Doctor Who spin-off review: The Paternoster Gang: Dining with Death
By James Aggas
The Paternoster Gang’s own Doctor Who spin-off continues with Dining with Death, where they have to learn how to cater while negotiating peace for two warring races.
The second volume of Doctor Who spin-off series The Paternoster Gang begins with a rather different kind of problem for the gang to solve. Coming across two warring alien races trying to negotiate for peace, the Gang offers to help with the negotiations. However, hosting dinner proves to be far trickier than it initially appears…
This episode has been written by Strax himself, Dan Starkey. Having now written several audios, Starkey is becoming quite the veteran writer at Big Finish, so it’s unsurprising to see him write an episode for this series.
Initially, Dining with Death does take a while to really get going, as there’s a lot of focus on both introducing the two main races of the story as well the negotiations themselves. However, Starkey does fill this time up with plenty of humor, giving us great little moments like Strax’s growing frustration over trying to cater to two different species.
Dan Starkey – best known as Strax – writes this episode, which also stars Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra and Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint.
(Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions.)
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Commentary and complications
However, while the plot initially comes across as rather light, the plot does build up very nicely. We find out that many characters on both sides have different motivations, and are willing to use any method necessary to ensure the right outcome.
The two races in this story also feel fleshed out. The history between the two not only feels naturally developed but also shares more than a few parallels with the Victorian Empire at this point. It’s a nice way of not only adding commentary but also making the two races feel in some ways more grounded and more believable.
Dining with Death takes a while to build up, but it does pay off as an episode with a lot of surprises. A fun and slightly low-key episode for the Paternoster Gang that’s still an enjoyable listen.
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Have you listened to Dining with Death? Do you think Dan Starkey should write for The Paternoster Gang more often? Let us know in the comments below.