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I remember absolutely nothing about this story, honestly tempted to lower my rating to a 5, some stories make no impact on me, but it seems this one fully just went in one ear out the other
”There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, things which act against everything that we believe in. They must be fought.”
– The Second Doctor
All I really remember is this felt like an improvement on the First Doctor one. Or at least it didn’t feel completely out of sync with the era in which it is set.
I started this one probably close to 6 months ago and stopped right when Jamie was telling the Doctor about the book it was just a slog up until that point and I really just didn’t care for it at that point I probably would’ve rated 4/10 but when I picked it back up a week or so ago when I saw this was on the schedule I realized I left off right before it got ‘good’ once they got to the city it was more interesting but that whole part was way to short. However Jamie in a mirror maze is something I wish I could see on tv because that would be utter hilarity. But even that could only raise it a point or so. Had the city part been longer it would’ve been a lot better but still found it boring nonetheless
I enjoyed this one a lot back in September 2024, snd rated it 9/10. Don’t really remember why, though; my review helps make sense of it.
The Silent City is a beautifully crafted short story that captures the spirit of the Second Doctor’s era while offering a fresh, imaginative adventure. Its blend of vivid settings, strong characterisation, and intriguing Time Lord history make it a standout story, and the musical climax ensures it ends on a high note.
Here’s my spoilery review for those who fancy a read. Thanks!
I honestly think this was my favorite story in the collection. I absolutely loved the Doctor and Jamie, the Master giving Jamie a cursed book because he knew the Doctor would get it, and the actual concern the Doctor showed added to the concern in the story. Also saving the day playing the recorder and bagpipes was awesome because I think Jamie’s role before meeting to Doctor is sometimes underutilized. I can only remember one other time of the bagpipes being brought up, and that was Jamie finding broken bagpipes in the TARDIS and the Doctor not wanting to let him fix them.
Honestly find this range so weird like they feel too short to fully explore the themes sometimes but defo shouldn’t be dragged out anyone else feel that way with these
I think that certianly can be a risk with short stories, and sometimes this range veers towards it, but I don’t think this is anywhere near as bad as it could be.
It’s certianly not as good with it as The Target Storybook imo, the stories in that all felt the perfect sort of tale for the short story medium, where here you could definitely see some being expanded into a full episode, but I think they still work alright.
TL:DR: I get what you mean, but I think it’s fine here, definitely is better than elsewhere
Gave this one a read seeing how liked it is and yeah! I found that pretty great. Two and Jamie are on point, everything surrounding the city is very evocative, and I felt with this one that it wasn’t too short or too long, though it probably could use an extra chapter.
ALSO JAMIE GETS TO PLAY THE BAGPIPES HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN? HES A PIPER BUT EVERYONE FORGETS THAT. hehe.
I didn’t particular enjoy this one. It’s a step up from Eoin Colfer’s contribution but it still felt like a story written by someone who doesn’t quite understand Doctor Who or the characters within.
It never really felt like the Second Doctor although Jamie did brush closer to Hines’ performance. Ancient Time Lord legends can be interesting and I did like the underwater origins of this group. The inclusion of the Master was completely unnecessary though and I have to say it reinforced the fact that I don’t really like the Master appearing prior to Terror of the Autons.
Some of the imagery here was good and once I was used to the style of prose, I got into it but the off-kilter Doctor Who elements kept me at arms length from the story.
