The Gates of Hell [AUDIO/2021.6.2]

★★★☆☆

  If I were to be very harsh to The Gates of Hell, I'd say that I'd have given it a lower score had the Doctors' interactions not been as entertaining as they were. I suppose I know deep down that complaining about an adventure not being much fun without the element of two Doctors is a moot point, because that's what this entire trilogy of audio adventures is for — the thrill of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor going back in his own timeline and bumping into his previous incarnations! 

  To be fair, Tennant has a much more electric chemistry with Peter Davison (not surprising, since Davison is his father-in-law and must have had countless family reunion dinners together) than with Tom Baker in the first Out of Time. While the cricket-jumper incarnation is as charmingly sarcastic and level-headed as he always is (i.e. my favorite aspect of the Fifth Doctor), his future self is bouncing around, enamoured by the opportunity to work with one of his former selves. Tennant sells the Doctor's excitement really well, and their overall rapport enhances the enjoyment factor of The Gates of Hell tenfold. The whole thing about Cybermen and a golden orb placed in the middle of history to aid them invade Earth feels like one big afterthought, really, but at least there's a fun Time Agent character to spruce things up every so often.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  So... if you're looking for a genuinely solid Cyberman tale, one with plenty of scares and excitement on the workings of the narratives, you won't find that here. They're stand-in villains for a stand-in villainous plot for two Doctors to run around and team up to foil. My advice is to sit down, try not to worry about the silver machines taking over the Earth (again) in a very by-the-numbers narrative, and instead focus on the pure fun David Tennant and Peter Davison are having as they team up to save the day. That makes the listening experience much more fruitful.