Doctor Who: The Monsters of Gokroth

The Seventh Doctor, travelling on his own some time after Ace's departure, visits a medieval planet where the inhabitants are being menaced by monsters in the woods. While there, and not coincidentally, he runs into Mags a popular supporting character from the TV story The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. And thus begins a “werewolf trilogy” of stories featuring Mags as a temporary companion.

On the face of it, Mags is a better choice for this sort of thing than was Kamelion in the previous set of three releases. She's potentially a more complex character, defined by more than her ability to shapeshift into a ferocious and vaguely lupine form. But there's little sign of that here and, when she's not about to change shape, she comes across as generic with little else to distinguish her.

The story has a gothic feel, although one that owes more to The Island of Doctor Moreau and the film versions of Frankenstein than it does to say, The Wolfman. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, although some might find the references a bit too blunt. It's also worth mentioning that a number of apparent inconsistencies in the setting, while never pointed out explicitly, turn out to have a logical explanation in the final chapter. On the other hand, while I can see why one of the characters isn't letting the villagers in on what she's up to, it's harder to justify why she takes quite so long to explain it to the Doctor - she has plenty of opportunity and no obvious reason not to.

It's a reasonable story, playing heavily on the theme of Mags' dual nature even when she's not the viewpoint character. But the monsters are mostly just growling at one another and the attitudes of the villagers seem to flip suddenly at times more because the plot requires it than because anything particularly has happened. Good enough, but it feels like a missed opportunity and hopefully there'll be more development for Mags in the coming two installments.