The Infinite Today

Short Trips #10.1

Released: 30 January 2020

Listened: 12/29/22

This is an absurdly long Short Trip at 46 minutes, but it’s a pretty special one, because it puts Jo back with the Eleventh Doctor again. It’s read by Katy Manning, which is kind of a shock after all the Jacob Dudman. Although Katy is a gifted impressionist, I don’t expect her to get the voice, but unfortunately she doesn’t quite get the rhythm either. Matt Smith can be a motormouth like David Tennant, and he’s exceptionally fond of nonsensical asides, but it’s when he slows down unexpectedly that you really have to pay attention, and Katy doesn’t capture that. Her version of Jo, of course, is spot-on. This is after “Death of the Doctor,” so Jo recognizes the Eleventh Doctor. She’s also quite busy doing her activist thing, but gets stuck in a time loop. When the Doctor turns up, he’s even more cryptic than usual about what’s causing the loop, and for what reason. Jo puts a great deal of effort into liking this Doctor, but it’s pretty clear she’s looking for the protective, avuncular version to make everything OK, and that’s not Eleven’s style. She also demonstrates her fiery, assertive side, especially when she thinks he might be downplaying her activist mission. It’s also terribly hard to write an ending for these “old companion visits” stories, so this one just kind of stops. It’s a lovely effort, but falls a bit short as a story.