Doctor Who review: The Flying Dutchman is a fun seafaring adventure
By James Aggas
The Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex encounter a ghost ship in The Flying Dutchman, the first of two stories in this month’s Doctor Who double bill.
As you can probably imagine, Gemma Arrowsmith’s Doctor Who story The Flying Dutchman features the TARDIS crew at sea. The Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex land on a ship in the middle of the ocean. When they meet the crew, they discover that they’re being terrorized by the infamous “Flying Dutchman”. Are the crew really being attacked by ghosts? Or is there another explanation?
The Flying Dutchman is a rather fun story. While Doctor Who hasn’t always had a great deal of success with seafaring tales (The Curse of the Black Spot is possibly one of the weaker episodes from Matt Smith’s run), I definitely enjoyed this story, at least.
Initially, the story seems to head into familiar Doctor Who territory, arguably too familiar – the Doctor and his friends arrive, they get captured, they’re blamed for a series of problems that the crew has been experiencing, etc. But eventually, the story gradually becomes something else, and that’s when it really starts to get fun.
The cast and crew of The Flying Dutchman: (L to R) Steven Wight, Sam Clemens, Carly Day, Nigel Fairs, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Philip Olivier, Nicholas Khan.
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
More from Winter is Coming
- For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
- Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
- Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
- Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
- Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”
Clear characters
The first thing that stands out about The Flying Dutchman is the number of distinct characters that feature. We have a captain that struggles with commanding others; a cabin boy who’s hiding a major secret; a first mate who believes he could do better. Each of these characters has clear flaws to overcome, and Gemma Arrowsmith develops each of them just right. By the end of the story, none of them is in the same place that they were at the start, and it’s great to get a strong sense of development like that.
The overall story also takes a few subversive and interesting turns. It takes a while for the Flying Dutchman itself to show up, but that works well in the story’s favor. It means that, initially, at least, we’re unable to see what’s really going on, allowing the story to have a strong sense of mystery. When you eventually reach the ending, it pays off and feels like a rather refreshing solution to a Doctor Who story.
While it takes a while to get going, The Flying Dutchman is still an extremely entertaining story overall. It features sword fights, interesting characters, and a rather unusual but fitting resolution. A good start to this month’s double bill of Doctor Who audio adventures, and a welcome return for the team of the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex.
Next. Palindrome brings Davros back in a big way. dark
Are you a fan of seafaring stories? Do you think Doctor Who should use a sea setting more often? Which Doctors do you think would work well in a swashbuckling story? Let us know in the comments below.