Valhalla

Main Range #96

Released: June 2007

Listened: 2/23/21

I need to mention the guest actors up front this time: Michelle Gomez (Missy) plays the companion-substitute Jevvan, which I didn’t realize when I started listening, but once I did know, I couldn’t believe I missed it. Also, Oscar-nominated actress Susannah York plays the computer, which is a small role, but a big star. This story specifically leans into the idea that the Doctor is older and tired, probably best described as “burnt out,” and is seeking a change. However, he’s seeking that in the city of Valhalla, on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, at a time when economic downturn has left the city in dire straits and the workers mostly downtrodden, because of course he’s really after something else, specifically a colony of intelligent giant termites, whose queen has made a deal to purchase the entire colony and sell its assets, including the colonists. There’s a lot of running around and bits of destruction, and humans banding together to try to survive, but in the end, the story doesn’t so much climax as it runs out of plot and stops. Better for the actors than for the story.