A Storm of Angels

What if the Doctor interfered? Not just gave things a bit of a nudge here and there but out and out capital I Interfered? Imagine what would happen to his favourite planet, Earth, if he, say, took Leonardo da Vinci on a few trips through time and space and opened his mind to new ideas and alien worlds? Would the Elizabethan era have a space empire? Would Susan go along with any of this? What would the Doctor's people think of it? And if Earth was under threat by other aliens, would the Doctor do anything?

Big Finish take the Doctor's first steps away from his home planet back into the "what if" place of the Unbound series and show us a Doctor who doesn't care much for the web of time, a Doctor who is irresponsible and doesn't grasp the full implications of what his interference could cost further down the road. A Storm of Angels picks up in the months after the events of Auld Mortality with Susan falling mysteriously ill and the Doctor caring for her in the TARDIS during their adventures. They are pursued by one of their own people who has orders to bring them home, but the Doctor is having none of that now that he is out there having fun. It's quite different from the care the established first Doctor takes to not leave a mark on history, and although Susan is still his moral compass she is not entirely against the notion of going anywhere and doing anything. The Doctor's enthusiasm has infected her somewhat, it seems, and it is only heightened when he and Susan fall in with spacefaring Elizabethan privateers out to collect booty for Queen Elizabeth back on Earth.

A Storm of Angels is not entirely about the Doctor's choices, though; Earth is indeed under threat from a new menace but no-one can see beyond the glitter and promise that hides the invaders' true identity and motives. And I'll gladly spoil this much for you: they're not those Angels so Moffatt fans can go sulk. This is another Marc Platt script, which touches on some of his favourite themes about the Doctor's past but does not dwell there this time. 

And it's longer than I expected; Auld Mortality and the other five titles of the initial Unbound range were just a single disc about an hour long, maybe a bit more. The second go at the line, which starts with this one and disappointingly only had one more title (although as I said before that will change in a few months) featured episodes twice as long. This was presented in a four episode format like what was standard for the classic era television episodes, complete with period theme music and maybe a few modern sound effects for the TARDIS interior. 

In the end it's not as if the Doctor really learns anything from his meddling, and seems quite content to carry on doing so. There are, however, no further adventures with this alternative first Doctor to see if he indeed does continue to go where and whenever he pleases, or if he manages to curb those desires. That's still all up for speculation.

What if the Doctor changed his ways and made a point of not going anywhere or getting involved anymore? Certainly interesting, and an Unbound tale for later. But for now, a return to the TV series.

NEXT EPISODE: THE RESCUE