to her son and spread his ashes. Tears are shed as she sings her son one last lullaby as a final goodbye.

And I’ll be honest, this moment, regardless of what came before, is incredible. A little kindness from a stranger is enough to push her towards doing what she dreaded for so long. And Carole Ann Ford acts the hell out of it. You feel every emotion of this mother who has to go on living after her son has passed away. It is, without a doubt, the strongest piece of acting Susan has ever had.

On a more personal note, it also wrapped up a lot of my Doctor Who experience this year in what has become an unexpected reevaluation of Susan. As it happens, she makes certain remarks throughout the story that closely match the stories I’ve consumed this year, as she mentions her son Alex was named after Alexander the Great (Who Susan met quite intimately in “Campaign”) and she has seen horrors that made her rely on stereotypical her role as granddaughter (As shown and discussed in “The Witch Hunters”). Hell, even her needing to more towards the future felt earned, as most people expected her to return to the tv show in the series finale around the time this story came out.

I know this is all coincidence, but it made the whole experience, which really stands on its own as something special, even more beautiful. A true bookend to the character which closely matches her earlier experiences and emotions. But do not get me wrong, even without the extra bells and whistles, it is an unbelievable scene for a character who has always been knows and underwritten and neglected. It alone makes the story worth it.

“Stardust and Ashes” has a main plot that doesn’t really stand out. It tries to do some fun stuff with restrictions and rules, but doesn’t really push the concept far enough to make it interesting. However, it does push the character of Susan into a direction we’ve never seen before and the acting gives it an emotional impact that’s simply the strongest Susan has ever been given. That alone is more than enough to make this story worth it. Both Susan and Carole Ann Ford finally got what they deserved after all this time.

A very interesting, new idea for Doctor Who, filled with dread and despair. However, that can both be a blessing and a curse.

Our party lands in Salem Village, the place well known for its witch trials. Although those trials still have to happen, tension is building and our party is swept up in the atmosphere. Especially Susan, whose mind is not quite prepared to deal with such a source of negative emotions. Will they be able to withstand the dread that looms over them? And is changing history really an impossibility?

This book thrives on atmosphere. Salem Village is not a welcoming place. People are scared, quick to judge and group think reign supreme. This sentiment is constantly reinforced throughout. No matter who we focus on and what they’re doing, the dread is always there.

On the receiving end, we have our main cast. Thanks to the Aztecs (and, indirectly, The Flames of Cadiz) Ian and Barbara know that history cannot be changed. However, their faith in that concept is not quite set in stone. When faced with such horrors, how can they possibly accept it? Is history really so black and white? And what about Susan, who intensely feels the emotions of all people there. The hate, the hope, the anger, it is all amplified in her mind. Making her suffer even more.

These aspects of the story, the constant suffering and the reactions to it, are both its strongest point and its biggest weakness. It does really succeed at painting a picture of a society on the brink of collapse. On the other hand, the constant, lengthy descriptions of similar events and atmospheres do get old after a while.

Of course, the lengthy descriptions and the repetition are there for a reason. They strengthen the mood and add to the feeling that all these events are unchangeable. However, they also make you wonder if anything is actually going to happen. If you look back at the story as a whole, there’s really not that many main events. Combine that with 4 different characters, and it’s not hard to feel like the story is crawling forward at times. Events are so spread out that it does wear thin.

The story also expects you to have a certain knowledgebase and that you know about Salem Village and, if possible ‘The Crucible’. Not knowing about the history and the play can hamper your enjoyment of the story a bit. For example, the story expects you to, in broad strokes, know what role each character played in the witch trials. It also expects you to know a bit of the history of the village, as it hints at larger issues, but never really addresses them.

But even taking that into account, “The Witch Hunters” is a story with a unique focus and it pulls it off well. While the story may not be perfect, the emotions and the overall tone land perfectly. It makes you feel like you are there with the characters and gives you a new way to look at a piece of history. It puts the focus on atmosphere in a way this series rarely does, and for that it should be applauded.

A disappointment that shares a lot of DNA with ‘Fugitive of the Daleks’.

Steven, now an old man, wakes up in a mysterious spaceship. Disoriented, he soon meets up with a ragtag group consisting of 2 women, a teenager and a dog. While looking around, they discover they’re in some kind of zoo. And a certain Time Lord is also one of the exhibits.

While this synopsis sounds fine on paper, the problem is that everything that happens, once again, lack emotion, growth and connection. Characters feel flat. The plot feels generic, and while the Doctor and Steven have one incredibly good talk, it is saved for the end so there’s no time to actually do anything with the character growth it presents.

You know what it reminds me of? An annual story. That alone isn’t a problem, but an annual story usually doesn’t drag on for more than 3 hours. The story tries a little with some location changes and small character dynamics, but it doesn’t lead up to anything. It happens, and we move on.

Honestly, I don’t think I have much more to add here. Take all the criticisms I gave to Fugitive of the Daleks, and apply them here. Flat, long, nothing to build on. Another character farewell ruined.

