Doctor Who overview: Eighth Doctor Adventures: season three

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Whether it was golems, spiders or even plants, it was a season filled with monsters, old and new, in various shapes and sizes. But season three of the Eighth Doctor Adventures was also about something else, something more important: the friendship of the Eighth Doctor and Lucie.

The third season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures was different in a few key ways compared to the first two. It still aimed for a more modern feel that emulated the New Series, but it was also a season that took risks. From the opening story, Orbis, we knew that things were going to be very different for the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller.

Stranding the Doctor on a planet for six hundred years was a bold move. If it had been something that he had easily recovered from, it would’ve been a cheap one, too.

Thankfully, the consequences of Orbis carried over to virtually all the following stories. We got to hear a Doctor that had grown rather distant to humanity, and therefore got to hear more of his alien side. In Hothouse, the Doctor was cynical over how humans treated their planet. He even began to wonder what he saw in them.

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In Wirrn Dawn, he perfectly accepts that, while nature may not be pretty, it isn’t something that should be fought against, either.

The Scapegoat allowed him to talk about what happened to Orbis with Lucie, and how hard he always tries to look for hope in the universe.

And by the time we get to the finale, he’s truly defending and seeing the best of humanity, once again. He won’t forget Orbis, but he has finally moved on. It’s a really satisfying character arc.

A shaken but strong friendship

Equally satisfying is the relationship of the Doctor and Lucie. Orbis gave them a bit of a shakeup, especially when the Doctor initially forgot her completely. But Lucie refused to give up on him, and over time, the Doctor remembers more and more why he liked her so much.

Even more interesting is how Lucie sees the Doctor. It’s completely platonic, but at the same time, she thinks he’s completely amazing. Despite how long it took for them to admit to liking each other, and despite their constant banter, Lucie thinks the world of the Doctor. It’s not overdone, but it is clear.

When it’s directly addressed in Wirrn Dawn, instead of it coming across as sweet, it’s actually pointed out to her that she’s setting herself up for disappointment. She believes the Doctor can’t make mistakes, that he’s better than everyone.

It’s quite refreshing that her viewing the Doctor in this way isn’t presented as ideal. Particularly as the audience knows that the Doctor is more than capable of making mistakes. It’s also fantastic foreshadowing of what’s to come in the fourth and final season.

Big Finish

A change in format

One thing introduced in this season was the two-part structure. The move from fifty-minute episodes to two half-hour ones was a bold choice. Especially as it seemed to move away just a little bit from the style of the New Series.

But it was a move that worked rather well. Particularly when the episodes were released weekly on downloads. It was nice to be given cliffhangers and get to enjoy the wait in between each one. It’s almost a shame that Big Finish haven’t done it with any of the Doctor Who ranges since.

Perhaps the stories that used this new structure best were Orbis, The Beast of Orlok and The Eight Truths/Worldwide Web. In each story, something would change radically in the next episode to make it stand out just that little bit more.

With Orbis, it was the Doctor and Lucie’s long overdue reunion. With Orlok, it was a huge shift in genre from horror mystery to almost full-on sci-fi. And with the finale, in each separate part, major events would happen to radically alter things.

These major shifts in storytelling were always satisfying, especially when listening to them on a weekly basis back in 2009. It helped the stories to stand out just a little bit more, and helped the transition feel just a little bit more necessary.

Highlights

As for personal highlights? Again, Orbis should be mentioned. Despite a slightly weak villain, it was a wonderfully dramatic episode for the Doctor and Lucie. It was great to hear some major consequences, both to their characters individually and to their relationship. Particularly after the huge cliffhanger that we were given in The Vengeance of Morbius. And it left a huge impact for the remaining stories of the season.

Wirrn Dawn was a great sci-fi war story. It was also satisfying that by the end, things weren’t tidily wrapped up, and the Doctor couldn’t save the day, for once. And it was a radically different and fresh take on a really great monster.

If there was one story that revealed itself to be more enjoyable on relisten, it was The Scapegoat. Initially, it just seemed to be a very bizarre and strange story. But, like The God Complex, there are a number of layers beneath the surface that make it more enjoyable the more you listen to it.

Finally, The Eight Truths and Worldwide Web formed a great and epic finale with a wide scale. It featured great characters, a strong plot, and tied up a number of loose ends very nicely. Another strong and satisfying finale from Eddie Robson.

Next: Review: Eighth Doctor Adventures: Worldwide Web (audio)

Overall, season three was very effective. It avoided simply trying to copy the success of the first two seasons and instead took a number of risks. All of these risks paid off. Is it the best season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures? No. But only because of what came next…

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