Doctor Who review: The Tenth Doctor meets the Judoon once more in One Mile Down

Deep underwater on an alien world, the Doctor and Donna have to stop a city from collapsing, while also having to deal with the Judoon in Doctor Who audio One Mile Down.

One Mile Down by Jenny T Colgan focuses on a simple idea: an alien city, deep underwater. A city that’s now encased in an airdome so that thousands of tourists can visit. A city with an airdome that’s leaking…

I do enjoy a good claustrophobic story. Especially when people are struggling to survive in a desperate situation. Telling a story deep underwater with no clear way to escape is an easy way to tell that story. (In fact, while not exactly original, the recent horror film Underwater was extremely effective at telling that story.)

But I must admit, One Mile Down is a little different from what I expected. It takes a long time to build up to the inevitable disaster, with leaks appearing only gradually, at first. For the first half of the story at least, the focus is more on the leaks being covered up by Andrea, who’s essentially only focused on bringing tourism and money to the city. She doesn’t want to admit there’s a problem – not if the result means losing money, at least.

As you can probably guess, Andrea is your typical capitalist antagonist, one who puts money over the safety of thousands. Honestly, she’s the weakest element of One Mile Down, coming across less like a complex villain and more of a one-note character. However, there’s plenty to enjoy from the rest of the story, particularly with the Judoon.

The Judoon recently returned in Series 12’s Fugitive of the Judoon. How did last year’s One Mile Down handle them?

Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBCAmerica

The Judoon

Before they returned to television in Series 12, the Judoon appeared one year earlier in this audio. Surprisingly, this is only their second appearance in a Big Finish story, the first being Judoon in Chains from 2016’s Doctor Who box set Classic Doctors, New Monsters. With so few appearances of these distinctive mercenaries, it’s nice to see them feature in another relatively new story, at least.

Even better is that Jenny T Colgan uses the Judoon very well. She doesn’t make them the main threat, as they’re never meant to be a typically evil race. But they do exacerbate the situation, due to following the letter of the law (or at least, their contract) rather too well. More than that: Colgan also explores a different side to them, particularly with one member of their race, giving us something fresh and new with the rhinos while still remaining true to who they are.

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Political themes

One Mile Down also explores some interesting political themes. While Andrea herself comes across as a little too basic, the situation – of an alien race being exploited by humanity on their own planet – is handled well overall. There are clear common parallels with colonialism and modern exploitation, while naturally mixing it in with a good sci-fi story.

It’s exactly the kind of story that you could imagine being told in the Tenth Doctor’s era, particularly in Series 4. After all, this was the series that gave us stories like Planet of the Ood and The Doctor’s Daughter, both of which felt very political while telling good sci-fi stories.

Overall, while it isn’t quite as fast-paced or claustrophobic as I was hoping for, One Mile Down is still a decent enough story on its own terms. An episode that balances high stakes peril with political commentary, which is exactly the kind of story that you’d expect back in the Tenth Doctor’s era.

Are you a fan of the Judoon? Do you think they should appear in more stories, both on and off the screen? Do you think more stories should be set underwater? Let us know in the comments below.