This is what Doctor Who looks like when all bets are off!

After a recent meeting with Alexander the Great, the Doctor, Scientist Ian Chesterton and Susan English are back in the Tardis. They’re mourning the loss of their close friend Barbara, who died thanks to the radiation poisoning they got on Skaro. That all changes, however, when Barbara suddenly walks into the room. But this Barbara is not the secretary and tutor they knew. This Barbara is a teacher from Coal Hill school. Something going wrong in time and space…

In case you didn’t really get that little summary: This book starts not with our regular cast, but with their book adaptation from “Doctor Who and an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks”. Several details were changed between the book release and the tv run, like the original origins of each character. Campaign’s use of these alternate origins early on can be seen as a mission statement: It’s going to challenge every assumption and attempt at canonicity, and it is going to get weird fast! You can constantly expect character to change names, personality, origin and behavior. Combine that with eventual bouts of long-term exile and some existentialism, and you’ve got a challenging read ahead of you.

Yet in a sense, it always feels grounded, because we constantly take the perspective of one of the characters. No matter what happens, the emotions are presented as is. Which is an interesting anchor as the world constantly shifts and shapes around our crew.

At times, this book is almost more of a creative writing exercise and less of a story. It feels unconstrained in both a physical sense and as a Doctor Who story. It is a story that will suddenly change fonts, use facts from old Doctor Who annuals, turn into a comic, give you a chapter with some drawings of robots and much, much more. In that way, it might just be the most Doctor Who story to ever exist. It can go everywhere and do anything.

Which brings me back to the reality of the book, which has to be addressed: Campaign was never officially released as part of the Doctor Who “brand”. It was planned as a Past Doctor Adventure novel, but because of deadlines, medical emergencies and changes in leadership it never came to fruition. Which is a massive shame. As far as I can tell, it also caused writer Jim Mortimore to never work for Doctor Who again, which is an even bigger shame.

However, eventually Campaign saw the light of day in an unofficial capacity, with all proceeds going to charity. For modern readers, that means you can go online and find a free pdf pretty easily and legally. So it’s not hard to get a copy of your own. It even has writer commentary for every chapter!

When reading Campaign, my brain constantly got tickled with what-ifs: What would this have looked like if made for tv? What if it had been published? Would it have influenced other writers? Would Steven Moffat have changed the way he approached time travel shenanigans if he read Campaign?

And I think that is the essence of the novel. At the very edges of this show, there exists a little book that did its own thing and went creatively wild. Even more creatively wild than Doctor Who as a series dared to go. It lives in infamy as one of the strangest pieces of media, but by being strange, it also constantly reminds you of what Doctor Who can be. If you’re ever lost in the deep fan minutiae and every piece of Doctor Who media starts to feel the same, give Campaign a go and be surprised at how many directions this show can actually take.

A decent story that stands out for its great villain and decent setting.

Our party visits an interplanetary casino where deadly games are being played. While there, Ben gets accused of cheating and Polly gets arrested for time travel. How will they get out of this one?

Let’s start with the setting, as it demonstrates both the best and worst parts of this story well. On paper, the interplanetary casino is a great idea. Casinos generally exude a lot of energy. Flashy lights, high risks and people both happy and destitute. Add the sci-fi element to it, and you do have a place worth exploring.

However, it feels difficult to truly settle in the place. Elements and characters seem to be chosen at random. For example, the casino is run by 1920’s snake gangsters from Earth and one of the guests is just an old cowboy. They are fine as they are, but they don’t really feel like they fit in with an interplanetary casino, aliens and a general future aesthetic. Yet these characters feature prominently and play a big role in the story.

And really, that clash in elements continues in this story. As it goes on, Polly gets her hands on a time bangle and uses it throughout the story. Never questioning what it is exactly, yet using it to get the story where it needs to be. In 60s Who, where changing history always seems to loom in the background, this feels sloppy. It all functions perfectly well, but it feels a bit stitched together, rather than using the characters or setting organically.

One element shines however, and that is the villain, Miss Fortune. As the name might suggest, she preys on people with back luck and can see the odds someone has played through their life. It’s unsettling and a great challenge for Polly, even though she never does anything more than talk. It’s also never made clear if she’s just a human or something bigger. I wouldn’t mind if she came back in a story with higher stakes.

All in all, the story is just too flawed to be great. It is coherent and the main plot works, but the way it just seems to add in random elements is off-putting. Worth a listen, but not more than that.

Didn’t love this one for several reasons.

The party lands in the mysterious Elbion, where magic and fantasy come to life. After a battle with a dragon and a meeting with the king, Susan gets kidnapped by an evil sorcerer, who aims to take over the land. The only thing that can stop him is a mysterious relic. Will the Doctor and Ian get it in time?

The big problem with this story is its massive lack of character. Things happen to our main cast. Ian and the Doctor travel the world, Barbara gets kidnapped and led into a dangerous magic forest and Susan is locked up in a tower, but the characters never seem to react to these situations appropriately. They feel like 2d versions of their usual selves. And sadly, the original characters don’t fare much better.

