A temporal tidal wave deposits the TARDIS on Giant’s Causeway in 55BC. The Eighth Doctor is confused enough about what caused it before he, Charley (India Fisher) and C’rizz (Conrad Westmaas) discover that something is very, very wrong. The Causeway is too large and the Celts and Romans fighting over it are… twisted, odd. The Celts, led by Valmoira (Amanda Hurwitz) and her daughter Noori (Michelle Fox), don’t fear death. The Romans are Sontarans, gathered beneath a standard thrumming with temporal energy and with no memory of their true selves. The TARDIS has landed in the middle of two wars and both of them are about to get bloody…

I’ve always been fond of the Sontarans and Rutans. The clash, as expressed in the interviews here, between a mutable race of shapeshifters and the world’s angriest potatoes is visually and ideologically interesting even before you get to the conflict itself. Lizzie Hopley’s script takes both races and maps them onto their historical equivalents and the story flies the moment she does. John Banks is fantastic as Salutio, the officer who bonds with Charley and begins to see both how different his true nature is. He’s an action hero who can’t quite see what he is, a soldier who can’t quite understand the tragedy he’s part of and he and Fisher spark off each other brilliant. Starkey, as always, impresses too and I’m looking forward to seeing both of them show up in future instalments. Also, this entire story is built in part around the term ‘Sonturians’ and I cannot express how happy that makes me.

The Celtic side of things also maps onto the TARDIS crew neatly. Westmaas, back in the role after over a decade and even better than last time, is earnest, determined and emotionally open in the exact way the Sonturians aren’t. Fox and Hurwitz are great as the Celtic leadership too and their relationship is the hinge the story revolves around. This is a terrible war hijacked by a worse one and Fox, Hurwitz, Banks and Dan Starkey give it the faces and voices it needs.

This veteran TARDIS crew are the heart of the story and Ken Bentley’s subtle direction gives them the space to explore and focus the conflict. Fisher and Westmaas are both superb as always and McGann brings a surprising hard edge to the Eighth Doctor that works very well. There’s a ghost of the War Doctor here, a ruthlessness that’s surprising but not unwelcome. There’s a hint, in that ruthlessness, of the stories to come too. This is not the first time the Doctor has interacted with this war and his directness is in context, even if we don’t have that context yet.

Verdict: A classic TARDIS crew, two classic monsters and some fun set up for the rest of the story. This is a strong start to a series whose premise is overdue. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart

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