Doctor Who: The Brood of Erys

The Doctor and Flip arrive in an interdicted star system where they face a god-like being and its impish ‘brood'. While it can hardly be described as hard SF, given the powers and nature of the main villain, some thought seems to have gone into how the Drachee aliens actually work, and the overall setting works rather well. Interestingly, despite being written before they were broadcast, the story has parallels with two notably weak Nu Who episodes (Rings of Akhaten and Kill the Moon) but is far better than either of them.This is largely because, while the antagonist may be similar, the plot is superior, with rather more complexity, and makes rather more sense. In particular, a space traveller with amnesia that the Doctor picks up en route is intimately connected with what's going on, and adds a nice sense of mystery. The aliens other than the main antagonist are also effective, and there's good use of audio to suggest that the cast of the play is much larger than it actually is.There are weaknesses, however, most of which come out in the final 30-minute segment. While the motivations of the amnesiac character make perfect sense, the actions of another character that precipitated them are mind-bogglingly stupid. Furthermore, the resolution at the end involves some leaps of logic and a good deal of post-climactic moralising that some listeners will probably find rather tiresome. I was sufficiently swept up by the story at this point not to really mind, but, for others, these points might prove more of a deal-breaker.