The Gulf

Third Doctor Adventures #7.2

Released: 18 May 2021

Listened: 7/10/21

Now we return to a story with someone actually playing Sarah Jane. It’s not Elisabeth Sladen, sadly, but it’s Sadie Miller, her daughter, which has to be the next best thing. This one is also an alien planet, and an ocean world like “Scourge of the Cybermen,” but a dramatically different story. Instead of a big colony, it’s a small artist commune set up in a former industrial facility, with just a few people resident. All of the artists are women, which makes the Doctor the only male character in the story, but that’s never a plot point. As often happens in these situations, the TARDIS is unreachable, there’s a psychic entity picking off the residents one at a time, and if that’s not enough, the sea is poisonous. There’s a tight tension, similar to what you’d find in “Horror of Fang Rock” or “Midnight,” although I don’t think it leans into the horror as much as either of those. Sarah Jane gets to put her investigative skills to good use, as well as her empathy. Sadie Miller isn’t going for a direct impersonation, as recast actors often don’t. As a result, sometimes she doesn’t sound much like Sarah, but other times she’s dead on, especially in cases of the snarky asides that Sarah enjoyed. Tim Treloar stretches a bit as the Doctor, and sometimes you can see him with a line that Pertwee might have done differently, but on the whole, it’s quality work. It’s a solid story, but not a particular standout.