Solitaire

Companion Chronicles #4.12

Released: June 2010

Listened: 8/3/21

Charley’s sole Companion Chronicle slots in here. In a break from the usual style, this story is told entirely in the present, rather than as a flashback. Fortunately, the Doctor has been turned into a ventriloquist’s dummy who speaks with Charley’s voice, which keeps him out of the way for most of the story and eliminates the need for Paul McGann. David Bailie plays the role of the Toymaker in place of Michael Gough, as he did in the Lost Story “The Nightmare Fair.” As the Toymaker often does, he’s playing a game with Charley, with the Doctor’s life as stakes. Unlike you might expect, however, the story doesn’t hinge on a traditional game or Charley’s skill at it. Instead, it’s a rather different kind of puzzle that Charley needs to figure out as she goes along. Because this is John Dorney, it’s a fairly twisty puzzle, and very little is what it seems. Although Charley does get bursts of cleverness as she goes about the puzzle, she’s not suddenly become a genius; most of her strategy involves blowing straight ahead and breaking things, much to the Toymaker’s dismay. The ending is a bit ambiguous, which might hurt your enjoyment of the story, but I found it appropriate.