The Locked Room

Companion Chronicles #9.4

Released: 3 June 2015

Listened: 3/7/20

For the Doctor, this takes place during “The Tenth Planet.” It’s a story with Steven, though, a sequel to “The War to End All Wars” and “The Founding Fathers.” It also connects back to “The First Wave,” also by Simon Guerrier, featuring the Vardans. Unlike the stories just referred to, this one doesn’t have a flashback, so Peter Purves is only playing a version of Steven who’s older than himself, and the Doctor at the very end of his life. It’s clear he’s about to regenerate, but he’s a copy of himself taken away from his body, so it probably happens during episode three of “The Tenth Planet” when the Doctor is unconscious. Although the title implies it, the story isn’t a locked-room mystery. It is, however, mostly a moral dilemma, with Steven facing up to things he’s done as king, and recalling the sacrifices his TARDIS companions made. Steven, more than almost any other companion, has cause to regret what happened to his friends, and that’s reflected upon here. It’s a solid story, mostly reflective, which is appropriate for the last First Doctor story, and also the last chronological appearance of Steven and Peter Purves. They’ll turn up again in this chronology, though, because time travel is a wonderful thing.