Doctor Who Review: Eighth Doctor Audio ‘Caedroia’
By James Aggas
The Eighth Doctor, Charley and C’Rizz land on a strange world of castles, labyrinths and minotaurs. Is the quality of ‘Caedroia’ as fantastic as its subject matter?
From the very beginning, Caedroia lets us know that, even given the highly experimental nature of the stories told in the Divergent Universe arc, this is going to be something very, very different. In several key ways, in fact. The story itself is quite bizarre. But it’s the impact Caedroia leaves on the arc that really makes it stand out.
First of all, there’s the involvement of the Kro’ka. He’s been a recurring enemy throughout the past two seasons, but he’s only ever made brief appearances. Taunting the Doctor and his companions while guiding them into different zones, he’s someone who’s been working for the Divergence.
Essentially, he’s the closest thing to a physical presence that the Divergence has for the entire arc. The whole time, they’ve entirely remained in the shadows. Even the Kro’ka is someone who merely serves them.
With this story, however, things really start to shake up. The Kro’ka is a lot more directly involved. Finally, the Doctor and his friends have something to fight against. They truly start getting some answers as to what’s going on and what the Divergence want. Most important of all, though: they finally learn where the TARDIS is.
This leads them onto an incredibly bizarre world of labyrinths, minotaurs, and pointless bureaucracy. I always enjoy a Doctor Who story like this, with elements of mythology and fantasy. It reminds me of The Mind Robber, easily one of my favourite Troughton stories. Caedroia isn’t quite as brilliant as that classic story, but it is certainly a lot of fun.
The Eighth Doctor, Charley and C’Rizz encounter a strange and fantastic world in ‘Caedroia’. (Credit: Big Finish)
I think my favourite part about the story is how much Paul McGann is given to do. There’s a rather interesting development that I really don’t want to spoil. All I will say is that we get a good look at the Doctor in a completely new way. McGann is given a lot more to perform as a result of this. Not just in terms of comedy but also in terms of great drama. It makes the story much more enjoyable to listen to.
After so many dark and bleak stories like The Twilight Kingdom and The Last, Caedroia feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s just one of the most fun stories we’ve had in a long while. The Doctor and his friends are finally allowed to enjoy themselves while still facing great danger. It’s also brilliant how much this story ties up of the Divergent Universe arc.
Which is kind of ironic, really. When you reach the end, it feels like our heroes can finally start to explore the new universe that they’ve been stuck in this whole time. They are no longer pushed around by the Kro’ka, or stuck on just one world. They can go anywhere they’d like.
Honestly, if the series hadn’t come back on TV only months later, I’d be convinced that this story could’ve been a season finale. With the team finally reunited with the TARDIS, they can explore a new universe together. More than that: they could finally start tracking down the Divergence for themselves. Finally, it really feels like the arc has kicked off into full swing!
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