REVIEW: Doctor Who 158: Wirrn Isle

Originally posted on my Doctor Who Review Site

Sixth Doctor & Flip Jackson

Cast:

The Doctor - Colin Baker
Flip Jackson - Lisa Greenwood
Roger Buchman - Tim Bentinck
Veronica Buchman - Jenny Funnell
Toasty Buchman - Tessa Nicholson
Iron - Rikki Lawton
Sheer Jawn - Dan Starkey
Dare - Helen Goldwyn
Paul Dessay - Glynn Sweet


Synopsis:

"The year is 16127. Four decades have passed since the colonists of Nerva Beacon returned to repopulate the once-devastated Earth – and the chosen few are finding the business of survival tough.

Far beyond the sterile safety of sanitised Nerva City, transmat scientist Roger Buchman has brought his family to an island surrounded by what they once called Loch Lomond, hoping to re-establish the colony he was forced to abandon many years before.

But something else resides in the Loch. A pestilent alien infestation that the Doctor, beaming in from Nerva City, remembers only too well from his time aboard the Beacon…

The Wirrn are back. And they’re hungry."


Review:

I don't really have much to say about this one, it's pretty much standard fare. The plot isn't especially challenging or thought provoking in any way, just entertaining. Seeing as it's a story about transporters.... sorry, Transmats.... it's only customary to have the transporters malfunction. Sorry, that's Star Trek again. It almost confused me.

Whilst it progressed quite slowly without much really happening, the supporting characters were interesting enough to you entertained. Whilst I've never been much of a fan of the Wirrn, I would have preferred them to be more involved in this story rather than it being centered around the other cast members and the Transmat technology.

There were some nicely paced reveals along the way and I think that Flip is proving to be a good companion once again. The closing scene I really enjoyed and I hope we get some more stories with her in the future. There wasn't much here I disliked but it's not going to be a memorable one either.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided

4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it

5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Writer: William Gallagher
Director: Nicholas Briggs
Produced By: Big Finish
Released: March 2012