3. Full Fathom Five

I think the morality behind this is rather lazy as the Doctor wasn't in a life or death situation, nor was it a last resort. He lies and betrays his assistant. Yes, he is consistent but the idea of the Doctor killing could have been done so many different ways and the cold hollowness of this Doctor is kind of a product of a cold hollow world he is living in. It's not without its virtues but it's an empty and strangely disappointing experience.

Morbid novelty enjoyment sums it up beautifully. The story isn’t bad but the possibility they have chosen to fixate on is perhaps the wrong on. The unbound series sure does have a lot of broken Doctors. This one is perhaps the most broken, he comes across as a dirty cop on the tough streets of NY. The difference between the War Doctor and this is that it really was a rock and a hard place, and the Doctor regretted it every after. It wasn't selfish or lazy, there was a real moral dilemma. There isn't any real introspection or a lesson learned, just Karma at the end – in a very eye for an eye fashion. I do like it, quite a bit actually, although the end was a bit of a let down. This isn't what if the Doctor killed, this is what if the Doctor was a bastard. This could have been so much better.

The Doctor takes a sub down to the depths where dangerous experiments have been taking place. Good Story!

What if... the Doctor believed that the ends justified the means? That is the question posed in "Full Fathom Five", the third Doctor Who Unbound story. David Collings (perhaps best known as Silver in Sapphire And Steel) is the actor tasked with bringing to live this ruthless version of the Doctor and he does a superb job. Collings Doctor is a very cold character who for one reason or another no longer cares about the consequences of his actions. I should point out that the Doctor is still the hero of the story but a hero who will do anything to achieve his goals, even going so far as killing two characters.

"Full Fathom Five" is written by David Bishop who provides a fast paced script that never gets dull and isnt without its twists and turns. The ending is with out doubt the most shocking thing about this story and I really cant say much about it without spoiling it. Needless to say though, the TV series could never have an ending like "Full Fathom Five" which I guess is the whole point of the Doctor Who Unbound series.

There really isnt anything negative I can say about "Full Fathom Five". An excellent script coupled with superb acting and a brilliant ending make it one of the best Doctor Who audios available. 10/10

[Very Large Spoilers]

[Do not read ANY further unless you have already heard that story.]

[Very Large Spoilers]

I knew coming in that this was based on 'What if the Doctor believed the ends justified the means?' and I wish I hadn't. For a long time it seems like a fairly traditional story, albeit with quite a brooding Doctor, and it would have been quite a mystery what the actual premise was. The revelation was shocking enough in how far it went even knowing what the basic idea would be; it would have been stunning if I'd heard it blind.

Essentially, after two plays that placed traditional Doctors in divergent circumstances, this story takes a traditional setting and drops in a wildly divergent Doctor. This is really, really making good on the 'Unbound' concept, and BF deserve a big clap on the back for the audacity.

That said, I don't think it's quite as enjoyable a story as the first two. The plot starts well, with quite a richly promising set up. It's very traditional, but it's still got a lot going on. Once we get to the Doctor showing his ruthless side though, the plot sort of burns away. After all, if the Doctor is willing to solve every problem with a few bullets then the story can't help but end abruptly. I'm not sure how Bishop could have got around this, so I don't think it's a fault of his, but it does mean that the story pulls up somewhat short at the end.

The other issue is that the twenty-odd years the Doctor spent with Ruth didn't feel like they existed. They only get a few cursory nods, and I didn't form any impression of what their life had been like for all that time. It's a shame, because I think it robbed some of the impact from the near-end scenes when Ruth is becoming more and more horrified with the Doctor. The problem was, I didn't really have any notion of how she'd previously percieved him.

Collings is really good, and rather chilling, as this essentially villainous Doctor. I think I'd have liked to see a few more touches of remorse in his performance, to give a bit more suggestion that he was just ruthlessly pragmatic, rather than psychopathic, but that's a matter of taste.

The rest of the cast is solid, but I didn't think any of them were really standout, and Ed Bishop didn't really work for me post-transformation. I think a lot of the guest cast did get some slightly corny lines which hampered them somewhat (I thought the same about Bishop's Enemy of the Daleks).

On the whole though, two thumbs up for really seizing the concept for all its worth, which merits a strong 7/10 despite all my nitpicking. It might even get bumped up to an 8 on relisten, because I confess I was distracted by feeling pretty ill this time.