Doctor Who review: Eighth Doctor Adventures: The Eight Truths (audio)
By James Aggas
The Eighth Doctor and Lucie discover a brand-new doomsday cult called the Eight Truths. It sounds like another huge con. But what happens if the so called “end of the world” actually happens…?
The Eight Truths kicks off the season finale for the Eighth Doctor Adventures in a really interesting way. Written by Eddie Robson, its story features a great mix of the everyday with the fantastic, as is to be expected from his scripts.
In this story, set in the near future of…2015, Robson takes something as simple as a modern doomsday cult, and has a lot of fun with it. He also raises a rather interesting question. With so many cults prophesizing the end of the world, what would happen if that prophecy came true?
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The story splits into two key plotlines very nicely. The Eighth Doctor hears about a missing probe, and immediately starts investigating. It doesn’t take him long to gain the trust of head scientist Dr Sangakkara, played by Sanjeev Bhaskar. (Who would later star in Death in Heaven as Colonel Ahmed.) He’s a very likable guy, and it’s not long before he gets used to someone as eccentric and brilliant as the Doctor.
Meanwhile, Lucie bumps into her old friend/enemy Karen, who had last been seen with the Headhunter in Grand Theft Cosmos. She’s apparently turned over a new leaf, though, and has joined “the Eight Truths”. It’s not long before she gets Lucie interested about the organization. Of course, Lucie ends up becoming far more involved than she could have imagined…
Two-parts within two-parts
One thing that’s brilliant about The Eight Truths is that, while it’s only the first half of the finale, it actually uses the two-part structure really well. For example, an event happens at the end of part one that causes the second part to go on a very different route. As a result of this, the story suddenly feels much grander in scale, and the stakes become much higher.
Another character also becomes more heavily involved in the second part. Kelly Westwood, a reporter who initially aimed to expose “the Eight Truths” as nothing more than a huge con, also tries to help the Doctor, especially when time starts running out fast.
She’s another character that’s played with a lot of charm and charisma, and Sophie Winkleman really helps to make the character very endearing and believable. Eddie Robson’s script also allows for a ton of great dialogue for the character.
Next: Doctor Who review: Eighth Doctor Adventures: The Cannibalists (audio)
For the whole of The Eight Truths, the main enemy of the piece is hidden in the shadows. When the second part ends however, and the true enemy is finally revealed, the Doctor realizes that things are far, far worse than he feared…