The Doctor, Callen and Doyle arrive on the Greenwood – could this be a suitable home for a boy and his dog?

Roy Gill here continues the story of Callen and Doyle from Red Darkness at the end of the previous “season” of adventures for the 9th Doctor. I noted in the review of that story that it had an unusual ending: the fact that this Doctor took what felt like two potential companions along felt slightly off… All is made clear as this story progresses, and ties back to the Doctor’s conversation with Tanya back on Earth, as much as his innate desire to keep his promises.

I was expecting something connected to red/green colour-blindness to be integral to this story, and in an odd way it is. Gill sets up the world of the Greenwood well, with the Doctor learning various aspects via Louise Jameson’s Fiacra, while Callen and Doyle find out a lot more alongside Maddison Bullyment’s Tay and her own dog (and once again, Gill ensures sound designer Iain Meadows and director Helen Goldwyn have various story points to deliver in canine patois). You might get to the bottom of the problem ahead of the Doctor if you’re thinking a bit laterally – Gill plays fair providing the clues – but the main reveal will likely come as a surprise.

I don’t want to spoil any further than those hints, but suffice it to say that this is another inspired way of involving the show’s history in a way that wouldn’t alienate anyone who came to this as a newcomer (much as the original Series 1 did), and part of me hopes that Adam Martyn and Harki Bhambra might reprise their roles as Callen and Doyle some point down the line – I’d love to hear those characters with the 11th Doctor particularly.

Verdict: A fine start to the new set. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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