Orbis

Eighth Doctor Adventures #3.1

Released: 7 March 2009

Listened: 10/8/21

A new season begins, and it’s probably a good idea to take a little break between the last episode and this one (I did). There’s some format changes that go with this season: Episodes are longer than 48 minutes now, which means they’re all divided in two parts with cliffhangers and theme music, which is also a slightly different arrangement (I think). There’s also substantially cooler music introducing the extras. It’s been months since the events of “Vengeance of Morbius” for Lucie, and...considerably longer...for the Doctor. Personally, I’ve never liked stories where the Doctor stays in one place for years for plot purposes before jumping back into the action. The classic series never did that, but the new series has done it with the Eleventh and Thirteenth Doctors, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. The Headhunter brings Lucie to find the Doctor (no sign of Karen, though), but the Doctor can’t remember her because it’s been so long, a frankly heartbreaking sequence. In fact, the Doctor is pretty damaged throughout this story, and things don’t go so well for him as a result. It remains to be seen how long this new status quo will affect the stories, but it does shake up the relationship between Lucie and the Doctor that became awfully friendly last season.