Doctor Who: Time Reef

The Doctor, Nyssa, and new companion Thomas Brewster find themselves seemingly stranded in a bubble of time (whatever that is). The story suffers partly from having a rather vague setting, and not really holding together well. But it suffers rather more from the fact that every single character in it, bar the two main regulars is entirely unlikeable.

Brewster, of course, is a somewhat shady character, but at least in his first outing, The Haunting of Thomas Brewster, you could have some sympathy for his situation and how he got to be the way he is. Here, he is entirely lacking in charm, as unpleasant as any of the array of guest characters in the story. It's perhaps not a total wash-out, but there's really nothing to recommend it, and the story as a whole is a bit of a mess.

As so often, the 30-minute standalone story at the end of the CD is better than the main feature. Here, though, that is rather damning with faint praise. The story wraps up the 3-CD story arc, ending with Brewster's departure, and at least manages to make the character sympathetic again. (It's notable that this, unlike the main feature, is by the writer who originally created him). Plus, the message of “be careful what you wish for”, if not hugely original, is at least fairly well done.

And then it's all let down by a downright stupid explanation for what's going on. It's a 3-star story, perhaps, but at only 25% of the CD's content, that's not enough to raise the average.