And to make matters worse, the main story doesn’t really pick up the slack either. It’s incredibly slow and descriptive, without that ever serving a deeper function. Every mountaintop and bump in the road gets explained in so much detail, but it never really comes into play. It’s a load of fluff that is never story relevant or important to the characters.

It feels like this story only exists to feel pages, without any other layer to grab on to. A shame.

Not too much to say about this one, I’m afraid.

The party lands in an intergalactic bank. However, trouble soon arrives when Selachians decide to barge in and take all the customers hostage. Looking to get access, they warn both the manager and the police that they will shoot the hostages if they don’t get their way. Will the Doctor be able to mediate and find a way for everyone to escape?

Let’s start with the positives: The setting for this story is pretty neat! The focus is on opening the big bank vault, but this isn’t your average combination lock. The vault is “Dimensionally transcendental”, meaning alle contents are stored in another dimension. To get access to this dimension, the right code has to be entered, which changes every few hours. It’s a well thought out concept and adds a bit more nuance than the usual ‘put some dynamite on the door’ tactic.

Another positive is that, for me, this is the first introduction of Selachians in audio form! I was quite fond of them when I first read about them in “the Murder Game”, since they had many little tidbits of information that really made the whole species come to life. Like the fact they were a peaceful race that were forced into war and the fact their biology is secretly closer to dolphins than sharks. However, even with all that information, they were still ready to shoot you at any moment and a real physical threat that’s hard to stop.

However, hearing their reintroduction here, I have to say their charm is really diminished. They are really just there to hold a gun and be threatening. There’s none of the detail, charm or anything else that would make them special. They are, for all intents and purposes, water Sontarans. They call humans plankton and threaten to shoot. That’s it.

Even little things like their voices are not that outstanding. I can hear the intent: they want the sound to be similar to gurgling, like you’re talking underwater. But the end result is so monotone that it could also be used for a cybermen. It diminishes their originality.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I liked their introduction a lot, but I am definitely not opposed to a new take on them. This is a different medium with different rules. The problem is that there’s so little to chew on. The only real traits they get is that they have a microphone in their helmet and they like weapons. And that’s just not enough for a monster to stand out.

And that lack of depth also carries through in the rest of the story. Characters barely do anything and mostly sit around for the Doctor to fix things. There’s some small action elements, like Ben, Polly and Jamie trying to use a glue bomb, but that’s really not impactful enough for me to feel all that much excitement. It's too basic without anything to give it an edge. Nothing to really hook you. No special character moments, no unique circumstances, no threatening monster. Nothing.

This story is the equivalent of elevator music. It’s fine. Harmless, but not special at all. It might bring in some familiar notes that you’ve heard before in a more exciting context, but it fails to deliver anything that makes in stand out and unique. As bland as they come.

A great story that focuses on the role Polly has in the Tardis team. With her longing to be more than just a damsel and a coffee machine. Could this finally be her time?

The Tardis lands in Nazi-occupied France, 1944. As soon as we land, the party is ambushed by the Gestapo. The Doctor and Polly manage to escape, while Ben and Jamie are captured. It is now up to the Doctor and Polly to survive their hostile surroundings and find a way to escape. But Polly might have more on her mind.

It's always interesting when Doctor Who puts the 60s companions in the second world war, because they grew up in the aftermath. They saw the consequences and are unwillingly forced back into the origins. It gives it a personal element which I can appreciate. That personal element is even stronger than usual in this story, since Polly comes across her uncle, who died in a concentration camp.

While the story paints quite a vivid picture of an occupied France, the real focus is on Polly’s internal conflict. She has an opportunity to save her uncle, but that would mean changing history. A big no-no in the Doctor’s book. At the same time, Polly is confronted with an overall feeling of uselessness. Seeing a young, female member of the resistance makes her realize that she could be doing much more to make a difference in her adventures. She wants to be more than the cleaning lady and the coffee girl.

These internal and external factors generally drive her to be more reckless in this story. She leaves the Doctor behind to jump on a train, she gets into a fight and is generally a bit more brash. This, for me, is where the problems begin, as it all feels a little aimless.

I have absolutely no problems with Polly trying to be more active. Fact of the matter is that she is often shoved aside in every medium. It’s rare for her to take action and take center stage. But it is unclear for me what the story tries to accomplish with this plot point. It’s not like she fails when she takes action, yet the story berates her for trying at the end. It makes a big deal out of it with the Doctor mentioning it is “not her time yet”. It feels aimless. Should Polly try to be more assertive or not? I feel like the story has no answer to that question.

What does work is the twist later on with Polly’s uncle. It turns out he is not really her uncle, but an impersonator who tries to undermine the resistance. While his eventual plan isn’t entirely clear, it did catch me off guard and made for a real interesting threat to Polly, quickly turning the tables on her.

However, this too undermines Polly’s agency. Since the fake uncle is a traitor, Polly no longer has a chance to save him. No reason to change history. So the big question of changing history fades away, without having a clear answer. And that feels a bit unearned. Polly didn’t learn anything from it. It didn’t make her grow as a person. Which is a shame.

