Doctor Who review: The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles: Field Trip
By James Aggas
Osgood finally gets a chance to travel with the Doctor in Field Trip, the final story of Doctor Who audio box set The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles.
Just like War Wounds, the last story of The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles features another previously established character traveling with the Doctor: his old friend (and perhaps biggest fan) Osgood! (We don’t know which Osgood, though.) At long last, the Doctor has finally offered her the chance to travel with him, just for one trip, at least.
What I particularly enjoyed about Una McCormack’s story was that we get to hear Osgood in a rather different setting. We’ve both seen and heard her in many stories as a key part of UNIT, but for once, we get to hear what she gets up to when she’s away from the team, or even from planet Earth, for that matter.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, McCormack has as much fun with the character as she can. Seeing life on other worlds, meeting alien races, getting a wider view of the universe – it’s all of Osgood’s dreams come true. But McCormack still remembers the strengths of the character, keeping in mind how smart she is, occasionally surprising the Doctor as a result.
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Osgood’s awkwardness
Even better however is that McCormack makes sure to have fun with the character’s awkwardness, something that Ingrid Oliver portrays as brilliantly as ever. One of my favorite moments, in particular, is Osgood having to dress up. Through both McCormack’s writing and Oliver’s performance, it’s so easy to imagine how uncomfortable the character feels in a situation like that.
I will be honest though, one element that I wasn’t too keen on with this story was the plot. While it’s fun to hear Osgood acting as a temporary companion for the Doctor, the story doesn’t quite grab you as much as others in this volume. It does offer a different angle on your typical alien invasion story and a little intrigue, but not quite enough.
Still, it’s nice to hear Osgood finally getting a trip onboard the TARDIS, at least. Not only does Ingrid Oliver put in another great performance in the role, but Jacob Dudman continues to impress as both the narrator and the voice of the Twelfth Doctor. It’s not a story that particularly stands out, but for plenty of Twelfth Doctor and Osgood interaction, at least, it’s an enjoyable enough listen.
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Do you think Osgood should have traveled with the Doctor on television? Or do you think she works better Earth-bound? Let us know in the comments below.