The Calendar Man

The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles #1.1

Released: 15 August 2018

Listened: 12/17/22

In this first Eleventh Doctor audio story, AK Benedict isolates the major themes of Series 5 and leans in. Leans way, way in. We’ve got fairy tales, both thematic and literal. We’ve got the one person who no one believes, except for the Doctor. We’ve got a bad guy that erases things from history. And we’ve got a fairly unnecessary connection to the Time Lords that makes the Doctor actually the center of the story. There’s references to the Doctor’s guilt, he gets to make a sacrifice play in a battle of wills, AND he gets a big speech. Ticks all the boxes. And unfortunately leaves one with that vaguely dissatisfied feeling that Series 5 stories often had, that some bits went unsaid or were unexplained. There’s also a mention of the Doctor being in his last incarnation, which didn’t feel necessary to the story, and is mostly there to show that people paid attention to “The Time of the Doctor.” Amy’s pretty accustomed to being with the Doctor at this point, knowing when to listen to him and when to ignore him, and pretty capable of acting on her own. However, there’s nothing that refers to her having forgotten Rory, despite the fact that the forgotten settlers would give the writer a perfect excuse. Jacob Dudman does a fantastic job playing the Eleventh Doctor, as that’s his speciality. He also does quite a good job with the various secondary characters. His impersonation of Amy isn’t as good, but that’s an awfully big ask. It’s a very representative start, if not a standout.