Dead Media [AUDIO/2019.9.30]

★★★☆☆

  You would not expect a Dr. Who Short Trips adventure with the prime gimmick being the Doctor acting as a podcast MC (full with mandatory ad breaks) to touch on multiverse shenanigans -- but then again, Who adventures tend to break away from expectations. Rest assured, this thing plays around with it and doesn't fully lean on it like some stories do -- which to me is a net positive. It's a clever move on John Richards' part to limit the gimmick to an alternate-universe Petra helping the Petra and the Doctor of this universe out to prevent total chaos.

  I would like to say that Dead Media is a treat for regular podcast listeners, but truthfully, it doesn't resemble a podcast all that much. Sure, the Doctor reads out a few ads, but that's about it. Go into this audio drama expecting less a faithful recreation of what a podcast read by the Doctor would be like, and more a cute little Short Trips story with podcast elements. Jacob Dudman is a fitting voice for the Twelfth Doctor and his enthusiasm is what carries this audio drama, as well as many other Twelfth Doctor Big Finish stories. It's good for thirty-ish minutes of entertainment, so I'd recommend it to Dr. Who fans on a budget/short for time.