Most characters so far have had an “Aztecs” moment, where they experience history at its worst and have to make a decision about changing it. This would have been the perfect moment to give Polly her version of this moment. Instead, since the uncle is twisted away, it feels a bit arbitrary. This random traitor coincidentally decided to disguise himself as Polly’s uncle, just in time for him to meet his time-travelling fake niece. It doesn’t flow particularly well.

That said, there is still a lot to like and the story is far from bad. The grim setting comes through perfectly and I don’t feel any of the characters are mischaracterized. The big twist doesn’t really pay off in the end, but in the moment, it does catch you off guard, which is something. I hope future stories keep pushing Polly a bit further, but as it stands this is far from bad.

A story of two halves, but entertaining all the way through.

Our party land on an earth colony in the far future. While the colony is peaceful and accommodating, something more seems to be going on behind the scenes. The people take all their orders from a mysterious controller, who is only shown on a screen. But who is really behind those orders? And is this society as peaceful as it looks?

Let’s start with the options: This story is, once again, missing in full. But not to worry. There is a brilliant animation which isn’t necessarily faithful, but has a fantastic atmosphere. On a creative level, this is by far the strongest animation I have seen. I would give it a go if you want to experience this story yourself.

Moving past that, this story takes some clear inspiration from George Orwell’s 1984, in which a future society follows orders from a mysterious man shown on a screen. Any attempts to deviate from the norm set by the mysterious leader are quashed without mercy. While this Doctor Who version is notably a bit less harsh, its cruel utopia still comes through loud and clear.

It's all fairly typical: The party enters the beautiful surface level and enjoys the luxuries, but soon find a hole and look behind the curtain. They discover monstrous creatures on the outside.  They discover secret mines far beneath the city. They discover the controller is nothing but a weak, old man that is used as a puppet.

It's a fine setup. I like seeing the party poke holes in the system. Some of their plans succeed, while others fail with dire consequences, which makes you feel tense every time they try something new. But while I like the way this story slowly falls into place, there are 2 of the major shifts in our party’s favor that are not really earned.

The first is the discovery of the “real controller”, who is an old man, tortured by the mysterious Macra. They discover him by yelling at a screen for a while. Just a few chants of “We want to see the real controller!” and bam! The Macra turn on the camera feed and reveal a major piece of their scheme. It is completely unearned. The Macra weren’t fooled or cheated out of this information. They just heard screaming and gave in.

Another unearned moment shows up at the end of the story. The Doctor meets up with the captain, the man “in charge” of the settlement. A man who has been hypnotized by the Macra all his life. But for some reason, the Doctor has absolutely no trouble convincing him to shake off his programming and just follow him into the deep underground mines to discover the truth of his society. It completely undermines the blissful ignorance we’ve seen through the entire 4 parts, just so it can quickly wrap up the story.

But while these moments blemish the story, they are also incredibly interesting to analyze. Without realizing it, Doctor Who has hit a bit of moral roadblock: How do you properly break down a dystopic control state?

It’s something the original 1984 didn’t really have an answer for. And this story never really bothers explaining it either. It feels like the Doctor just got lucky as he suddenly convinces the captain. The Macra get scared off and everything is better now by default. Ironically, this is where the story asks us to stop thinking, as we now put one man in charge of the entire colony.

And of course this is thinking way too deep about the topic, but it is interesting. We’ve seen the Doctor save plenty of civilizations, without spending any time on the fallout. The big difference is that the people here already believed they were living in a utopia. What happens to the frail excuse of “helping the oppressed” when the society doesn’t feel oppressed? How do you help the happy?

It's something I don’t have a clear answer on, but it keeps nagging at my mind. This story just begs you to ask those kinds of questions. And because of that, this story has matched its inspiration. Which is quite the accomplishment! Is it perfect? No. It does dawdle, and it has the previously mentioned plot holes, but it is also thought-provoking. And that is worth quite a bit too.

A very muddled story that has a lot of clever ideas, but fails in executing almost all of them.

The Doctor, Ben and Polly land in London, 1948. It is a London still wrecked from the second world war. Within the wreckage, they find a mysterious can of beans that tells them of an ongoing conspiracy. And Polly might be more involved than she realizes.

Let’s start out with a comparison. Do you remember those early internet webcomics? Those days where “random = funny” reigned supreme? That’s what this story feels like. Things happen, but they are unexplained and a bit out there. I am not against creative and whacky sci-fi ideas, but this story throws so many ideas at you, that you can never really find your footing in the setting.

To make it as clear as I can: This story features a battle between a possessed can of beans that speaks through vibration and a force that possesses teddy bears, who are evil because they are missed by their owners. One of those bears belongs to a young Polly, who teams up with our gang to stop the evil force. Eventually, they defeat the threat by changing a “Lost and found” sign to “For disposal”.

