Doctor Who: Agents of Chaos

Another set of three hour-long stories, once again all by different authors (and not ones who have previously written for this series; looks like they wanted to give as many of the writers in their stable a shot at an episode as possible). Although they follow on directly from one another, the first episode is essentially standalone, while the other two are more tightly linked. Another difference is that Ollistra, effectively a villain in the previous release, is here shown more sympathetically - perhaps because the Dalek general has a larger role and provides a clearer contrast.

* The Shadow Vortex - The first story is set in Berlin in 1961, at the height of the Cold War. It concerns the War Doctor trying to track down a human agent of the Daleks, and is in large part a spy story. A spy story that features alien invaders alongside KGB and MI6 agents, to be sure, but some of that feel is there. Aside from the Doctor and the Dalek agent, one of the other main characters is a Stasi officer and, considering what the Stasi got up to, is given a surprisingly positive portrayal (although I didn't find his German accent wholly convincing). Another feature is that the story does include an element of time paradox; it's not particularly complicated, however, and serves partly as a vehicle to contrast the War Doctor with his other incarnations.

* The Eternity Cage - A limitation of War Doctor stories is that, the Time War being what it is, Daleks have to be in every story. In this case, however, they are joined as opponents by the Sontarans, trying to play the two sides of the Time War against each other. Both Cardinal Ollistra and the Dalek Time Strategist play a significant role in the story, although it's mostly about the War Doctor taking part in a mission behind enemy lines. A key element is the mystery of how the Sontarans are able to hold out against such obviously superior foes, and the eventual explanation for this involves an inventive use of certain elements of established background.

* The Eye of Harmony - The final story is set almost entirely inside a battle TARDIS as the details of the Dalek Time Strategist's scheme finally become apparent. It includes a lot of action, and at times it's difficult to follow exactly what's going on, although the plot itself is clear enough. The War Doctor here is perhaps more like his other incarnations than usual, although that may in part be due to the nature of the challenge he's facing. The secondary villain (i.e. the one that isn't a Dalek) is well portrayed, given a plausible motive, even if they're obviously being a bit dim in thinking that the Daleks don't have something else up their metaphorical sleeves. The story is obviously trying to ramp up the stakes, although arguably the limited setting restricts how much that can be done.

I didn't think this was quite as good as the previous instalments, and the repetition of facing Daleks all the time is beginning to show, but the acting is great, and I still found it very enjoyable.