Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon

The first in a new series of stories, this has the interesting premise of exploring alternate realities instead of space and time – a sort of Sliders set in the Doctor Who universe. Rose is the central character, travelling through the parallels to find the Doctor – presumably in connection with the events of Turn Left. Three out of the four worlds visited here are themselves facing doom allowing different interpretations of how people would react to the end of the world. There's also a strong theme of family as we see different variations of how life could have turned out for the Tylers – something that's appropriately reminiscent of RTD's first run on the show.The Endless Night – The first story has to set us up with the basic premise for the series, so that it's quite a while before any additional science fiction elements make an appearance. Instead, we see Rose tracing the history of her family on the parallel Earth to determine how close it is to her target one, interspersed with brief flashbacks explaining how she came to be doing this. Significantly, this reintroduces us to Clive, the conspiracy theorist killed off in the very first episode of the modern TV series, who becomes a regular in this audio one. The story is primarily personal, with no explanation as to how the catastrophe facing the parallel Earth has come about. Instead, it serves only as a backdrop to exploring this alternative reality's Pete and Jackie and how their lives took a different turn – an effective, but low-key start that doesn't throw too much at us at once but obviously requires some prior knowledge of the characters. 4 stars.The Flood – While the first episode depicts a world that's essentially like ours until the catastrophe strikes, with the basics out of the way the second opts for more significant changes. This time, we visit a London drenched in perpetual rain (more so than usual, that is) and where technological progress stalled and even reversed in the 1980s. The episode finds time not just to give us a glimpse of the changes in the Tyler household, but also gives Clive some good moments as he realises how his own life could have been better. Add to that some elements that are reminiscent of Aliens of London as Rose decides to get to the bottom of what is happening with the weather, and we have a strong story that bodes well for this series' future. 5 stars.Ghost Machines – The third story takes a break from the wider theme to give us something much more like a typical Doctor Who episode. The world visited here has more differences from our own than the others and is the only one not (so far as we can see) facing any sort of apocalypse. Instead, the story concerns a piece of newly developed technology that is having unforeseen consequences – something we've seen often enough on the TV show. That allows more of an opportunity for action, as the characters are placed in direct peril and have to come up with a solution to stop the marauding machinery. Taken in that context, it's a decent story, preying on fears of artificial intelligence and giving us a look at another alternate take on the Tyler household (I'm beginning to get the impression that Jackie was really unlucky in our universe, given how much richer all her parallels seem to be). But it doesn't quite live up to the premise of this particular series, and feels out of place amongst its fellows, although it does provide some needed variety. 3.5 stars. The Last Party on Earth – As the title indicates, the final episode takes us to another doomed Earth, although the actual details of the impending disaster aren't relevant this time around. Nor do we see an alternate Tyler family with the story instead being about the parallel version of the Powell Estate responds to the news their world will shortly end. After Clive and Pete in the precious two episodes, this time it's the turn of Jackie to join Rose on the mission, and the results are predictably entertaining while also giving us a chance to see her caring side as she responds to the different coping mechanisms people are using. It's a surprisingly optimistic take, despite some darker moments along the way, with a positive message about love and family – but no science fiction elements beyond the presence of the travellers, should that be what you're after. 4.5 stars.