The Revolution Game [AUDIO/2019.7.10]

★★★★☆

  Alright, now this is more like it. Alice Cavender is a writer whose work I'm not all that familiar with, but The Revolution Game certainly made a great impression on me. It has a beginning half (or to put it more exactly, roughly 30%?) that's neither here nor there, to be brutally honest, but once the ball -- or in this case, skates -- start rolling, the adventure becomes incredibly fun and fast-paced. To be clear, I love it when Dr. Who is slow and methodical; fast doesn't always mean better, and vice versa and whatnot. It's simply that I enjoy Cavender's work here far more than I do Nicholas Briggs' contribution to this boxset with The Dalek Trap.

  The Doctor celebrates Lucie's birthday by randomly landing the TARDIS anywhere! Lucie gets to compete in a high-octane, high-risk skating tournament! The Doctor shouts at Lucie from the spectators' seats, tries to dictate her next move and Lucie gives him the finger on live television! The both of them play a big part in the liberation of the indigenous species of this human-colonised planet, all while preventing disaster from happening to the game arena! Breathless fun, and Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith are obviously having a fun time in the booth. I can't even lie, this is a fantastic release -- one of my most enjoyed Eighth Doctor audio adventures in quite a bit.