Sphere of Influence

Susan's War #1.1

Released: 16 April 2020

Listened: 1/15/22

This 2020 boxed set picks up at the precise moment the previous story ended, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say “All Hands on Deck” was an intentional prequel. The boxed set takes an interesting premise: Susan is hardly a front-line fighter, but her experience makes her better suited for diplomatic or espionage missions, which results in a less frenetic storyline, which also happens to suit the tendency of First Doctor stories to be a bit more sedate. The first mission Susan is sent on is to bring the Sensorites into the war on the Time Lords’ side, because their psychic powers can be used to keep the Daleks from accessing TARDISes. If that weren’t enough of a classic link, they recruit Ian Chesterton to help, as he’s also known on the Sense-Sphere. Ian is shown as a much older man, retired and married to Barbara (who’s “off-camera” in scenes where she’d appear), and he’s overjoyed to see Susan again. William Russell, who was well into his 90s at the time of recording, certainly sounds like an older Ian, but Ian’s morality and protective streak are both still strong, and Eddie Robson uses the character to great advantage. Susan also demonstrates how she can contribute to the war without compromising her principles, something her grandfather could perhaps learn from. It seems like all these connections could be a step too far, and yet it works quite well.