Ship in a Bottle

Doom Coalition #4.1

Released: 7 March 2017

Listened: 12/14/21

Boxed set 4 follows the same formula with the beginning and end written by John Dorney, and the middle two by Matt Fitton. I think this first one was meant to be another Dorney stand-out, and while it’s very good, it doesn’t quite break out into “amazing” like “The Red Lady” or “Absent Friends.” It’s definitely a bottle episode, following on from the last story with the Doctor, Helen, and Liv trapped in a lifepod and rocketing into a future that no longer exists thanks to Padrac. Normally, the Doctor resolves this sort of thing moments after the cliffhanger, but that doesn't work this time. The rest of the story is the three trying increasingly risky escape plans, while tempers flare and some personal conversations are had. The characters mimic real-world groups, in that one loses hope while another provides it, and the roles switch back and forth in subsequent scenes. There isn’t any of Dorney’s usual twisty plotting, because the story literally doesn’t have room for it. However, the interpersonal reactions feel genuine, and the cast shows how well they work together by now. And it ends on a cliffhanger just as good as the one that opened the story.