The Long Way Round [AUDIO/2021.3.10]

★★★☆☆

  Bless John Dorney. Every entry of his for Stranded tries something different, and you always get the feeling that he's giving every script his all. That's what I love about this series -- every writer delivers their best or tries to, and passion goes a long way in breathing a sense of excitement in a series. 

  The Long Way Round is a noteworthy installment for many reasons. First, it's a break from the norm by being a succession of interrogations with our leads captured in the 2050s (the dark future, from what Dorney tells us). Second, it's another Curator appearance which refuses to explain anything about why he's there and how he interacts with the main crew -- which is how things should be. Third but not least, it's an important cornerstone in the ongoing Divine Intervention story arc, revealing that the Robin Bright-Thompson we've come to feel close to have become the ruthless "Doctor" in the future, a dictator for centuries who ravages the human race. It's certainly a tall ask for anyone to set this up in an interesting way, and Dorney's choice of making this one long interrogation of every TARDIS crew member was inspired, to say the least. This way, we get everyone's perspective on events in an unobtrusive, natural way. Every actor is fired up for the task, and Ken Bentley's direction matches his heightened standards for Stranded again; no complaints here. Overall, the only downside to The Long Way Round is that the interrogation gimmick sometimes falters in execution; even with the Curator interludes, the format stretches a bit too thin at times... but hey, that's still a very good concluding note to Stranded 2, a greatly enjoyable second boxset to the superb Stranded series.