It's clearly going for zany, but it fails to take the reader by the hand. It takes a little time to lay some groundwork as we’re standing in the ruins of the war, but it doesn’t take long for the can of magic beans to suddenly show up and become plot-essential. We don’t know what the can does, wants or means, yet suddenly we’re all in on it being the center of our attention. The can becomes our goal and later gives us our next objective, yet we never get the full picture of why we should even trust this can of beans. Would you trust a strange voice whispering in a can?

This is starting to sound stupid, but I think the fact that the can of beans never really proves itself is what makes the whole story collapse in on itself. It makes you lose a lot of investment and there is nothing that picks up the slack. The story tries other stuff, like a younger Polly and the teddy bear plot, but it all feels like an afterthought now. It has no weight, no danger, no importance.

Outside of the main plotline, there’s also not much to write home about. The banter between characters is noticeably weak and there are no strong character moments. Which is weird, considering we meet one of our companions as a child. It’s just another part where the connection with the listener is lacking for me.

All in all, Lost and Found is not a strong story. It lacks fundamentals, character motivations and fun little details that make a story shine. It clearly tries to be whacky, but it all feels halfhearted. I wish I could point out at least one thing it did well, but sadly, I’m drawing a blank.

A story that shines in certain aspects, but is mediocre in other.

Our party lands on the surface of the moon. They discover a small human settlement built to monitor and change the weather on earth. However, such power should never fall into the wrong hands.

To get the obvious out of the way: This episode is half-missing. The other half is animated. The animation was actually shockingly good. Characters looked like themselves and were generally more realistic, which works with the tone this story had. If you want your animations to be as faithful as they can be, this is probably the style to go for. Even though it could probably still be a bit more refined.

As far as the actual story is concerned, this one starts out real solid. People in the base are falling ill to a mysterious disease. Meanwhile the cybermen slowly take the sick under their control. There is a big focus on the scare factor, which meshes well with this new cybermen design.

I know that, in recent times, there has been a new appreciation for the original Mondasian design. And quite right to! I have gushed about that exact design in my Tenth Planet review. But to be honest, I didn’t miss it here. This new design is great in its own right, as it reinforces the sterility and lack of emotion these creatures have. It also has a more advanced look, which fits in with the huge difference in time between the last 2 cybermen stories. This time, there are now human eyes to be seen. No movement in face muscles. A metal face is all that’s left. Unmoving. It has a real creep factor! I also never saw it as just a man in a suit. Even with those floppy pants! The way it is shot/animated always made it feel solid and machine-like.

Outside of the monster, this story offers quite a few interesting tidbits. It teaches us about the Gravitron, a machine used to alter gravity. Changing the tides and weather as a consequence. It also has a small example of such a device being used for evil, when a rescue ship is sent towards the sun. It shows both sides of the device, which I really liked! The machine is not evil, it is how it is used. This kind of detail makes a story interesting!

In the character department we don’t have quite as much to chew on. Ben and Polly are fairly flat. Jamie is mostly knocked out. The exception is a scene with the Doctor, as we get to hear his thought process at one point. Doing so is a bit of a double-edged sword. This Doctor is noticeably internal. You don’t know what he is going to do next. That is a big part of his strength. Giving insight into his thoughts could ruin that. Luckily, it is done well, so no harm done!

However, there is one part of this episode that is not as solid as all these other parts. And sadly, that is the main plot. The Cybermen’s plan makes very little sense. They want to use the base to destroy the earth, because it could be a potential threat. They try to take over the base by infecting its inhabitants with sugar, instead of invading. Their reason for this is unknown as far as I could tell. In the end they try to invade anyway, and they fail. It is noticeably incoherent and illogical, which is a bit ironic.

The story also shies away from the inherent “Body horror” aspect that the cybermen encapsulate. I know this is early days, but we get plenty of reminders that the cybermen used to be like us. They can change us into them. But instead of fully committing to that idea, we get a robomen rip-off, which is a bit disappointing. Just some people with a bit of tinfoil on their head. The story already went for an eerie horror-esque vibe at the start. I wish it went all the way.

But overall, this story is still perfectly fine. It has great moments, but they never really come together into a cohesive whole. It’s details are what really make it shine. If you can enjoy the little things, this is still a perfectly fine watch.

A perfectly fine story, but nothing to write home about.

The Doctor, Ben, Polly and new companion Jamie discover the long-lost city of Atlantis hidden below the surface. While there, they meet with a professor Zaroff, who is planning to return the majestic city to the surface. However, he has very little qualms about the destruction such an operation might bring.

First things first, this episode is missing. Which seems like a bit of a given for this season. We are now 13 episodes into our new doctor, and this is the first chance you have to actually see him in the flesh. And even then, only for half of the story. It’s kind of interesting how I’ve never really seen that as a talking point. Still, there is a new and pretty decent animation that covers the gap. It does the job. I’d recommend watching the live action episodes between the animated ones for the best experience.

As for the story itself, as mentioned at the start, it is nothing really exemplary. Professor Zaroff is the clear highlight with his insane ramblings and his famous “NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW”. But other than that, it is a story that has trouble standing out.

