Marking the 9^th Doctor’s final release of the year, Dare You is also the last in the Ninth Doctor Adventures range’s Powell Estate trilogy. Written by Lisa McMullin, The Doctor and Rose’s conclusionary estate escapade finds them at the mercy of an alien game of truth or dare.

Something or someone is playing truth or dare with the people on the Powell Estate. And it’s dangerous to play games with a Time Lord.

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can REALLY hurt you.

Big Finish Synopsis

Moving away from the last story’s horror-based Who, McMullin’s adventure presents an interesting premise to its listeners that asks—what if a creature could make you do your innermost intrusive thoughts? It’s a very Doctor Who-like question, which the story starts to answer with a slow, scene-setting first act. The alien begins its tricks small at first, getting members of the estate with innocuous pranks that could easily be misconstrued as momentary lapses in judgement. A sudden urge to conga in class, to play Jenga with a tower of baked beans, or to cover someone’s face in cake on their birthday.

Though these acts are harmless by themselves, it is enough to get The Doctor and Rose to investigate these strange occurrences, leading the two of them towards a newly opened pawnbroker. As they investigate, the slower nature of the story’s first act really allows McMullin to explore the familiar interactions between this TARDIS duo that led to its unparalleled onscreen success. This is praise that can be lavished on the other releases within this trilogy as well, as each of the three stories has truly managed to capture the essence of The Doctor and Rose’s late-season relationship. By this point, The Doctor has begun to heal from his Time War trauma, and Rose now knows exactly what he’s capable of, something which McMullin inevitably plays upon during the climax.

As the episode progresses, the pace begins to quicken alongside the Hellion’s (the story’s alien creature) daring escalations. During these segments, the more playful mood of the start changes towards a serious tone, as the goblin-like creature uses psychological attack tactics. These moments are ultimately used to create a tense and palpable conflict between Rose and Jackie. Seeing a weakness in their mother-daughter relationship, the Hellion exposes truths behind Rose’s sheltered existence before she met The Doctor and the resentment she holds as a result. These are the story’s strongest moments, and the resolution we’re given helps these characters develop in a way they never could during the TV series.

Despite the story’s powerful character development and fun opening moments, however, there is one aspect of Dare You that lets it down slightly: The Doctor’s intrusive thoughts. While the concept of Time Lords wanting to jump into the eternity known as The Howling is intriguing, it isn’t very well explored and is perhaps a better fit for other mediums, such as novels.