The House of Masks

The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles #3.2

Released: 6 October 2022

Listened: 12/31/22

In the manner of boxed sets, we need a historical setting now, so the TARDIS gets yanked off-course and lands in Venice at Carnival, late 1700s. They gate-crash a masquerade in a palazzo, and quickly discover that not everything is what it seems, because of course it isn’t. There are a few references to Valerie’s cyborg extras: enhanced strength, on-board scanners, and a universal translator, but they’re not key plot points. Her general tech-savviness and future-person status make her a little more capable of operating solo than Amy was. Fortunately, even though they’re in Venice, the Doctor doesn’t spend much time mourning Amy and Rory, which is probably good, because Valerie is still in mourning herself. Writer Georgia Cook seems to be trying to set up a moral dilemma, but it hinges on the difference between primitive robots (which are OK to deactivate) and sentient AI (which is murder). And maybe there’s an interesting point to be made there, but it’s not really relatable to most listeners, and Doctor Who has tromped all over that line from both directions in its history. Which is to be expected for a show that’s 60 years old, but does undercut this story a bit. However, it does provide an opening for the Doctor to explain the Time War, and his own actions in ending it, in plain language, which he almost never did on TV. Which itself is undercut by the knowledge that he didn’t do what he thinks he did, but he doesn’t know that yet. It’s a good try, but it’s full of contradictions.