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Sea Smoke                   


Halloween: Sea Smoke and other stories 1.1                       


The Doctor and Dodo arrive on an island off Scotland a little before Dodo’s time, Kelp burning is the least of their worries.


This is my first proper full first Doctor story with Stephen Noonan as the Doctor, and though there are hints of William Hartnell, I’m not getting a ‘first Doctor’ vibe. :Likewise with Lauren Cornelius as Dodo, I find her soo far removed from Dodo that she may as well be a new companion. Most of the recasts I’ve heard there is some trace of the character there, here I’m struggling.


As for the story, its a great setting -  a Scottish island, 19th century, perfect for something scary, yet I wasn’t scared at all. This is Doctor who and there are limits. There is some fun stuff - the Doctor and Dodo suggesting they’re Swedish, and nice touches as when Dodo learns that Flora can’t read.


To be honest I don’t know whether I was distracted by trying to find the characters I knew, or trying to reconcile the style with the episodes of the first Doctor I seen so many times and not quite achieving that. Even the War Doctor I was listening to before this I wasn’t getting into, so maybe I’m a bit audio weary. In fact both audios I had to go back and re listen.


This seems have had good reviews, and I should probably give it another go, but for me for now its OK.

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