Max Warp

Eighth Doctor Adventures #2.2

Released: February 2008

Listened: 9/23/21

This is one of those stories that’s a direct parody of some other part of pop culture, in this case Top Gear, but with spaceships. I wasn’t familiar with Top Gear the first time I listened to this, and I’m only a little familiar with it now, but the parody part is incredibly obvious, with the characters being paper-thin parodies of the usual presenters and style. Which is mostly OK, because this episode is intended to be humorous. It takes place in one of those new-series style future cultures, where everyone behaves somewhat stupidly, in this case, politicians obsessed with their approval ratings. There’s a murder mystery to provide a plot, but the Doctor seems to be having fun with it, while Lucie can barely take it seriously, suspecting everyone who happens to be nearby. She also has some good lines at the expense of the spaceship fans and the TARDIS in particular. Graeme Garden plays the Jeremy Clarkson character with perfect smarminess, and he’ll be back as a different character in a couple of seasons. Don’t look for depth in this one; it’s just fun.