Reeltime Pictures, out now

An insight into how fans around the world coped with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Out of their evil must come something good,” the fourth Doctor says at the end of Genesis of the Daleks – a story that includes the moment where a megalomaniac debates the existence of a hypothetical virus that could wipe out everything. There’s been nothing hypothetical about COVID-19 and the pandemic has hit everyone across the world, in some form or other, with many countries experiencing a lockdown. People have tried to find their own coping mechanisms, and for some Doctor Who fans, it’s been an opportunity to spend more time in that alternate reality.

This is a chronicling of that, with contributions sent in by those fans to Reeltime, which Roger Stevens has compiled into this short documentary, hosted by Sophie Aldred. The tone takes a little time to settle down, but the meat of the material is worth the wait, as we see exactly what people have achieved. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but suffice it to say that this is one of those times when you really won’t have an idea of who or what’s coming next.

Neil Coles’ Museum of Classic Sci-Fi – with its controversial Dalek outside – is the setting, and this will hopefully help attract others up to Allendale to see it. But hopefully, this whole film will make people aware of the challenges that others have faced during this time.

Verdict: A chronicle of the plague year from a different perspective. 7/10

Paul Simpson

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