#10 Destiny of the Doctor: Hunters of Earth

First there was a lamentatious kraken, then phantoms of the deep... maybe the next trip through the Randomoid Selectotron will be of a less oceanic nature?

Destiny of the Doctor: Hunters of Earth

Starring: the first Doctor (narrated), Carole Ann Ford as Susan and as narrator
Format: one narrated two-actor CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? There are several jokes about the 1960's setting, but the story is serious.
Standalone? Mostly, but several obtrusive moments seem to be in the story only to set up later Destiny of the Doctor events.
Recommended? Yes.


My reactions to this story include spoilers for itself and for the overall arc of Destiny of the Doctor.

Before listening

I logically must have heard Hunters of Earth, since I heard later Destiny of the Doctor episodes and I am pretty sure I was listening in order. I assume that, like other parts, it has no strong links to other episodes and the eleventh Doctor pokes into the story at some point to ask for a Macguffin. The blurb on the Big Finish website indicates it takes place after the TARDIS has parked in the junkyard and Susan has started going to school on Earth, but before the TV series, which seems like it could be an interesting window to explore. I do like Carole Ann Ford's voice work as both teen Susan and later adult Susan, so I am looking forward to giving this a relisten and finding out what it was about.
Addendum: After writing the above paragraph I remembered more. There's a mass mind control thing going on where everyone's being made to form a mob, and I seem to recall it's being done with a radio broadcast. I think Susan starts to get a boyfriend but the relationship gets ruined when he's mind controlled? I'm definitely looking forward to having my memory refreshed.

After listening

This story does indeed take place in the period when Susan is attending school at Coal Hill. Oddly, it puts a great deal of focus on Susan's telepathic abilities, which are active even when she doesn't mean them to be. I don't think the writers of the TV show conceived of Susan being telepathic until significantly later in the series, and having her powers play a big role here feels a little off in terms of continuity and chronological authenticity. This is not any significant mark against the story for me, but it feels worth noting.
A major thematic conflict in this story is the Doctor's fear of human xenophobia versus Susan's desire to meet and befriend humans. The events of this story end up favoring the Doctor's side of the argument: while most of the hostile humans are just a mind-controlled mob, there is also an agent of the British government who abducts the Doctor to exploit him and Susan in the cold war with "the enemy" (presumably the Soviets, unless they were left unnamed to set up a twist later in the Destiny of the Doctor series).
In addition to the conflict between the Doctor and Susan's viewpoints, another character-driven aspect of the story is Susan's relationship with her schoolmate Cedric. This might be the strongest part of the story, with good characterization for Susan and an excellent twist near the end.
As in other Destiny of the Doctor stories, there is a message from the eleventh Doctor. There are also other moments in the story that seem to exist only to link to subsequent episodes: the first Doctor notes a dumbbell-shaped object of unidentified technology with particular interest, without identifying it or using it in any way, and the episode ends on a vague note of ominousness as,Susan has a premonition of some great danger affecting the Doctor's destiny. That last event stands out enough that the episode doesn't feel like it has ended in a standalone fashion, even though the next episode has no real connection to this one.
Carole Ann Ford's narration is quite good. Events are mostly described as a TV show would be described, with only very occasional asides about a character's thoughts or other things that wouldn't be visible onscreen. Ford does different voices for Susan and the first Doctor, well-differentiated. Her first Doctor voice sounds a bit like a Muppet at one point, but is otherwise a good evocation of William Hartnell's style.
I can easily recommend this story. It takes place at an interesting point in continuity, it has good characterization and well-written narration, and it opens Destiny of the Doctor in a way that's tantalizing but doesn't force you to buy more episodes just to hear how this one resolves.