The Day of the Comet

Fourth Doctor Adventures #10.2

Released: 20 January 2021

Listened: 3/19/22

This one moves out into space, to a doomed planet that’s about to get smacked by a comet. Most of the population left months ago, and the remainder…well, it isn’t going well. Unfortunately, the Web of Time has spoken on what happens to these people, because the consequences would be terrible otherwise. Writer Jonny Morris wanted to trap the Doctor in a no-win situation, and it shows. The story has a lot of room to breathe, enough that it’s essentially got a separate plot for each half: one in which they figure out the problem and struggle to help the survivors, and one where some other folks come along to try to exploit the planet. The first part has the moral dilemma, and the second has all the running around in corridors. There are some plot twists that allow for some convenient deaths, relieving the Doctor of that particular dilemma, and sometimes the seams show. Special mention must be made of Janet Henfrey, an actress who’s appeared in both the classic and new TV series, and has had several Big Finish roles, as an astronomer who gets increasingly fed up that everyone calls her “old woman” instead of using her name. In the end, though, it might last just a bit too long.