The False Dimitry

The Ninth Doctor Adventures Series 2 #1.2

Released: 4 May 2022

Listened: 10/7/22

This one is a proper historical, but not a “pure” one, because the modern series doesn’t do that. It’s set in Moscow, in the early 1600s, just after the death of Boris Godunov. Unfortunately, that set off a succession crisis, in which several people claimed to be Dimitry, son of Ivan the Terrible, and therefore the true heir. The one who turns up in this story, though, has some alien help, and with perception filters, almost nothing is who or what it seems. There’s no real companion-substitute in this one, although the monk Sasha fulfills some parts of that role. He’s overshadowed by his mother Oksana, played by Katy Brittain, an old maid in service to the Tsar, with a strongly peasant-class accent, a tendency to wail, and a complete inability to keep a secret for more than thirty seconds. New writer Sarah Grochala is well-versed in the history and culture of this period, and there’s a lot of it on display, but at the expense of the plot, unfortunately. The aliens don’t seem to have a lot of motivation or personality. But as a historical, it’s not bad.