Doctor Who: Out of Time 2 - The Gates of Hell

Doctor Who: Out of Time 2 - The Gates of Hell

2021 • 2h

Ratings2

Average rating4

15
JKRevell
Jamie RevellSupporter

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.

September 28, 2023Report this review