Ratings2
Average rating4
The Tenth Doctor joins forces with the Fifth Doctor fight the Cybermen in the Catacombs of Paris.
Paris, 1809: The Fifth Doctor takes a tour of the Catacombs and meets a sassy Time Agent doing the same... Paris, 1944: The Tenth Doctor misses his target and lands in occupied France. He hides from the Nazis – in the Catacombs.
A collision of two Doctors’ timelines triggers a temporal catastrophe, granting the Cybermen dominion over the Earth. The Doctors must travel back in time to find the source of the Cyber-invasion and close the Gates of Hell.
Reviews with the most likes.
The Fifth and Tenth Doctors are both drawn to the same temporal anomaly in Paris and (as is apparent from the cover) find themselves facing an unusually protracted invasion by the Cybermen. The result is a fun story with the two pairing up and hopping through different time periods across Paris to try and foil the invasion plan. Although exactly where this fits in their personal timelines is not discussed (although clearly later than the Time Crash mini-episode) neither is travelling with a companion. To fill that gap, we have an inexperienced time agent, who is entertaining enough but seems largely there to make up the numbers.
I found this story slightly stronger than the one that preceded it in this series, perhaps because it's more anchored in the real world. However, it's probably fair to say that fans of the modern series will (on average) tend to be less familiar with the Fifth Doctor than the Fourth and the Cybermen are less popular than the Daleks. But, if neither of these things are a concern for you, Tennant-era fans should still find a lot to like here. The style of the story resembles many of his, with the sort of one-liners that you didn't tend to get in the '80s version of the show, although there are also plenty of references to classic episodes for those who appreciate those.
The Tenth Doctor arguably has more in common with the Fifth than with the Fourth, which provides less opportunity to contrast the two here than in the previous story. It does make things move along more smoothly, without the sort of bickering one might expect, but, depending on your preferences that could be either a plus or a minus. But they do bounce off one another effectively, and it's a successful team-up, especially with the addition of the time agent, and that's really what you want out of this type of story.
Series
3 primary books15 released booksThe Tenth Doctor Adventures is a 15-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2016 with contributions by Matt Fitton, Jenny T. Colgan, and 8 others.
Series
3 primary booksDoctor Who: Out of Time is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by Matt Fitton, David Llewellyn, and Lisa McMullin.