Doctor Who review: Planet X mixes light humor with darkness

Bernice and the Doctor (reluctantly) visit the most boring planet in the universe: Planet X. But is this world hiding a few dark secrets…?

Planet X. Bernice thinks the name sounds intriguing. The Doctor on the other hand knows that it’s one of – if not the most boring planet in the universe, and considering there’s actually not much of it left, that’s a real possibility. But both of them are about to discover that it’s a lot more interesting than either of them could’ve guessed in this Doctor Who audio – and, of course, more dangerous…

The second episode of The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: The Unbound Universe is another strong story, this time written by Guy Adams. Now, writing about a planet that’s supposed to be intentionally boring is certainly risky, especially as the writer runs the risk of just boring the audience as a result. But instead, Planet X feels both fresh and subversive.

In some ways, the story reminds me of The Happiness Patrol, a classic Seventh Doctor serial where a planet’s citizens were punished if they were found to be unhappy at any moment. In this case, Planet X’s inhabitants are punished for being too interesting. Anyone who’s considered to be exciting or above average is considered a risk to the planet’s welfare.

This is a bizarre idea to explore – and, as I’ve mentioned, rather risky – but it works. What helps is that Guy Adams (initially) writes the story as a comedy. There are a lot of funny moments in Planet X, particularly with David Warner’s Doctor. He really doesn’t want to visit the most boring planet in the universe, and when he does, he’s not happy.

David Warner’s Doctor really gets to stand out in this story, as he discovers the dark secret of Planet X.

(Photo credit and obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

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Mixing humor with darkness

In some ways, Planet X feels reminiscent of a Douglas Adams story. While it starts out with a really strange and eccentric situation and full of humor, over time, the story gradually becomes darker and darker. It does this naturally, too – initially, a whole planet that’s intentionally trying to be boring sounds funny. That is, until you start to find out just how far its leader will go to stop anyone being interesting…

What stands out for me the most about Planet X is how it gives David Warner’s Doctor a chance to shine. While The Unbound Universe is distinctly Benny’s series as a whole, Planet X feels like it’s very much this Doctor’s episode.

We get quite a few sides to him in this one. Like the story itself, he’s initially hilarious in how he refuses to take the planet seriously at all. But when he finds out the many secrets that the planet’s keeping, he starts to get angry. Very angry. Unsurprisingly, David Warner plays all sides to his Doctor brilliantly in this one, and really shows off just how much of a fantastic Doctor he is in his own right.

Planet X is another great story in The Unbound Universe. A nice mix of light and dark that makes for an extremely enjoyable listen.

What do you think is the most boring planet that the Doctor’s ever visited? Which stories do you enjoy that feature comedy and darkness in equal measure? Would you have liked to have seen David Warner as the Doctor on-screen? Let us know in the comments below.