Doctor Who review: Eighth Doctor Adventures: Wirrn Dawn (audio)

The Eighth Doctor and Lucie arrive in the middle of a terrible war, as they face the grim future of humanity in ‘Wirrn Dawn’.

Just two stories after Hothouse, we have another follow-up to a Fourth Doctor classic with the return of the Wirrn. The Ark in Space, where they originally appeared, is a hugely loved story. Both Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat have sung their praises for it.

It’s not hard to see why. It’s a very horrific serial, both in terms of its claustrophobic atmosphere and in its full-on body horror. (Even with bubble wrap.)

More from Winter is Coming

The Wirrn are also a fantastic monster. They’re similar to the Krynoids, in some ways, in how they would convert other beings into them. But they have a higher intelligence, too. Mostly because they absorb the intelligence of those whom they absorb.

They also had a motive for wanting to use the humans as a food supply in their original appearance: revenge. For they had fought with humans before, and both sides had lost many lives.

It’s this tiny piece of backstory that writer Nicholas Briggs chooses to focus on in Wirrn Dawn. The story is set in a long and grim war between the humans and the Wirrn. As a result, it’s almost completely different in genre to The Ark in Space.

A different point of view

The Wirrn are also explored in a deeper way in Wirrn Dawn. Yes, what they do to many humans is horrifying. But at the same time, both sides are trying to survive. The humans believe that they’re fighting an infestation, while the Wirrn see the humans as invaders.

This is something that Nicholas Briggs does very well – taking an old enemy and changing your pre-conceived ideas of them, while still remaining true to what they are. He did the same thing for the Voc robots from The Robots of Death in Robophobia. (Which is an absolutely brilliant audio, and well worth a listen.)

It’s also fascinating to hear the Eighth Doctor’s reaction to these events. As horrific as the conflict is, it’s not one he wants to resolve. To him, it’s history, a war that he has no way of ending. Essentially, he’s just trying to ensure the survival of both himself and Lucie.

We’re also given more of his recently detached view from humanity. He’s recovered somewhat from the events of Orbis, but six hundred years on a planet without any humans is bound to have changed his view on them.

We heard his more alien side in Hothouse, and we hear it again in this story. It’s not that he doesn’t feel sympathy for the humans, but he also feels sympathy to what the Wirrn do, too. What’s grotesque to a human is just another way of life for the Wirrn.

Lucie’s faith

Lucie is also focused on rather nicely. There are some scenes where she aims to really hold out on her own against the Wirrn. You also begin to see just how much she trusts the Doctor at this point. There’s an incredibly deep bond between them. In a purely platonic way, she clearly thinks the world of him.

However, one scene highlights a problem: she might think too highly of him. She believes that the Doctor’s infallible compared to everyone else, that he never makes mistakes. Someone points out to her that she’s just putting him on a pedestal. The whole scene definitely feels like foreshadowing. Especially when the audience knows that the Doctor has made a difficult choice that Lucie doesn’t know about.

Next: Review: Eighth Doctor Adventures: The Beast of Orlok (audio)

Wirrn Dawn is a fantastic piece of drama. It’s a great and very different take on a sci-fi war story. It feels grim and gritty rather than adventurous and exciting. It also feels less black and white than you might expect. An excellent story that pays tribute to The Ark in Space, while completely avoiding to copy it. A real highlight of the season.

Next time: ‘The Scapegoat’

Home/Doctor Who