The Nine has a cunning plan – which doesn’t bode well for anyone who knows the Doctor…

There are some laugh out loud moments in this terrific script from John Dorney which, as the title suggests, focuses pretty much exclusively on the Doctor’s friends and companions. The Nine decides that he wants to collect them all – which allows for some wonderful cameos (and even foreshadowings – listen carefully!) as well as a focus on River, Charley Pollard and Bliss. You really don’t want to know more than that going into this – Dorney plays some clever tricks on listeners’ expectations, and the combination of the people from all parts of the Doctor’s lives throws up more than a few surprises.

John Heffernan sounds as if he’s having a ball playing all the different versions of The Nine in this story, and given his interactions with Alex Kingston’s River, I almost wish that they had been stuck together for longer than just this one tale. Dorney knows the characters well and the solution is built on River’s similar knowledge – and there’s a moment you may skip over as the resolution is discussed that shows a side to River that sometimes gets overlooked with regard to her relationship with the Doctor.

Verdict: We’ve had companion team-ups before but not quite like this – and don’t miss a brilliant line regarding Adric… 9/10

Paul Simpson

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