A Thing of Guile review [Phil Mulryne]

The Daleks are developing a secret weapon on Asteroid Theta 12. It is imperative that their plans are uncovered. Cardinal Ollistra has her hands full studying the range of ancient and mysterious armaments the universe has to offer, but she makes it a personal mission to investigate the Dalek project. On this dangerous assignment, there is one particular Time Lord she wants at her side — and he will be accompanying her whether he wants to or not.

Infernal Devices: The Anima Device turns people against their allies, sowing discord and bringing disagreement.

When and Where: The Gallifreyan Station Kronos and the Daleks' Asteroid Theta 12, shortly after Legion of the Lost and before The Neverwhen.

The Renegade's Case:

• None of the previous War Doctor stories have opened with so exciting a cold open. This one gets you raring for adventure. It's a shame, then, that no good adventure follows.

The Cardinal's Case:

• Despite the cold open being good, we go back in time to learn how it came to be, which is entirely unnecessary.
• The experiment is a combination of Kaled and Dalek. With Kaleds being humanoid, this is virtually no different from Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks. It was created for the same reason Dalek Sec became half-human - to imagine and think differently.
• Jared and Solex die, but who cares? Very few characters have been awarded any sort of development. The War Doctor and Ollistra are decent enough because of John Hurt's and Jacqueline Pearce's performances, but they've not really been explored.

This Reminds Me...:

• As already mentioned, the Dalek plan was the same as in Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks.
• The Doctor mentions the Ood (The Satan Pit), the Sensorites (The Sensorites) and the Arcateenians (Greeks Bearing Gifts).

Next Time on Doctor Who: The Doctor is free once more and has left Ollistra behind. However, she's sent his TARDIS somewhere.

The Inquisitor's Case: A Thing of Guile suffers from Rejoice Syndrome - having a great name but no real notability. It's a boring story with little going on until the very end, where the reveal is the same one we already saw in series 3. Perhaps it's impossible to tell a good War Doctor story. This story is very bad, and that earns it an E.

The War Doctor - Infernal Devices

Legion of the Lost  |  A Thing of Guile  |  The Neverwhen