The Shadow Heart [AUDIO/2012.11.10]

★★★☆☆

  Honestly, it's a small wonder that The Shadow Heart works at all. It's a continuation of the Drashani empire storyline, which seemed to relish in its logical conclusion in The Acheron Pulse (think of this installment as an elongated coda), while being a time-travel romp with the Doctor popping in and out of events in a non-chronological order, while being an examination and almost-indictment of how the Doctor's reckless adventures for "justice" often lead to worse consequences, while being a high-concept science fiction adventure with Star Wars-like sleazy alien bars, cloned princesses and giant carrier snails! I bet Jonathan Morris's head was whirrling like overworked computers writing this one.

  Thankfully, Morris is a sublime Doctor Who writer, and The Shadow Heart pulls through in the end. I had fun with it, and in the end that's all it counts. I don't love it, despite the fact that I really wanted to; this is not because the story is stuffed to the brim with ideas (because it is), but because those ideas simply aren't as bonkers as they could have been. The Aliona aspect of the story is a tried-and-true trope done well, but it was a very predictable use, and the Doctor zipping through the story with the timeline all mixed up is fun, but it gets old pretty quick (around the third-episode mark). I wish something more interesting was done with those ideas -- or that Morris came up with even more novel concepts, he's good at coming up with those! 

  Nonetheless, this is a solid fun listen for anyone invested in the Drashani empire storyline. Kylo/Tenebris is a great character who meets a poetic end -- he was born when Aliona died, and he died so that she could live -- and the Seventh Doctor gets to be charming and manipulative (the resolution is set up for the majority of the runtime and yet you don't even see it coming until it's staring at you right in the face). Oh, I haven't talked about Chase Masterson at all now, have I? She's amazing as Vienna Salvatori; she's chewing each line with relish and delivering a hugely enjoyable performance, so there's no wonder that she got her own spinoff.