A review by thoroughlymodernreviewer
Spore by Alex Scarrow
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
On the one hand, “Spore” is an absolutely delightful little “Doctor Who” romp. A classic earth-under-siege kind of story, complete with a very cosmically unknowable threat. It’s quick-paced, a nice little shot of “Doctor Who” goodness. The kind of premise that could easily be expanded into a full-length episode, but works perfectly fine as a little bite sized story.
On the other hand, though, it’s got the most generic-feeling representation of a Doctor in any of these stories. Outside of a few references to his costume, this Doctor simply doesn’t feel like the Eighth Doctor at all. It’s not that he feels like any other Doctor, either, though. He’s just very archetypal. You could easily imagine any of the Doctors slotted into this story. And while that’s kinda nice in theory, it’s a major let down in a story that’s billed as an Eighth Doctor tale. I know the Eighth Doctor hardly appeared on television, but it’s not like there isn’t a wealth of audio dramas and novels to draw inspiration from. So, that’s a major bummer.
As it is, though, “Pore” is a fun story. It’s got a good dynamic between the Doctor and the one-off companion. The setting is super fun (the American desert is just such a perfect setting for sci-fi stories, isn’t it?). And the overall premise works exceedingly well, possibly better than almost any of the previous short stories in this series. But the generic-feeling Eighth Doctor definitely brings the story down a bit. It’s fun enough, but could’ve been even better.
On the other hand, though, it’s got the most generic-feeling representation of a Doctor in any of these stories. Outside of a few references to his costume, this Doctor simply doesn’t feel like the Eighth Doctor at all. It’s not that he feels like any other Doctor, either, though. He’s just very archetypal. You could easily imagine any of the Doctors slotted into this story. And while that’s kinda nice in theory, it’s a major let down in a story that’s billed as an Eighth Doctor tale. I know the Eighth Doctor hardly appeared on television, but it’s not like there isn’t a wealth of audio dramas and novels to draw inspiration from. So, that’s a major bummer.
As it is, though, “Pore” is a fun story. It’s got a good dynamic between the Doctor and the one-off companion. The setting is super fun (the American desert is just such a perfect setting for sci-fi stories, isn’t it?). And the overall premise works exceedingly well, possibly better than almost any of the previous short stories in this series. But the generic-feeling Eighth Doctor definitely brings the story down a bit. It’s fun enough, but could’ve been even better.