Planet of the Ogrons

The Time War #2.2

Released: 10 July 2018

Listened: 1/23/22

After this level of darkness, we’re due for a lighter story, and this Guy Adams story is definitely that. For starters, we get the Eleven’s successor in the Twelve, played by Julia McKenzie, who is apparently helping the Time Lords during the war, and has her other personas under control thanks to a neural inhibitor chip. She can let them out at will, and hearing McKenzie do Mark Bonnar’s multi-voice trick is really quite disturbing. She’s quite capable of verbally sparring with the Doctor, and can be quite ruthless when she needs to be, while sounding like a little old lady the whole time. If that wasn’t strange enough, she’s accompanied by a “Doctor Ogron,” that is, an Ogron who claims to be a future regeneration of the Doctor, or at least an Ogron who has the Doctor’s memories and skills. And dress sense, as he wears a cravat and a tail-coat, much like the Eighth Doctor’s original costume. As voiced by John Culshaw, he gives off a strong Third Doctor vibe, with an imposing physical presence and a lot of self-confidence. This provides an opportunity for lots of continuity references, as the Doctor Ogron keeps spouting old memories. Beyond that, we learn that the Daleks are using the Time War to insert Ogrons into past events, specifically “Day of the Daleks” and “Frontier in Space,” which kind of spins one’s brain. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for plot, so it’s basically just a quick rescue mission to the Ogron homeworld, where a twisted scientist Dalek is conducting genetic experiments that creep out even other Daleks. Which is fine, because the main point of this one is the usual shenanigans that a multi-Doctor story brings…when one Doctor is an Ogron. It’s a lot more fun than you’d expect from the Time War.