Antidote to Oblivion (2014)

The first story from the main range of 2014 is one that I was looking forward to for several reasons. The first is that it is written by Phillip Martin who wrote the 1985 adventure ‘Vengeance on Varos’ and also has also written a couple of stories for Big Finish over the years. Another reason was that it sees the return of Nabil Shaban who plays Sil. The third reason is that it sees the return of the partnership of the Doctor and Flip Jackson. Flip last appeared in Wirrn Isle back in March 2012 and I was worried that we wouldn’t hear from Flip again. I think that the character of Flip is a strong one and Lisa Greenwood has been a sound piece of casting. Anyway, the story sees the Doctor and Flip leave their holiday (isn’t it terrible when that happens!!) and arrive on Earth where Britain is pretty much bankrupt. I can see that there are parallels to whats going on in the real world. It’s the sort of thing that Barry Letts would have done and whilst I was aware that this was what Philip Martin was doing, I didn’t mind it and thought that it was well done.

I like the idea that they have contaminated the water so that the residents don’t see how depressing things are. The moment when they do see whats going on, it’s comes at just the right time and helps speed things along. The wrap up of the story is rather good and done well. I was glad that Sil got away and thought that the sneeze at the very end was quite amusing and whilst it might indicate that he’s got the black death it also suggest that he will return. There was a moment when towards the end the Doctor seemed to have to go on a quest to destroy the Black Death and no sooner was this raised than it ceased to be a problem and I was glad because I would have felt that this was a plot extension too far but it ended at just the right time and in the right way.

I like how they have created some links to the part of ‘The Trial of a Timelord’ that featured Crozier. Here we get his daughter who for quite obvious reason has some resentment towards the Doctor although like most characters in dramas, has a change of heart when she hears the truth. I thought that it was a great performance from Dawn Murphy and she was more than a match at times for Nabil Shaban. I could literally hear Shaban all day and not get bored. One of the things that I enjoyed about this story was that we got a lot of Sil. I think that Sil is a great character and that little laugh that he does is just as good as Frazer Hines’ impression of Patrick Troughton. I hope we get more adventures from Shaban because it would be a great source of entertainment.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this story. It’s a great combination with a great plot and it’s a strong start to the year. I thought that the main performances were solid and also the supporting characters were just as strong. I would be surprised if it weren’t in my top 5 stories in the main range. A strong start to the year and also the series of the Sixth Doctor and Flip.