House of Cards

Companion Chronicles #6.8

Released: 6 February 2013

Listened: 9/26/20

This one is somewhat silly, much like “The Selachean Gambit,” but takes place at a casino rather than a bank. The TARDIS crew ends up in a space casino, which has Jamie fairly baffled, Polly wary, and Ben enthusiastic. The baddies are the Sidewinder Syndicate, who’d previously only appeared in Doctor Who Adventures comics with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. They’re snake-like aliens who’ve adopted the mannerisms of 1920s Chicago gangsters, as aliens seem to be wont to do. This is their only audio appearance, perhaps because they’re a bit too silly for believability. There’s also quite a bit of timey-wimey, because time travel is forbidden in a casino, as you might imagine, so of course that’s what ends up happening. Frazer Hines and Anneke Wills split the narration again, but Polly gets the spotlight this time, leaving Jamie mostly confused. It takes a repeat listen, or very careful listening the first time, to follow all the back-and-forth going on, or you can just be like Jamie and roll with it. It’s a fun, lightweight story for all that, more new-series than Classic Season 4.