Redacted

BBC Sounds

Released: 17 April - 19 June 2022

Listened: 10/21/22

This was an audio-only story produced by BBC Sounds, in 10 parts, to keep fans occupied during the long wait from “Legend of the Sea Devils” to “The Power of the Doctor.” The story centers around three young, queer podcasters Abby McPhail, Shawna Thompson, and Cleo Proctor, who together run a podcast called “The Blue Box Files,” dedicated to the strange and conspiratorial, especially incidents related to a mysterious blue box. When people start disappearing, the women investigate, only to discover that people aren’t just disappearing, they’re being erased from history, and from people’s memories too. A few folks you might expect to be active in 2022 turn up, including Rani Chandra, Larry Nightingale, and UNIT, including Kate and Osgood. There are plenty of references, mostly small, and mostly new-series. The Doctor makes small cameos until the final episode, in which she’s pretty Doctor-y until the day is saved. I’m not much of a podcast person myself, but the story seems to reflect the culture of young podcasters pretty well, especially those who deal in the unusual. Cleo seems to be the primary character, and the least traditionally “companion-y,” but she does fairly well for herself, and never lacks for a snarky comment. It’s a nice introduction to the world of audio for the Thirteenth Doctor, and hopefully a sign of things to come.