Ship in a Bottle [AUDIO/2017.3.7]

★★★☆☆

  After the explosive nature of most of Doom Coalition 3, I suppose it was logical that the series needed a bottle episode (quite literally in this case) to address frayed tempers and look into the minds of the characters and see how they process recent events. As it turns out, they're in desperate need of some time off and have many things to say to each other. The Doctor is stuck in a bottle universe at the end of time, and Liv and Helen are rightfully mad about the fact that he seemingly left them with a dangerous Time Lord to go off on his own adventures. Trust and honesty are themes often cropping up in Doctor Who, and it's always an important conversation to be had; no matter their intentions, the Doctor can't just leave their friends on the lurch like that without facing consequences down the line. Ship in a Bottle accommodates for such moments of confrontation, and it's all the stronger for them. 

  Bottle episodes often rely on the strength of their chief performances, and it's to this adventure's credit that the leads are none other than Paul McGann, Nicola Walker and Hattie Morahan. They're fantastic here, embodying their characters with ease and portraying their frustrations and fears with such honesty. It helps that they're trapped inside a small spaceship, allowing director Ken Bentley to focus on bringing the sound design alive and making the listening experience a crisp and engrossing one. It's an exciting adrenaline rush, this, and the heightened stakes by the end only makes the listener dying to journey on with Doom Coalition 4, which is always a good thing for a boxset opener to achieve. Strong characterisations and a lightning pace make for a very solid Doctor Who experience, and Ship in a Bottle is proof.

(original post here)