The Death of Peladon

Peladon #3

Released: 28 January 2022

Listened: 2/6/22

Placing this here rather arbitrarily. Although the Doctor appears several times in the Peladon boxed set, Mel is the only companion who does. Which is nice, because Peladon is being ruled by a queen again, with a somewhat recalcitrant princess for an heir, and they can both use a shot of Mel’s agency and energy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get very far. Peladon is on the verge of dumping its monarchy, again; the miners are upset, again; and nothing has been done about the pollution that was uncovered in the previous stories. The Sixth Doctor is unfortunately rather ineffective here. His usual way of impressing royalty doesn’t work, nor does his penchant for being greeted warmly by old friends, except for Alpha Centauri, of course. Of the four stories in this set, though, this is the closest to a traditional Doctor Who story, with plotting, running through corridors, and certain death. It just doesn’t seem to amount to very much.