Doctor Who: Moons of Vulpana

In the second part of the “werewolf trilogy” the Doctor takes Mags back to her homeworld, a few hundred years before she was born, ostensibly so that she can be among her own people but (given this is Seven) probably as part of some longer-term manipulation. Whatever his motives, Mags soon becomes involved with one of the noble houses, with a pair of suitors pawing over her while a young scion of the family plots societal change.

The first half of the story is good, with Mags trying to come to terms with a society that's less advanced and enlightened than the one she grew up in, even if they are her own race. The Doctor is away for pretty much the entire second act as it becomes clear that not all is right with the Vulpanans, even ignoring the rivalries within the noble clan. This leaves the focus more on Mags, who is the viewpoint character for much of the rest of it too, which is something that works well. Even though all but one of the guest characters are werewolves, there's also less of the animalistic growling of the previous instalment, which is a plus.

Unfortunately, it stumbles at the halfway point once it becomes clear what's actually going on. And that's because it really makes no sense. Not so much because the plan wouldn't have the outcomes it does - heck, they're aliens, and this isn't hard SF, so who knows? - but because it's completely implausible that the villain could have carried it out. There is some handwaving about alien technology, but it isn't convincing. Come to that, how has he even built his base without anyone noticing?

Sadly, this lets down the plot, which otherwise isn't too bad, with some of the themes of self-sacrifice, deception, and covert planning for which Seven's era is known. Plus, a better use of Mags than last time. But there are limits.