Here Lies Drax

Connections #1

Released: 6 December 2022

Listened: 1/26/23

The “Connections” boxed set came out just a month after “What Lies Inside?” but Mr. John Dorney has a story in this one too. Unlike the previous, this one is a straight comedy. And while it’s twisty, it’s for mistaken-identity reasons, rather than timey-wimey ones. Dorney last wrote Drax in the Fourth Doctor story “The Trouble with Drax,” in which Drax was reestablished as an intergalactic-scale con-man, completely untrustworthy, and with totally insane plots. This time is more of the same, but the Eighth Doctor is a somewhat more trusting person than the Fourth, so it’s his companions who bring most of the skepticism. The setup is: Drax sends the Doctor a box full of junk, and an invitation to his funeral. Of course, it can’t possibly be that simple, and what happens next is a runaround through time and space. It’s possible to figure out what’s going on, and it helps if you’re conversant with “The Armageddon Factor,” Drax’s only on-screen appearance, but odds are you’ll have several competing theories going on first listen. Be ready for a Cockney accent, though, because when Drax is involved, that always seems to be present. This is a particularly fitting entry in this sub-era of lighter stories.