Dark Eyes - 4.2 - The Monster of Montmartre

The second instalment for Dark Eyes 4 picks up from the stolen TARDIS, the Doctor and Liv travel to Paris, to track down what has happened to the Doctor’s beloved blue box. On arriving in Paris it is apparent that they have been followed, it is not soon before the Doctor, whom, trawls the artistic quarter discovers a down and out painter, who tells him of the Red Pagoda, but surely this should be another theatre at this time in the city of Paris that is famous for its dancing girls, not a pagoda. Liv on the other hand as like the previous version is being courted by a gent of dubious persuasion. The irony is not missed when both Liv and the Doctor, end up in the same place, at the same time. The pagoda is not what it appears, and neither are the ever increasing disappearing artists who frequent the place. They are actually providing fodder for a much darker enemy of the Doctor, it is not soon before they reveal themselves, and also the architect of their dastardly plan…

We get another superb performance from McGann, as ever, and also some cracking supporting performances from the cast. I am starting to really enjoy Nicola Walker I can only hope that she is given more opportunity and further appearances in the Who Universe.

The Doctor and Liv arrive in 1920s Paris in search of the TARDIS and they find Monsters have been about the streets of Paris. All of this seems to tie into a bar that milks artists and their wealthy patrons.

Overall, this was a superb story. The Cover gives away that this is a Dalek story and it's a solid one as we encounter the cruelty and evil of the Daleks head on with the horror of the Dalek Time Controller's particular methods on full display.

The Doctor gets to show a bit of kindness as well as some well-deserved moral contempt for the club that's destroying a struggling young artist. Liv, meanwhile, continues to show new sides to her character. With a very wry and sardonic sense of humor on display.

The last few minute of the story are tight and filled with suspense, leading to a brilliant reveal which sets the stage for the third installment.