Hunters of Earth

Destiny of the Doctor #1

Released:

Listened: 12/30/19

The “Destiny of the Doctor” stories were an anniversary project from 2013, a series of 11 linked stories, and the first time Doctors beyond the Eighth were appearing in audio stories. However, they’re narrated by a companion (mostly) and the Doctor’s actors don’t actually appear. As a result, the first batch of stories sound much like Companion Chronicles. This story takes place in London 1963, shortly before the events of “An Unearthly Child.” In the previous story, the Doctor thought that Susan needed the company of people her own age. After several months on Earth, he seems to have changed his mind, treating Susan’s friends with disdain. He’s also much more concerned with keeping a low profile, wanting only to obtain some replacement parts for the TARDIS and get out of there. It’s hard to blame him, though, given the way certain spies treat him in this story; it also sets him up to be suspicious of teachers from Coal Hill who follow Susan home, although Ian and Barbara don’t appear in this story at all. As with all the “Destiny” stories, there’s a message from the Eleventh Doctor, but this one is remarkably restrained; for him, it's borderline subtle. The only real complaint I have about the story is that it asserts that Bob Dylan is the anti-Beatles, which is just silly.