The Queen of Clocks

Classic Doctors, New Monsters #4.2

Released: 14 Marh 2024

Listened: 4/1/26

Once again, this series brings out a New Monster that wasn't very talkative on TV and tries to make an audio out of it. In this case, it's the Clockwork Robots from "The Girl in the Fireplace." The Clockworks were amazing on TV because of their 18th Century French trappings, their magnificent clockwork innards, and their misplaced single-mindedness on repairing their ship. Well, there are still some French references, but nothing to indicate that these droids have adopted French culture. And the monomania for ship repair continues unabated. However, this society is a failed colony on an alien planet, one that has become obsessed with clocks. The people are counting the seconds until their exploration ship returns to rescue them, beseiged by robots on all sides. Writer Jac Rayner is mostly known for her historical stories, but this one is high-concept, while still having a bit of old-world atmosphere to it. It's entirely possible for the listener to work out the twist before the Doctor or Mel do, but this is the Doctor's first encounter with the Clockworks, and he's pretty puzzled by their motivations (which he has to be, lest Big Finish ruin the later story). It's also terribly sad, which hits Mel harder than it might other companions. To their credit, though, the Doctor decides to stick around and deal with the aftermath, which he almost never does.