The Integral

Companion Chronicles #10.3

Released: 23 June 2016

Listened: 10/12/20

After so many stories narrated by Frazer Hines, this one is narrated by Wendy Padbury, with Frazer playing Jamie and the Doctor. Not only does it provide a break (the Companion Chronicles were being released in boxed sets at this point, so listeners might hear them all in a row), but it also serves the story well. The TARDIS lands on a 21st-Century institute seeking a cure for people affected with a disease that makes them overly aggressive. There are aliens who generate a psychic pacifying field, but the corporation that owns the facility is trying to replace them with a mechanical solution. The field affects Jamie’s emotions as well, but not Zoe’s or the Doctor’s. Because it’s told from Zoe’s point of view, we can see her struggling to come to grips with the fact that her friend has a lot of aggression, because his culture required it, and he channels that into protectiveness. In a way, that’s more effective than Jamie trying to examine his own emotions. The story doesn’t mock Jamie, but it also doesn’t elevate him to “noble savage” status. There’s a bit of a mystery, but not really much of one. At its core, it’s a base-under-siege story, and while it’s not bad, it’s not particularly memorable either.