Gabrielle Ketley reviews the latest Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures release.
Rose Tyler’s (Billie Piper) need to escape the Powell Estate has always played a crucial part in her adventures with the Doctor (Christopher Ecclestone), and in Thirteen O’Clock (Robert Valentine), that need is dialled up to eleven, for her and the rest of the cast. Some powerful, terrifying force has plunged the estate into a blinding fog, time no longer works as it should, an ill fated cabbie (Dan Starkey) is so terrified he refuses to accept his fare (let alone a tip), and despite the Doctor’s best efforts, the Tardis cannot escape the pull dragging them back to the Powell Estate.
And once more, whatever’s going on, it’s all the Doctor’s fault. Probably.
As Rose and the Doctor explore the twisting corridors of the Powell Estate, they encounter the the doomed “last apple in the bowl” Milton (Will Chitty), and the sinister, ever rhyming Mrs Crook (Sophie Thompson), whose duty it is to collect the poor souls chosen to feed the malicious entity that has taken control of the Powell Estate.
“You can beg and you can plead, but when your time comes he will feed”.
The Doctor is also reunited with both an old friend, Saffron Windrose (Indigo Griffiths) and an old enemy, the delightfully named Grimminy-Grew. The Grimminy-Grew has a love for rhymes, human flesh, killer evil laughs, and now, having been banished once before by the Doctor after losing a guessing game (typical Whoniverse logic), is back for round two.
One of my favourite horror devices is when a location becomes a character in itself, and Thirteen O’Clock utilises that device beautifully.
In the show, the function of Powell Estate was to provide a contrast to the beauties and wonders of the universe that Rose discovers on her travels with the Doctor. It’s dull, mundane, and symbolises a future devoid of excitement and potential that Rose was desperate to escape.
In Thirteen O’Clock, the dread of being trapped on the estate remains, but any comfort, any safety or refuge Rose might have found in her childhood home, is gone. Home has been corrupted. It is now the dwelling place for a sinister and malevolent entity, filled with all the terror that Rose has faced in her travels, with none of the magic.
The concept of having a place as familiar as home turn hostile is always chilling, (it’s why the scariest monster is the one under your bed, or the bogeyman in your wardrobe), and it feeds well into the overall theme of the danger of being known.
As Saffron, Rose and the Doctor are separated, they are forced to confront their worst beliefs about themselves, their faults, failures and fears thrown into their faces in a bid to break them, and once more it is down to a guessing game to determine who will emerge the final victor.
The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Thirteen O’Clock is deliciously creepy, building up the tension wonderfully, indulging in all the best horror tropes, and landing some excellent kills.
The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Thirteen O’Clock is available on CD or as a download from
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