Doctor Who: Time Apart

An anthology of four stories, linked only by the fact that the Doctor is travelling on his own (the previous release implied that this would be a major theme, but it turns out to be almost entirely irrelevant and is barely even alluded to). Perhaps more unusually, all four stories are set in Earth's past.

Ghost Station - The strongest of the set is a two-hander set in a Geisterbahnhof (an underground station where the West German routes ran briefly on the opposite side of the Berlin Wall so that the trains could not stop) in 1975. The Doctor arrives to find a dead man on the platform and a single East German guard trying to puzzle out what happened. The result is spooky and claustrophobic, with a feel that's more reminiscent of Sapphire and Steel than of the usual DW fare. There's little action here, but a good exploration of the guard's situation and of the paranoia engendered by the East German state. 5 stars.

Bridge Master - Set at some point during the reign of King Edward II, this sees the Doctor arrive at a village using unorthodox methods to prevent brigands from reaching it by its newly-constructed bridge. (I confess to being unclear as to why nobody can approach it from the other direction, but apparently they can't). There's some good interaction between the Doctor and his surrogate companion and an element of mystery as to how the defence is being achieved but ultimately, the story isn't long enough to build up much about the characters. Having said which, it's a straightforward little tale, which manages to fit enough elements in to work without seeming rushed... but there isn't too much that's memorable about it, either. 3.5 stars.

What Lurks Down Under - This time, the Doctor arrives on a ship in 1789 transporting convicts to Australia. The ship in question is one from real-world history, and I suspect Australians may be more familiar with it than I was, but the story should still be enjoyable without that reference point. Here, it has been struck by a mysterious plague and the Doctor teams up with a teenage convict to try and save those on board. In the short time she's present, the surrogate companion makes a strong impression and the story is the only one in this collection to feature a ‘monster' - one that ties in with the broader themes of the story and works well in context. 4 stars.

The Dancing Plague - The last story, unfortunately, is the weakest of the set. It concerns the real events of the “dancing plague” that struck Strasbourg in 1518. This seems an interesting idea to start with, but it soon turns out that there isn't enough in it to sustain a story. Despite which, the narrative still seems to leap about at times, perhaps having been trimmed down from something slightly longer. There's another surrogate companion but she's sketchily drawn and doesn't come across as strongly as either of those in the previous two stories. The eventual explanation for the cause of the plague works but, as one of the characters in it points out, the Doctor is really just treading water and drawing blanks up until then and nothing much interesting happens along the way. There's nothing objectionable in this, but nothing much to recommend it, either. 3 stars.