Sure, there’s ideas! We are in Atlantis, that alone should bring out some creativity. But the city has no real consequences. There is also some religion vs. science discussion hidden in there, but nothing concrete enough to make it a true talking point. And, most disappointingly of all, there is a race of artificially made fish people that get one real scene and are never seen again. What a waste!

At points it feels like this story deliberately chose the easy (and more boring) route instead of doing something interesting. A particular scene I noticed was the climb with Ben and the Doctor at the very end. As Atlantis is crumbling at their feet, they climb to save themselves from the rising water. This would have been the perfect moment to redeem the fish people. Why not have them show up to save our heroes, as thanks for their freedom? Or why not show a shot of them living in Atlantis now that it is completely submerged? It would give the ending a little more weight.

There is plenty of other moments just like that, where it would’ve been relatively easy to make a change that would make the story a bit more impactful. Little moments that make the whole package shine. But very few of those little moments actually make it to screen.

Our cast isn’t exactly at their best either. The Doctor gets one moment, where he tries to go back to save Zaroff. Doing the right thing even in dire circumstances. Other than that, we are completely defaulting. Polly is a damsel. Ben is action guy. Jamie has no personality yet because he was hastily written in. Except for the first Tardis scene at the beginning. It is nothing to write home about.

And that sentiment goes for the whole story. It is a story of averages. Some good ideas, but a failure to really take them anywhere. The only thing that raise it up a bit are some neat effects on the fish people and the batshit insane villainy from Doctor Zaroff. Other than that, it really is one in a million. A drop in the ocean.

A decent historical that could’ve done with a bit more background and details.

The Doctor, Ben and Polly land in the middle of a battlefield in the Highlands of Scotland. Soon, they come across a small party of Scots that are hiding from the English army. Together they will face the odds as they get captured, split up and make new alliances.

First things first: This story is missing with no animation in sight. There is some fan stuff, but nothing too exciting, that leaves you with three real options: The Target novelization, the telesnap reconstruction, or the narrated soundtrack. For this one, I decided to combine the telesnap reconstruction and the target novel. Overall, I’d recommend the target novel as the best way to experience this story, as it adds a few more character insights. It’s also a bit easier to follow.

That being said, I wouldn’t call this story a powerhouse by any means. The structure is fine, there are plenty of memorable moments, but it doesn’t really stand out as anything noteworthy. Except, of course, for the introduction of Jamie. But even that noteworthy tidbit feels like an afterthought. It just sort of happens.

It actually reminded me a lot of my experiences with “The Crusade”. It is one of the more serious historical stories, but it never really bothers giving you the actual history. From my perspective, it puts stories at a disadvantage. I am not British and I am not too familiar with British history, so I do not know what fight I am even watching. On top of that, the story is missing, so what am I even left with?

Of course, part of that is on me. I am not a British kid from the 60s, so I am not the target audience. But on the other hand, shouldn’t this make kids curious too? Shouldn’t this be the bait to get kids into that history?

There are some interesting parts that show why this is a setting worth exploring: Jamie has a job his entire family has had. The Highlanders have all kinds of honor codes. The “medical” art of bloodletting gets a short mention and we have several mentions of the game whist. All these things make the setting a bit fuller. A bit more realized. But I think it could still have had a bit more meat on its bones.

The story also has its fun moments. Especially surrounding Polly, who is blackmailing a lieutenant in the British army. But all these little parts do not make the story complete. They add little dots to an otherwise blank canvas. It helps, but doesn’t make the total picture more convincing.

But on the other hand, I don’t feel like I have the chance to be entirely fair to the story. It is missing! How am I going to complain about a lack of depth and detail when the story cannot even show me what it had?

That’s why I read the novel. I wanted to see if the story had more to show me when it was completely in prose. But even then, it still left me a bit hollow. Like it could’ve done more.

For example, I really don’t know anything about Jamie yet. He’s a piper and has a bit of a temper. I’d love to see how he develops, but as it stands, there’s really nothing to latch on to. Nothing that defines him.

And I think that conclusion carries over to the entire story. It is by no means bad, insulting or terrible, but it also gives you practically nothing unique or charming. It just happens and then it is over. Far from the worst, but nowhere near the top either.

A decent beginning that quickly falls apart.

A fine novel that sort of stumbles when it steps away from its main setting.

The Doctor, Ben and Polly are staying in 1940s Hollywood. It quickly turns into more than a relaxing vacation, however, when a film director is murdered. On top of that, a new mysterious movie premieres which seems to be irresistible to all that see it. Does it all still count as “movie” magic?

Let’s start with the good: I love the early chapters of this book. They feel incredibly creative and revel in the setting. High hotels overlooking rainy streets, where everybody still wants to make it big. It paints a real picture!

But as the book goes on, it seems less and less interested in its environment. While we learn more about the plot, it grows more and more generic. Fancy restaurants and movie theaters are replaced with generic castles and caves, which don’t feel like they connect to our main setting at all. The transition feels sloppy and almost makes it feel like we went to a different country.

