Let’s do all of Volume 3 of the Tenth Doctor’s Adventures then. Might as well, there is only one more after this one. So, of course, it is a 10 and Donna adventure and we’re covering another one that’s about an hour long.

It is set in Vallarasee, an underwater city inhabited by “Fins” and enclosed by a dome. I wonder where we’ve seen domed cities/towns and underwater worlds with private arboretums and the space version of American cops. Oh yeah, we don’t just have burbling water people, but we have an evil woman managing it all and she has contracted out some Judoon. Now you see why I picked One Mile Down. Well, that and possibly the reference to Tom Hanks’ all-time great movie (this is called sarcasm), Splash.

Ok, yes it might have my Rhinoforms but it is less the “Smith and Jones” Vampire story or the fun aspect of “the Doctor was a Black woman all along” from “Fugitive of the Judoon.” Instead, and I kind of have to spoil this one, it is about racism, bigotry, extremism, and colonization by a foreign species for profit. Instead of making the Judoon some kind of central villain or some kind of tough enforcer of execution orders, they are far lighter, though still blunt in approach to enforcement.

Robert Whitelock’s Garth is (to generalize) every British person on holiday in Spain; If he can’t be understood, he’ll just start shouting. The type of racist bigot that will say, “why can’t all these foreigners speak proper English?” while he’s in a bar in Spain, and he’s the foreign one. The reason I bring this up with such detail is the simple fact that as soon as he piped up in the Willy Wonka elevator about Patricia’s boyfriend (a Fin), I knew from the first syllable how he was going to be throughout the whole hour. You just know that type of person straight away.

As much as I do enjoy how realized that character is, to the point of being able to paint his whole backstory from his first moments, I don’t like Donna’s “My racist friend.” I don’t care how witty it is meant to be, the Doctor or his companions really shouldn’t be having racist friends and not ones that say “I prefer bigot friend,” as if it’s something to be proud of in the first place. The entire program is about inclusion, peacefulness, and generally not being a small-minded, racist, bigoted, self-interested git. There’s never really a point where he’s a hero out-and-out but there is no point where he’s put alongside the actual villains either. Rather he’s used as the bridge point between the two ideologies.

Let’s use an analogy: Let’s say there was a country filled with people getting along, and suddenly a foreign power demanded this country change a bit to let others occupy this country too. Let’s say that over time those who are the new settlers have forced the old ones to change everything, like removing water and placing a large dome over this country so the occupiers can live freely. In doing so, the people who ancestrally lived there are forced to wear these repressive helmets like these settlers had to before the water was removed.

In all of this, the new settlers brokered a deal where the natives have to pay for use of these helmets. Even for all the security forces that are putting their people in prison, and ultimately stopping them from manning the gift shop for tourists so they don’t touch money. You’d be a little annoyed if your home was taken over by a strange new species and they oppressed you into all of this, wouldn’t you? Still, it doesn’t mean it is right to blow things up and terrorize; I don’t care what anyone says. Some of you might even be thinking that sounds similar to whatever oppression you can think of right now, and that’s good sci-fi.

Ok, it is not similar to high-fantasy in terms of its sci-fi, it isn’t a grand concept, it is Doctor Who. It is taking a similar notion within our existence, and applying that to fictional beings on a far-off planet with funny names and voices. This is why I love The Orville so much too, it does this similar idea with episode 3 about simply the concept of other, episode 6 with religion, 7 with social media, and season 2’s episode 12 with a similar right to self-rule. Is it perfect every time? No, there are moments like Garth or the early humor of The Orville not balancing out just yet. However, it is trying and does so in a fun and interesting way.

That said, this entire story could have (with a bit of tweaking) been a TV episode. The “Fins,” as they’re called, could have used helmets that worked similarly to the Hath face-tank thing. Maybe it wouldn’t have to be a glass-topped dome, but something similar to the arboretum from “The Waters of Mars.” I’m not saying it would be easy, I’m not saying a full Shape of Water episode is a great idea, but beyond Big Finish being the only place for good Doctor Who, I don’t see why it couldn’t be a TV episode. Nonetheless, it is a good bite-sized adventure, and I think I love Clo and his little junior Judoon voice.

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Big Finish Doctor Who "One Mile Down"

$8.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Fun adventure.
• Clo is just the cutest little Judoon, isn't he?
• Properly using the time, unlike the episode before.

Cons

• Not much of a stance on Garth.