The story plods along rather well and the introduction of the eleventh Doctor seemed to work better in this story. It seemed better thought out that in previous adventures and despite its brief but sudden appearance in the story it seemed to fit the style of the story. The introduction of Houdini is something that works really well as its always fun to hear about famous people that the Doctor has encountered. He is the worst name dropper in history but its still fun to hear the names that he has encountered.
The Master wasn’t physically in
the story but trapped in glass whilst still seemingly being in Castrovalva. I
thought this was a clever plot point and actually made the Master seem more
menacing than he ever did when he was on TV during this era. It’s the first
time that someone from the classic era has been bought into this series and its
good that it was the Master as I think that he’s not perhaps used as effectively
as he could be but here he’s used well.
Janet Fielding was very good in
this adventure. I don’t remember her doing this sort of thing before so I found
her delivery style to be soothing. It’s a shame that she doesn’t do more of
these sort of stories (would have been great in a companion chronicle) because
she manages to make the story seem engaging and enjoyable. Tim Beckmann was
very good as Houdini. From the very early moments that Houdini is in the story
its clear that Houdini is after something and Beckmann manages to make me feel
sorry that the Doctor isn’t more forthcoming than he is.
I really enjoyed Smoke and
Mirrors and it was a very good story with good performances from Janet Fielding
and Tim Beckmann. Out of the five stories that we have had so far, this has
been the most satisfying since Hunters of Earth.
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