Between losing Rose in Doomsday and finding her again in The Stolen Earth, the Tenth Doctor had many exciting adventures with new companions Martha and Donna. But what was Rose up to during that time? Over the past four years, we’ve followed Rose as she hops from dimension to dimension looking for the Doctor but, in this third instalment of the Dimension Cannon series, we’re treated to something a little different.
As the title suggests, Trapped sees Rose stranded on one parallel Earth, Dimension Cannon broken and the terrifying Anti-Life closing in on her. It’s a much-needed shakeup to the Dimension Cannon formula, giving the writers a chance to really flesh out a new world over the course of three hours, rather than changing up the setting every episode as in previous boxsets.
This is also a slightly darker set of stories than we’re used to, and this becomes apparent in Lizzie Hopley‘s opener, Sink or Swim. Here, Rose finds herself on a cruise ship sailing the oceans in an attempt to escape the Anti-Life. Aboard, she finds a parallel version of her mother (a delightfully different performance by Camille Coduri), who has been incarcerated by her shipmates due to her psychic abilities, and Em Thane‘s headstrong young Danni, a new ally who sticks with Rose throughout the set.
In all honesty, I found this story quite hard going, with a lot of gruff, brutish characters and action scenes, though I can see the appeal for those who like that sort of thing. For me, though, the Dimension Cannon series has always thrived on the strength of its character moments, and Sink or Swim just didn’t have enough of those for me. Nevertheless, Lizzie Hopley’s worldbuilding here is excellent, and I liked the almost mother-child rapport created between Rose and Danni, so, although the plot is a little underwhelming, this is still a good intro to the set.
Leaving the ship behind, Tim Foley‘s The Lower Road sees Rose and Danni arrive at a tower block, the High Road, whose residents have a curious relationship with the Anti-Life. Leading this band of survivors is Lorraine Horgan‘s Kaitlyn, a pleasingly complex character with a great arc in this story. Kaitlyn has an immense moral dilemma to grapple with here and, although I don’t think the story goes as far as it could in exploring it, it’s certainly very thought-provoking.
Rounding off the cast here are Cleo Sylvestre, who puts in a compelling performance as the matriarchal Minton, and Chelsea Little as Lex, Kaitlyn’s daughter whose disagreement with her mother’s actions forms the central conflict of the piece. Once again, this is quite a dark story, but Foley counters this with some lovely moments for Rose and Danni. It’s also great to hear Rose in a very Doctorish role, taking Danni on as her companion, which helps to explain why her character became so much more independent between Series 2 and Series 4. Good stuff.
Given Dimension Cannon boxsets are usually full of standalone episodes, it’s rare to have a finale which actually has story threads to tie up. The Good Samaritan by Helen Goldwyn is an interesting break from the formula, then, rounding off Rose’s adventures in this new world as she and Danni make a final stand against the Anti-Life. It’s not quite as compelling as The Lower Road, but equally not as bleak as Sink or Swim: a solid finale with some standout moments.
Billie Piper gives the best performance of the set (and perhaps even the series as a whole) here, culminating in a strikingly affecting scene between her and Em Thane which really cuts to the core of how Rose feels about her fruitless quest to find the Doctor. Thane themselves is also excellent, their character getting a touching send-off.
With this story, it feels like The Dimension Cannon has reached a natural end; there really doesn’t seem anywhere else to go story-wise short of bringing in Catherine Tate as alternate versions of Donna for Rose to meet before she finds the real one in Turn Left. I certainly wouldn’t be averse to the idea, but if Trapped is the last we’ve heard of Rose’s dimension-hopping escapades, it’s definitely a good one to end on.
Trapped is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com
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