Doctor Who review: Donna Noble: The Sorcerer of Albion
By James Aggas
Landing in the Middle Ages, Donna and her friend Nat have to face a sorcerer, Burning Knights, and a rather persistent “genie”, in the third episode of Doctor Who audio spin-off Donna Noble: Kidnapped!
The Sorcerer of Albion is an unusual little story. Which to be honest is exactly what I was expecting, due to who wrote it: James Goss. A writer of many audios for both Doctor Who and Torchwood, Goss has often written stories that are a little subversive and go in directions that you don’t quite expect them to.
The Sorcerer of Albion is very much that kind of story. It features many classic fantasy tropes, including wizards, evil armies and powerful books. But while these elements would usually be explored in stories focused on an epic quest, The Sorcerer of Albion feels much more intimate. The setting doesn’t venture much beyond the monastery that Donna and Nat arrive in.
It also features an extremely small cast of characters. Aside from Donna (Catherine Tate) and Nat (Niky Wardley), the story also introduces us to the titular sorcerer Parval (David Schofield) and his granddaughter Vivien (Lydia West).
It doesn’t take long to see that, while Vivian thinks the world of her grandfather, Parval is a dangerous man who thinks only of himself. Both are handled just right, giving us rather interesting and flawed characters, but it’s how the main characters are handled that really drive the story…
Exploring an old friendship
Natalie gets a lot more to do in this episode. After her introduction in Out of this World and seeing her try to adjust to the TARDIS lifestyle in Spinvasion, here, she has to learn how to resolve the situation on her own for most of the story.
When she meets Garrison (Sebastian Armesto), we learn a lot about her life back home. While she comes across as successful and happy, there are hints that she might not be as satisfied with her life as she tries to make Donna believe.
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The same is true for Donna, too – while she’s locked up and unable to do anything for most of the episode, she still gets some interesting character exploration. It’s clear that Donna and Nat are genuinely close but, like any strong relationship, things aren’t always easy between them. It’s nice to see the friendship between these two explored on a deeper level, especially since Nat is such an important part of Donna Noble: Kidnapped.
The Sorceror of Albion isn’t an epic fantasy, but it is a rather enjoyable little story that fleshes out our leads in an interesting way. Another great little character piece by James Goss (one that features sorcerors and Burning Knights. Because it’s a James Goss story).
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Which Doctor Who stories do you enjoy that use or subvert classic fantasy tropes? Do you prefer epic fantasy or something more intimate? Let us know in the comments below.