By James Mortimer

Obverse Books, out now

Obverse Books’ ongoing series of monographs focusing on a Doctor Who serial or story hits 2007’s Series 3 finale The Sound of Drums / The Last of the Time Lords.

I have to confess being a bit surprised when I read that James Mortimer’s look at these stories didn’t also include Utopia, as popular Doctor Who opinion tends to group the trio as a three-parter, and so I was reassured to spot an appendix titled ‘It’s unashamedly a three-parter.’ Whether or not you think it is indeed a three-parter (writer Russell T Davies believes so) it’s right that the Toclafane in the room is addressed.

Marking John Simm’s first full episodes as Harold Saxon/ The Master, Mortimer argues that this was a very different finale to what we’d become accustomed to. Apart from the absence of big hitter monsters like Daleks or Cybermen, structurally this is a different approach, and the author spends time pulling out the different themes and references. Mortimer has a welcome clarity of style that prevents the analysis from becoming to heavy and studious, supporting his theories with facts and solid evidence.

I can’t believe that these stories be first aired 12 years ago, and in all honesty I haven’t revisited them frequently since, so it was refreshing to return to these episodes after this time through a modern set of eyes. Mortimer spends time on the Saxons (Harold and Lucy), the nemesis dynamic of Doctor and Master, as well as offering some opinions on how Martha fulfilled a very different role to that of Rose, not least in the way she treated her family. The none-too-subtle messianic/transfiguration aspects of the conclusion are also looked at, although the adoption of the hard reset switch at the end is given an easy ride by Mortimer.

Verdict: Clear, direct and never outstaying its welcome, another solid entry from Obverse Books’ series. 8/10

Nick Joy