Katharine Armitage never misses 
I liked this one a lot
8 Likes
We didn’t get a multi-Doctor story for Cloud Eight either. 
Lots of numbers in this range!
11 Likes
Oooh now that’s a controversial opinion in my books, or am I the other way round and I’m the controversial one? 
I found her previous 9DA to be one of his worst
6 Likes
I kind of liked it 
I’ve given everything she’s done at least a 4*[1] and of course she did Ambition’s Debt which made me absolutely insane
except the UNIT story which I gave 3 ↩︎
7 Likes
Finished this one. Easily the best since Snare. Also, loved the Bad Wolf reference.
6 Likes
This is the 2nd worst story by average raiting for the 9DA (behind Snare). So I dont think its a hot take. Its still over 4 stars though, becouse this range is incredable
6 Likes
I liked this! Surprisingly, I think it’s the first where it’s not immediately in the running to be my favorite in the series — but that’s not because there’s anything wrong with the story, it’s just a reflection on how very much the new 9DAs have grabbed me. This one was still a solid story, with good character work and wonderfully slotted in with more of that post-Father’s Day thematic material we started tackling in Snare… and I’m looking forward to getting some answers to this underlying mystery of the Powell Estate arc.
10 Likes
Another great one! This is what I wrote in my review:
This series continues to impress me with some really strong character work. The stories are great, but it’s the characters and the acting that really stand out. They manage to add a lot of depth to characters we already know, especially Rose and Jackie. I was worried it might start to feel repetitive with so many episodes in the same location, but they’ve added enough variety that it never becomes an issue. And honestly, more Jackie is always a good thing.
Almost forgot to mention this story. It’s a fun one where past characters come back to life. The resolution left a bit to be desired, but it was still good enough for me to give it a high rating.
10 Likes
My hope is that episode 7 is going to be the crossover one. It feels like both 9DA and 13DA’s story arcs are about to end and then it feels perfect to have a crossover before doing the last couple of episodes.
11 Likes
Just finished this, the 9DAs remain as good as ever. Much like the 13DAs it feels like the story is heading somewhere now.
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spoiler-y review
Legends of Tomorrow did it! I was going to say this as a joke, but a ton of anachronisms in one place, a vibrant cast,[1] knowingly absurd logic,[2] and the involvement of demons? All that’s missing is Arthur Darvill…
If you couldn’t tell, the discussion about grief largely washed over me. Not that it’s bad, and that it shouldn’t have been included—I personally feel that I’ve heard it all before.[3] I did like the queer angle taken with Glen and Paul, and that their touching goodbye referenced Some Like It Hot. Nice bit of characterization.
The demon’s footholds, as put by the Doctor, echo a bitter grievance about Bad Wolf and what could be the Doctor’s conduct during the Time War, but which I’m also suspicious is his invocation in the Void.[4] Methinks somebody is desperate to escape, and believes the TARDIS can get them out through the Powell Estate…
8 Likes
Also gonna echo everyone who’s said that the character work is a highlight. I’ve especially seen it with Rose, both in Billie Piper’s more relaxed acting, and in the details about her past. Here, we learn that she used to play a game based on Five Children and It, and it’s heavily implied that she wished for her dad back. My heart!
7 Likes
A few more things I forgot:
- Was I the only one who heard Glen, and thought Jeremy Clyde (Tony from Stranded) was playing an old man again?
- The implication is that Paul died by suicide out of severe depression, which is chilling.
- I like the misdirect with the words Glen has been waiting decades to say to Paul (not “I love you,” but “Paul, let’s go home”), and the parallel between the soap opera and the Doctor and Rose’s conflict.
- It took until the Doctor mentioned not being Rose’s dad, offering a hug anyway, for me to realize that he’s been a father figure to her. That’s really sweet.
14 Likes
While listening I did think that last point might end up being a little controversial, with 9 and Rose often being read as romantic. Father figure is definitely my preferred take on it though, nice to see it highlighted.
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Enjoyable, but I freely admit that this was my least favourite of the Ninth Doctor and Rose audios so far. I feel the bar has been set very high up to now and this one didn’t quite match up. Partly, I felt the atmosphere was lacking (particularly in comparison to the other Powell Estate audios) and, partly, the threat seemed far less tangible than in most. I suppose, also, there’s a hefty dose of the fact that recent releases in other ranges have been so stellar as well. I still enjoyed it but this was the first of the range where it just… kind of… was. Definitely felt like a set up for something bigger.
11 Likes
It’s sort of the trouble with being the start of a stealth two-parter, it robs itself of a proper conclusion.
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I agree. Some do this better than others, however. Like I said, I still enjoyed it overall. I mean, what’s not to love? The Ninth Doctor is in fine form, Rose and Jackie are great and I quite liked Glen. The concept was solid enough but it just didn’t quite match the rest of a fantastic series.
Thirteen O’Clock has me very intrigued, however, and I guess that is in part down to all the set up work here.
8 Likes
One thing I’m really enjoying between the alternating Ninth Doctor and Thirteenth Doctor audios is the sheer contrast between their personalities. Both are absolutely 100% THE Doctor, and yet each highlights a very different mix of traits (both unified by eger enthusiasm and joie de vivre). It’s a pretty pitch perfect counterbalance, one to the other. Whilst I doubt we’ll get the crossover that it is such fun to speculate about, I actually think Nine and Thirteen would work very well together. 
11 Likes
Since series 12 I’ve been saying that these are the two ideal incarnations for a multi Doctor story in the revived series. Over the years fans have tended to remember the Ninth Doctor by his pain from the Time War, but I think he’s an incarnation better defined by the healing process. Despite everything, despite how it haunts him, he’s the one who’s loudest and proudest about making sure everybody lives, even if it’s “just this once”. In Parting of the Ways he’s met with the same choice he faced at the end of the Time War, and he chooses not to sacrifice the Earth to wipe out the Daleks, it comes full circle.
I think meeting a future version of himself that’s more outwardly joyful like the Thirteenth Doctor would be motivation for him to keep pushing, living evidence that it gets better. This goes both ways too, by the end of series 12 the Doctor is back in a similar spot having just seen Gallifrey destroyed, and the revelations of the Timeless Child are hanging over her while she tries to bottle it up to her own detriment. It’d similarly be beneficial for her to meet her post-Time War incarnation, to remind her that she can work through these things.
10 Likes
Just finished this and thought it was great. Loved the different historical figures, especially Edith, and how it slowly revealed they were people from Glen’s book and how this meant Paul could materialise. I liked the idea of it being sequential and it being like a rope back into the past. The link back to Father’s Day worked really well and how this lead to some conflict between the Doctor and Rose because of the lingering resentment from both of them about what happened in that story.
Two things. Firstly, the comments about how it would have been good/better to have the residents of the Powell Estate recur across the stories - Brainy Betty, Glen etc. Part of me agrees but also, part of me wonders if that would actually have made the estate feel too small. I think it actually makes the world of these stories seem a bit bigger.
Because I’ve been listening to the Rose Tyler spin off there have been other characters from the estate and a few have recurred across stories but actually, I think it makes more sense to have this wide range of people - we’re talking tower blocks which accommodate hundreds of residents.
Secondly - we probably need a tag linking these stories together as there’s obviously this arc going on. But I can’t think of a decent name. ‘The Powell Estate’ seems a bit perfunctory and we already have that as a location. I wondered about ‘Trapped on the Powell Estate’ but they have got away from it. Thoughts?
10 Likes