But it’s not only the environment that seems to stumble. There are points in the story where characters feel distinctly out of character. At one point, Polly goes out to investigate on her own. No one seems to think this is dangerous or unsafe. Not even when she is missing for DAYS! All Ben and the Doctor say is “Oh, she will turn up eventually”.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I think Polly can’t be alone. But when she goes to check in on wanted criminal in a bar, and she disappears for 6 days with only a little note now and again.  It goes on for such an unnatural amount of time that it starts to feel like lunacy. And it’s not the only time characters feel off.

One of our other main characters, Chate, is a criminal who is suspected to have murdered the director. He is our main focus for a good while at the start, but the story seems to flip-flop in his portrayal. One moment he’s a misunderstood small-time criminal who wants to get out, the next he is one of the main mind-controlled supervillains. He is stuck in an awkward position between the two storylines and never really finds his place in either. At the end we just decide he is good again, so we can leave him alone.

All these mishaps point to one main problem: flow. This story does not flow well. It has two storylines it doesn’t know how to balance, so it has to overcorrect on all sides to make it work. It makes events feel random and unconnected. It makes character feel out of character.

Which is a shame because beneath it all is a good idea that’s trying to get out. The main villain of it all is the Selyoids. A sort of bacterial entity. Everyone who comes into contact with characters or materials with Selyoids on them, sees them as the perfect being. Combine this with Hollywood films and actors that live on adoration, and you can see how something really interesting could be made here.

The story even makes some small points on the benefits of a mind-controlled utopia and why that might be preferable to a world filled with hate. It gives a little nuance to the concept that makes you doubt the Doctor’s resistance, even if it is just for a second. That’s good stuff, but it just can’t get its time in the limelight here.

So instead, we just have to live with this bungled package. It’s by no means insulting or terrible, but it is pretty incoherent and it wastes a lot of opportunities. Ah well, let’s hope another story does this setting better.

A grip at the past that can’t quite recapture the same magic as the original.

This story starts in ancient Greece. We sit down with Vicki, now an old woman, reminiscing about her travels with the Doctor. Her past seems to catch up with her, however, when the Tardis lands in a shrine near her home. She finds a wounded Doctor inside and they quickly escape together. However, soon they discover the Daleks are hot on their trail!

I didn’t really see it coming, but this story quickly turns into “The Chase 2”. The Doctor and Vicki travel through all kinds of time periods to lose the Daleks that are close behind.

And on paper, it should work. The areas they visit are unique. The scenario’s they come across are interesting. Yet it doesn’t really recapture the magic of the original chase. It’s missing something the original had in spades: Character.

The original Chase was more than just a collection of locations. It was also a collection of character moments. Our Tardis team was chilling in a desert with 2 suns. They were goofing around with a man from Alabama. They met Steven in an incredibly moving character introduction. There were loads of little moments that made you believe in our little team of 4. Which also strengthened the heartbreak when they split up at the end.

Except this time, we don’t have that team. This time we have Vicki, a few decades removed from her last appearance and we have the Doctor, who is presented very flatly by design for story reasons. Later on, Dodo gets added to the mix, but let’s be real: No one is bringing Dodo to a character depth party.

Let’s look at every character in a bit more detail. Starting off with our main attraction: the return of Vicki. Overall, I think Vicki is one of my favorite first Doctor companions. Because she defined the era she was set in. Vicki was bright and optimistic as the travelled with her found family. The grandfather-granddaughter dynamic with the Doctor is obvious, but even outside of that, she always had a close relation with the other companions around her. She was the glue that made our team stick together as they went on fun adventures through time and space. When she eventually left, the show immediately grew very dark and strained. People died in cruel ways and Steven and the Doctor could not stand each other.

Now of course, not all of that rests on Vicki alone, but the point stands: Vicki was a bit of an optimistic force. So my question is: What has decades of life done to this person? What has become of her? What has changed and what has stayed the same? That’s why you bring back a character when they’re older, right? Because you want to see how they’ve grown.

But the story doesn’t really have answers to those questions, because we have to keep on running. The Daleks are close! We can’t stand still for a minute! So Vicki becomes stereotyped very quickly as “old woman”. None of what she originally brought to the table returns. Nothing new takes its place. We learn nothing about her life, except that she had children and grandchildren. There wouldn’t be much difference if we replaced her with, say, the old cave woman from “an unearthly child”.

And the same goes for the other main member of our crew, but in a way that was, oddly, by design. The Doctor in this story in a fairly flat character. Yelling a lot (a LOT), grumping, the whole spiel. Again, the depth is missing, except this time there is a story explanation, as this turns out not be the Doctor, but the Doctor Duplicate from the end of “The Chase”. He is superficial because he was just a copy. Which makes for a decent story twist, but at a cost. The Doctor went through a lot after Vicki, but this can’t be addressed, because this clone only has the Doctor’s memory up to “The Chase”. On top of that, all the new interactions with Vicki now lack impact, because this fake Doctor cannot react appropriately. In his mind, this woman never disappeared from his life, so how can this be a touching reunion?

