Conspiracy in Space

Third Doctor Adventures #8.1

Released: 19 October 2021

Listened: 10/23/21

This story is a bit of a prequel to “Frontier in Space,” although it takes place later for the Doctor and Jo, with a minor reference to “Colony in Space,” so it seems pretty well named. (Although Alan Barnes considered “On His Draconian Majesty’s Secret Service,” which would also have been awesome.) Because it takes place before “Frontier in Space,” the Doctor can’t bulldoze in and claim to be nobility like he does in “Paper Cuts,” and he has to avoid meeting the Emperor out of order. The plot is a typically twisty story, as you would expect of the Draconians, with lots of politics, subterfuge, back-stabbing...and quite a bit of front-stabbing too, honestly. There’s also machinations of a human mining corporation, because it seems that all humans want to do out in space is mine stuff. The Doctor gets caught flat-footed a couple of times, which is a bit out of character for him. The character of Ruji, the Draconian Secret Service agent, is quite well done, with a typically heroic sense of honor, but also a fondness for Earth culture. I wouldn’t mind seeing him show up again somehow. The big threat involves a magnetized planetoid, so even though the science is a bit dodgy, the Doctor gets to say “reverse the polarity” several times, and be accurate. Tim Treloar does his usual excellent job, although it must be noted that his impersonation slips a bit when he has to get shouty, which happens a few times in this story. It’s not a bad addition to this set of audio stories.