A dystopic future, and questions for the Doctor’s friends…

John Dorney’s conclusion for the latest Doctor Who box set is a clever examination of a question that haunted the Peter Capaldi era of the show – is the Doctor a good man? This time it’s not the Doctor constantly questioning himself on that line, but an interrogator who is convinced that the Doctor isn’t who Liv, Helen, Tania and Andy all maintain he is – but that he’s far more devious, and downright evil than they are claiming, and indeed he has managed to fool them all. It’s a carefully constructed script, giving us insights into each of the TARDIS travellers and their reactions both to the possibility, and the evidence that’s laid before them.

But that’s not the only strand in this. Interspersed between the interrogations are charming moments for the Curator, with Tom Baker at his sparkling best with Venice Van Someren’s Gemma, the links between the two strands gradually increasing. I’m hoping that we’ll hear more from Van Someren in future sets, particularly given the final scenes (in both timelines).

Benji Clifford’s sound design, Jamie Robertson’s score and Ken Bentley’s confident direction continue to be essential parts of what makes this series work so well. The main cast aren’t together as much in scenes in this story, but each provides a different sort of foil for Annabelle Dowler’s Houlbrooke.

Verdict: Once again expanding the Stranded canvas further, this is one of Dorney’s best scripts in recent times. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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