Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures - Ravagers

Well, here's a thing I didn't expect to see for a long time, if at all: Christopher Eccleston returning to the role of the Doctor, albeit in an audio. But, nonetheless, here it is and, if it's not the strongest outing ever, it's certainly good enough to bring back some nostalgia for an often-overlooked era of modern Doctor Who. The blurb claims that it's “three new adventures” - but it isn't, it's one 3-hour story broken into three episodes in much the same way that Aliens of London and World War Three are undeniably a single story.

It's also rather complicated, playing about with time in a way that's more reminiscent of the Moffat era than anything in Eccleston's single season. Indeed, the story isn't even linear, with the first episode starting in media res and making extensive use of flashback - something that continues to a lesser extent in the following two episodes. This, on top of the fact that events occur out of order even for the characters and that they visit multiple different time periods and worlds and that, yes, the plot is about yet another threat to the existence of the universe means that Briggs is, arguably, trying a bit too hard with this one.

On the other hand, if you can follow the plot, there are enough positives to make it work. The villain, for instance, is working for more complex motives than at first appears to be the case - even if her reason for not explaining what she's doing earlier on, and saving herself a lot of trouble, is a bit thin. The constant scene changes, although they're filler in the sense that the core plot doesn't absolutely need them, do give a sense of scale and drama that a shorter story might lack, and it never really drags. Which is a considerable plus, given the length.

The story is probably intended to be set before Rose, although one could just as well argue that it's set during the seemingly brief gap between the TARDIS disappearing and then reappearing at the end of that episode (if you assume Nine is newly regenerated at the start of it). Either way, Rose isn't in it, and we have a surrogate companion instead, in the form of an indentured cook working in the canteen of a big corporation. She's one of the stronger points of the story, a worthy companion but one who would rather just find somewhere nice to live than traipse across the galaxy.

But the real joy is hearing Eccleston again, effortlessly slipping back into the character and sounding as if he's never been away. This may be a good, fun, outing, although it isn't a flawless one - but I suspect there's better to come.