The Phoenicians

First Doctor Adventures #3.1

Released: 29 January 2019

Listened: 1/16/20

This third box set switches up the order a bit and puts the historical first, for reasons that will become apparent. This time they’re in Tyre, participating in the events that led to the founding of Carthage -- and I do mean participating, as they’re interfering more than they would have in 1964. Unusually for historicals from this era, there’s no real “good guy.” Princess Elissa is sympathetic, but also acts in her own self-interest most of the time, which doesn’t always coincide with our heroes’. King Pygmalion is almost a caricature, with no redeeming qualities at all; he’s possibly mad, which is apparently appropriate to the story. The Phoenecians are all played by actors of appropriate backgrounds, which wouldn’t have happened in 1964, but they still sometimes sound stereotypical, as did the actors in “Samurai.” Ian still jumps into hero mode at the drop of a hat, but it goes badly for him much of the time, which leads to a pretty good first-episode cliffhanger. Susan gets some character growth too, and seems to be seeking some independence from her grandfather. Not the most memorable of the historicals, but not bad either.