Escape from Holy Island

The Quin Dilemma #2

Released: 22 March 2024

Listened: 4/21/26

The "Holy Island" of the title is Lindisfarne, in Northumberland, and the escape in question took place in 793 AD. History says that Viking raiders sacked the abbey, but a few monks escaped with the body of St. Cuthbert. Except in the story, the Vikings are actually aliens, who have with them creatures that resemble dragons. The raiders aren't very impressive from a story perspective. The have no lines, and mostly just shout, growl, and grunt. Peri is tasked with mobilizing the monks into a defensive force, which doesn't go terribly well, but lets Nicola Bryant do lots of shouting in her American accent. The Doctor has H.G. Wells along, for no reason that I can determine. He's not nearly as much of a wet dishrag as he was in "Timelash," but I can't see what he adds to the story. In fact, there's not really a ton of story. The Web of Time dictates what has to happen here, and although the Doctor can help a few monks escape, that's it. Into the middle of this rather grim story crashes Byron, one of the five idiot princes of Arunopal, entirely helpless except for the A.I. in his spaceship. He waits until the gruesome part is over, then snatches the Doctor and leaves, stranding Peri and Herbert. Listened to as part of its larger story, it's a huge tonal shift from the first part; listened to at this point in the chronology, it's just a dark story for no reason. For the Doctor, Peri, and Herbert, the story continues from here to The Firstborn, before they come back here.