Starlight Robbery

Main Range #176

Released: August 2013

Listened: 3/14/21

This story is quite a bit sillier than the previous, likely to offset the fact that the TARDIS crew is hunting for a likely-dead Nazi. Campy war profiteer Garundel (last seen in “Black and White”) has a working Persuasion Machine, as well as Kurt Schalk, and is auctioning them off. So naturally the Doctor wants Klein and Will to infiltrate the auction as a pair of warlords from a lost race and then steal the machine back. And because that’s not goofy enough, there’s some Sontarans at the auction, all played by Dan Starkey, and all cranky about having to buy weapons from a third party. Ever since Strax, it’s hard to play Sontarans entirely seriously, but this time they’re walking the line, playing it mostly straight. Klein feels some admiration for their honor, and the feeling is mutual. Will does somewhat better this time out, taking some action on his own to sneak around the base and ingratiate himself with his captors after his cover is inevitably blown, but he’s tripped up by his lack of experience with the broader universe, which is hardly surprising. There’s some unnecessary run-around in the middle which drags a bit, but the last part is pretty sharp. There’s some misdirection that drives the larger plot into the next story, but this story, even though it’s a diversion, turns out to be a better middle part than they usually are.