Hunters of Earth [AUDIO/2013.1.1]

★★★☆☆

  Destiny of the Doctor is such a fun series, and Hunters of Earth begins where the show all begas, in Shoreditch, 1963. It was such a treat to have Carole Ann Ford, the Doctor's first companion, open up the series -- and it's still a treat to see her working to this day! Being one of the first members of the cast, I feel every time I listen to audio dramas with her (particularly ones where she reads for William Hartnell's First Doctor) that she gets what the Doctor is about, how he speaks and manages his tones, et cetera. This is pre-Season 1 One as well, which means he's the living definition of crotchety old man who's paranoid about absolutely everything and yet possesses the magic spark that we all know and love. Strange to think, with the ability of hindsight, that this old man possesses the Hand of Omega.

  Hunters of Earth itself is such a richly atmospheric production, and I always thought of it as a good solid start to the Destiny of the Doctor series. Dark, foggy streets, 1960s pop music on the radio, grimy warehouses, crammed electronics shops, just what you'd expect from a story set in 1963. I was impressed this time around by my re-realisation of Nigel Robinson's intent with this script -- tackling UK xenophobia and racism in the 1960s to kickstart a 50th anniversary celebration series of Dr. Who is quite the ambitious job, and the audio drama turns out pretty well, I'd say. I love the idea for the series as a whole that the Eleventh Doctor intervenes in some way or another... gives the 11 stories a sort of unity, so to speak. Shame we only get Carole Ann Ford's impression of Matt Smith's Doctor through a radio DJ reading the latter's letter, though. The villains of the piece being who they are (this may be a pleasant surprise for some, so I won't spoil), they're not the most charming baddies out there and the momentum of the piece does falter after the two-thirds mark... but there's plenty of fun to be had here as a whole unit.