The Devouring by Lisa McMullin

Following a spectacular run of adventures last year, the Eighth Doctor Adventures range returns, this time with a companion in tow, Audacity Montague.

Written by seasoned regular Lisa McMullin, The Devouring starts the boxset off with a typical companion introduction story as The Doctor intervenes in the companion’s life as they come under an alien threat. In this case, the story follows The Doctor as he becomes involved with Lady Audacity Montague. A headstrong woman with her eyes firmly set on the stars, she catches the attention of a rather nasty species all about consuming.

As expected of a story looking to introduce a new main companion, the majority of the plot is focused on Audacity and her character. Expertly portrayed by Jaye Griffiths, Audacity is immediately recognisable as a strong, independent woman whose first impression amongst audiences is likely to come across as prickly and unlikeable. For all her dogged negativity towards men and dangerous levels of self-reliance, however, McMullin has been clever not to write Audacity into any traps commonly seen for this type of character. 

Throughout the story, Audacity develops many layers, although the character herself may view these as weaknesses due to her intense need to keep up the façade. These “weaknesses” are best displayed as The Devouring intensifies its threat as the story progresses. Through these moments, we’re given a glimpse of an Audacity away from the public eye, the one with an unconventional yet happy marriage and the one who’s all too comfortable playing with the taboo of hanging around the lower classes. 

Whilst the character work of The Devouring can be considered a strong point, the same can’t be exactly said of the main plot. Overly simplistic, the alien threat of the story wants for nothing but to consume. Beyond character work, it is only saved by Audacity’s in-character self-sacrifice and her inability to stay within her own time at the end of the story.

Furthermore, The Doctor has little to do within this story. Likely a consequence of wanting to focus on Audacity, The Doctor’s capacity as part of the story is to deliver exposition and save Audacity from The Devouring’s ever-lasting hunt.

Whilst the alien threat is nothing to write home about, The Devouring more than makes up for it with character development. This story makes for an excellent introduction to The Doctor’s new companion, Audacity. Through an intense focus on her throughout the adventure, the writer manages to layer her character with a litany of complexities, providing a solid foundation for Audacity and The Doctor’s further adventures together. 

My Rating: 7/10

The Great Cyber-War (Part 1 + 2) by Tim Foley

Featuring Audacity’s first venture in the TARDIS, The Great Cyber-War, written by Tim Foley, finds the travelling duo thrust into an adventure filled with danger.

Landing on the Aurum, The Doctor and Audacity find themselves at one of the most turbulent moments in human history, the height of the Great Cyber-War. Those who have reached the Aurum have done so in anticipation of a final end to the conflict. Its chief resident, Oberon Fix, is an inventor of great renown who may finally have invented a weapon capable of destroying the Cybermen for good. With Oberon Fix set to become the galaxy’s great saviour, there’s something amiss amongst the glaring opulence. Why are rebels attempting to assassinate Oberon? And why haven’t the Cybermen decided to attack such an obvious target such as the Aurum? 

Part 1

The two-parter starts off with a good impression as the first non-Earth environment that Audacity sees is an all too familiar scene – objects of opulence and a noble banquet. Upon this discovery, Audacity comments about people’s obsession with artificial beauty over the natural world around them. It’s an important scene that’ll set The Doctor and Audacity’s allegiances for the rest of the episode.

The true start of the story, however, gets started once The Doctor and Audacity get separated as a result of a failed assassination attempt on Oberon Fix. Par for the course in a lot of Doctor Who stories, this separation finds The Doctor mixing with the higher-ups on The Aurum, whilst Audacity becomes embroiled with the rebel plot on Voga.

For Audacity, the rebel plot on Voga quickly becomes a cause for her to champion. Building Oberon’s glitter gun has consequences, ones which are felt more by the commoners on Voga. Those working in the gold mines have become ill, and the society around them has chosen to ignore their plight for the sake of money and safety. Meanwhile, The Doctor’s storyline sees him dig for information about the progress of the war. As he finds out, The Great Cyber-War has affected everyone in one way or another.

These scenes throughout the first part help in building the world and the wider universe’s complexity. It provides an interesting perspective on how the galactic war has affected everyone and the sheer desperation it’s driven them to. Moreover, Audacity’s plot expands the world-building that first started in Revenge of the Cybermen. It shows Voga as an entire world, not just the council shown in its first appearance.

Part 2

With the Cybermen appearing as part of the first episode cliffhanger, the second begins with an important scene between The Doctor and Audacity. As Audacity’s hatred of the higher-ups starts to cloud her mind, The Doctor brings her back towards the reality of the situation by explaining who the real enemy is.

Whilst I find this part to be the weaker of the two, this speech, emotionally performed by Paul McGann, would definitely be in line for the best moment of the boxset. The speech captures the essence of the Cybermen masterfully – an overwhelming force who only convert or destroy.

As for the main plot of the second part, it follows the newly assembled group of rebels and Aurum guards, including The Doctor and Audacity, as they attempt to stop the Cybermen from getting their hands on their recently developed super weapon. It serves as a solid resolution to the series as their perilous journey lays claim to many victims – an expected feature when the Cybermen are around.

Unfortunately, the Cybermen overall feel underused within the wider context of the story. Aside from the story’s conclusion, it feels as though the Cybermen are only used as generic alien enemies, and we never see any of their more dastardly plans come to fruition.

Thankfully, though the Cybermen themselves are lacking, the revelations behind the ultimate Cyber-killer more than make up for it. As it turns out, the ultimate weapon against the Cybermen isn’t some glitter gun but a pulse weapon specially designed to force a gold weakness on the Cybermen at a molecular level. While this effect is all well and good, “quantum gold” has another consequence. To destroy the Cybermen, all gold throughout the universe would need to be utilised, destroying Voga and the Vogans as a consequence. With death and destruction in the conclusion inevitable, it is no wonder that The Doctor needs to go for some rest and recuperation by the end of the story.

Overall, The Great Cyber-War is undoubtedly the strongest story of the boxset. Filled with excellent character moments, its true test of strength comes from the painstaking effort to imagine a Voga beyond the confines of Revenge of the Cybermen. Throughout this story, its writer, Tim Foley, creates a full Vogan society as well as a perspective on how the wider galaxy sees them and their potential. As a result, The Great Cyber-War makes for an entertaining listen for any fan of classic Doctor Who!

My Rating: 8.5/10

Overall Boxset Rating: 8/10