Mass Movement Magazine

Doctor Who: The Runaway Train – Written by Oli Smith & Read by Matt Smith – CD / Download (AudioGo / BBC Audiobooks)
So the Eleventh Doctor, – well Matt Smith as technically Arthur Darvill brought the Eleventh Doctor to life in the audio medium first with ‘The Ring Of Steel’, makes his first foray into the realm of audio adventures, and for a first time out, it’s pretty good. Not brilliant maybe, but not bad either. The plot centres on the Doctor and Amy (and their Posse) hunting crashed alien technology that’s been discovered by the Confederate Army during the Civil War (that’s the American Civil War), and the mayhem that ensues when the Doctor ‘liberates’ said technology and tires to dispose of it before its owners arrive. Okay, so the plot is a little over-the-top, and it’s all a bit ‘Cowboys And Aliens’, but Matt Smith’s spirited reading and delivery saves the day and transforms what should otherwise have been pure hokum into a bullet dodging, explosion defying, flying saucer filled Wild West adventure. If, like me, you’re suffering Eleventh withdrawal and need a fix to help you through the dark days until the show returns to grace the airwaves again, then it’ll fill that void nicely, but if you’re one of those not-so-committed to the cause casual types, you might be better off beginning your audio adventures with ‘The Ring Of Steel’. After all, everybody has to start somewhere… Tim Mass Movement