The Red Lady

Doom Coalition #1.2

Released: 12 October 2015

Listened: 12/4/21

Welcome aboard, Helen! Helen’s a linguistic historian working at the National Museum in 1963, and struggling with the sexism inherent in her community at that time. (The National Museum is fictional and set in London, but was used in the TV series as the resting place of the Pandorica. It’s not to be confused with the British Museum or the Natural History Museum. The National Museum of Wales in Cardiff plays the part.) The Doctor and Liv are chasing down the Eleven, but they don’t find him. Instead they find a stone tablet that Helen is trying to decipher without success, but the Doctor reasons she’s going about it the wrong way. The main story, though, involves a collection of art and manuscripts from widely disparate times and places, all featuring a Red Lady. The previous owner of the collection had tried to prevent the pieces from ever being seen, but after his death, it was donated to the museum. This story is by John Dorney, one of the more popular stories that he’s written. It doesn’t feature one of his timey-wimey plots, but instead uses his other speciality: a plot that’s creepy as hell. The Doctor and Liv spend most of the story trying to figure out just what’s going on, but with enough urgency and suspense to drive the plot forward. This is the standout story from this box, and it gets most of its momentum from that eerie atmosphere.