Doctor Who Review: ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures: Orbis’ (Audio)
By James Aggas
On the distant world of Orbis, two old friends are finally reunited. But just how long has the Eighth Doctor been trapped on this world?
Orbis was definitely a major release back in 2009. After the amazing cliffhanger that we got in The Vengeance of Morbius, fans had been eager to find out exactly how the Doctor survived what should have been certain death. Was the opening to the third season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures worth the wait?
There’s an interesting story told with Orbis. It gives us a very rare glimpse of the Doctor. Not just of his Eighth self, but in general. We see him living something of a more ordinary life on the planet Orbis. With his TARDIS many light-years away, he’s been stuck a single world for a long time. So long, in fact, that he’s become quite contented with his life there.
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That’s something we very rarely see of the Doctor. I think the best glimpse we had of it on TV is his life on Trenzalore in The Time of the Doctor. And even that doesn’t quite compare. Trenzalore had a population of humans, his favourite species. (At the very least, they certainly looked humanoid.)
On Orbis, however, the planet’s only sentient population strongly resemble jellyfish. While they’re creatures with emotions and intelligence, they’re also very different from the Doctor’s favourite species. So he’s become rather distant from humanity as a result.
This makes things rather difficult when he and Lucie are finally reunited. Especially as he can’t initially remember who she is. He remembers bits and pieces of his old life, but can’t picture Lucie at all.
A happy reunion?
This is the best part of Orbis. The Eighth Doctor and Lucie aren’t reunited until the second half of the story, but it pays off really well. You feel sorry for Lucie, especially as she had mourned the Doctor, then given fresh hope, before having it snatched away. The Doctor isn’t the man she once knew, and she doesn’t know if their friendship will ever be the same. Or even if it’s still there at all.
The Doctor meanwhile has become rather attached to Orbis. So attached, in fact, that even when he’s given the option of leaving, after centuries of being stuck there, he doesn’t want to. He’s given up on travelling the universe and saving the day. You know it’s going to take something big to change that. And that’s exactly what happens. More than that: it’s rather tragic, too.
The alien villains didn’t make much of an impression on me, but I did love the return of the Headhunter. It’s always a joy to hear her wit and sarcasm, and she really is a nasty piece of work. She seems to want the Doctor’s help, but can she really be trusted? (Short answer: no.)
Next: An Introduction to The Eighth Doctor Adventures (Season Three Audio)
One final thing I enjoyed about Orbis was how much it sets up the rest of the season. Character wise, it puts Eight and Lucie in a brand new place. We’re not going to get the wonderful friendship exactly as it was in season two, but that’s a good thing. It’s great to see the characters explore their relationship from scratch.
Just as importantly, however, it also sets things up plot-wise, too. When the story ends, you know that this won’t be the last we’ve heard from the Headhunter…