The Weight of History [AUDIO/2021.11.3]

★★★☆☆

  This is where Jacob Dudman finally nails the Twelfth Doctor for me, or at least his own interpretation of him. This is where I finally stopped envisioning the Doctor as Dudman, but rather Peter Capaldi's Time Lord being quite grumpy on the outside but having a heart of gold within. It helps that his rapport with Bhavnisha Parmar has grown exponentially, and the two gel together in the most wonderful of ways.

  Seriously, can't we have more Kiera Sanstrom in the future? It's not as if Parmar's role in the new series (Yaz's younger sister, Sonya) is that demanding in terms of schedule. Our favorite Time Agent of the boxset (in which there's only about two... but you get my point) gets to show a new side of vulnerability when a clone of her appears out of nowhere, presenting an entire dilemma unto itself in the midst of solving a mystery about, yet again, corrupted time. The Weight of History is best experienced when one considers the macro plot to be a touch of flavour (just to make sure no one starts angrily typing "this thing has no plot at all!" on forums) and focuses on the interplay between the Doctor and the two Kieras. Parmar really impresses in these scenes; I'd love to seee her character make a return in the future, with or without the Twelfth Doctor.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  You know, I used to be been on the fence about these Doctor Chronicles and their initial need to be in a range that would suit their needs just fine (cough cough The Companion Chronicles) without having to make another one. Recently, though — and with Timejacked! (which I've decided is an enjoyable boxset) now under my belt — I think I've come around to them. When you've got talented actors like Jacob Dudman portraying these Doctors, it allows for full-cast audios and new interpretations. I'm sad to hear of Dudman's announcement of stepping down from voicing the new series Doctors; best of wishes to him in the future.