Of course, at the end, the real Doctor does show up and we get exactly one moment of connection. A short thank you between the Doctor and Vicki, who helped each other at a time they both needed it most. It is beautiful, but also sort of depressing. Imagine if this stuff was sprinkled in, instead of being limited to one short section at the end. We would have had an all time classic.

Outside of the character work, the story is pretty competent. It could have gotten a bit more creative with it’s locations (as there’s no Dracula in this story), but it is all passable. I did think the last location, Brussels, was a bit of a weak spot. The character goals got a bit confused as both Dodo and Vicki didn’t really know what they should be doing and were contradicting each other a little, but it’s one segment among many. The last twist surrounding the Doctor Duplicate made up for it.

But as it stands, this story reinforces a frustrating trend among the recent First Doctor Adventures, where they refuse to explore or expand the characters in their stories. Something all their previous stories used to do in some capacity. I wish I could like this story more, but it’s complete lack of depth brings it down hard and makes the whole package forgettable. Let’s hope this is not the last time we see Vicki, as she deserves so much more.

This story follows the Master as he tries to take on companions and be a hero like the Doctor. Which is a neat concept in itself. The problem is that the structure of this story becomes very predictable. The Master finds a companion, tries to be a hero, fails and the companion leaves him. At first this happens in just a few paragraphs, but every time the Master tries the pattern takes longer and longer. It removes any element of surprise from the equation, which drags this story down a little. It might also be antithetical to the intention, but maybe a more defined Doctor and Master would help this story by giving the pattern more depth. As it is now, we have an undefined Master and an undefined Doctor battling it out. To achieve this, we have quite a bit of distance from both. No personal flourishes or reflection. I think that kind of reflection could have really helped raise the story to the next level, but as it is, it is still well done.

Set just before the Time War, this story focuses on the General in a big confrontation with the Doctor, Davros and the Nightmare Child. While the writing style is solid, I feel like it could have used a little work thematically. In this story, the Nightmare child is basically a Dalek that does not hold any reverence for the Dalek race. This makes it manifest as a giant, computerized octopus. I don’t feel like those 2 parts necessarily fit together. Aside from that, both the Doctor and Davros have very abstract motivations that don’t really feel natural. Still, the story is fantastic in scope and it paints a great picture as we see the universe through the eyes of a Time Lord.  It is far from irredeemable. Just not as special as you’d hope.

Set just before the Time War, this story focuses on the General in a big confrontation with the Doctor, Davros and the Nightmare Child. While the writing style is solid, I feel like it could have used a little work thematically. In this story, the Nightmare child is basically a Dalek that does not hold any reverence for the Dalek race. This makes it manifest as a giant, computerized octopus. I don’t feel like those 2 parts necessarily fit together. Aside from that, both the Doctor and Davros have very abstract motivations that don’t really feel natural. Still, the story is fantastic in scope and it paints a great picture as we see the universe through the eyes of a Time Lord.  It is far from irredeemable. Just not as special as you’d hope.

The Eleventh Doctor and Rory have a boy’s night out as they go to a coronation in a city made of glass. While fun, the problem with this story is that we know who the main villain is going to be before we even start. It kind of removes the mystery element that comes with a murder mystery story. I also felt like some story elements didn’t land very well, like the fight with the Zygons and the conversations between Rory and the prince. It is still a good story, however, as the overall writing feels very natural and it gives us quite a bit of insight in Rory.

My least favorite story in this collection. Three aliens are planning a heist on one of the biggest luxury resorts in the Galaxy. While that might sound like it could lead to some great moments, the lack of character drags the story down. One of our main characters even dies off-screen (off-page?) with no fanfare at all, which makes it clear to me how little these three heisters actually mattered. It also doesn’t use its main monster, the Ood, in a creative way.

A character piece for Madam Vastra, of all people. It’s a piece about rediscovering both her history and the history of her race. It’s poignant and full of heart, but it could stand to be a bit more cohesive. The villain of the piece does not feel particularly interesting and I felt like some pieces of the story didn’t really connect in a natural way. Still, when it is focused, it is great.

A look at the Sontaran education system, which is exactly 7 minutes long. The great part is that this feels like this story works for both the comedic Sontarans, as well as the serious Sontaran threats. Even though it’s lighter in tone, it still feels like it fits the entire race. Fun, creative and just a solid read.

One of the weaker stories in the book. “Student Bodies” plays with the concepts of the Silence and River Song’s upbringing. Compared to the other stories in the book, I feel like this one stands on its own the least. Because it is set in the middle of River Song’s upbringing, it can’t really resolve itself. This in turn makes the ending feel a little sloppy.

While “Grey Matter” could have gone a little harder, “Ghost in the Machine” definitely should have. The storytelling is still vivid and really grabs your attention, but anyone who’s ever heard a cyberman story will immediately understand what’s going on. Because of this, the story can’t really pay off its mystery element and ends with a bit of a dud.