Last of the Titans review [Nicholas Briggs]

The Doctor lands in a gigantic spacecraft and meets its captain, a cousin of the Neanderthals who once lived in Devon. But how did he get from the sunny south of England to the planet of Ormelia? And why did he leave?

Where and When: The planet Ormelia. The Doctor is travelling alone but the TARDIS still makes its TV sound effects rather than the film ones. He's in his white jacket on the cover, so perhaps he dropped off Ace at some point before 1963: The Assassination Games, although he seems to be travelling alone permanently rather than being on a break. Perhaps it's between Ace's departure just before Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code and his meeting Chris and Roz in Original Sin. We know from the cover of The Hesitation Deviation that he does wear his white coat during this period. It's impossible to tell.

The Doctor's Case:

• The Seventh Doctor has something of a problem with companions in that he seems to be defined by them. If he's with Mel, he's a clown. If he's with Ace, he's dark and brooding. If he's with Klein, he's tired and nearing the end of his life. To have him on his own means that we get to experience him as a singular character and not as part of a double-act, which he and Ace have come to be.
• Sylvester McCoy can sometimes be less than stellar when acting, such as when he had to be angry in Battlefield ("There! Will! Be! No! Battle! Here!") or in his overly theatrical delivery at the end of Survival ("If we fight like animals, we die like animals!"), but he does a great job as a narrator. He's very easy to listen to.
• Vilgreth is a sympathetic character, living all alone, but turns out to be a murdering sociopath. Despite this revelation, it's hard not to feel sorry for him. It was in his nature after all, being close kin to the Neanderthals.

I'll Explain Later:

• When does this take place?

This Reminds Me...:

• The TARDIS will again be plunged into fire in Journey's End, but with Donna inside.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: Short, sweet and with more substance than its runtime might suggest. It's good to see the Seventh Doctor alone (presumably after having Ace surgically removed from his side) and proving that he doesn't need a companion. The setting and story are immersive and engaging and the finale tragic. All in all, a good story deserving of a B.

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Last of the Titans  |  The Ratings War