Doctor Who spin-off review: Susan’s War: Assets of War

The third episode of Doctor Who spin-off box set Susan’s War initially seems to be a little predictable. But then writer Lou Morgan gives us something rather different altogether…

After stories of diplomacy, espionage and major Doctor Who reunions, the third episode of Susan’s War, Assets of War, focuses more on the Time Lords’ perspective. We get to see the developments and experiments that they work on in their weapons testing. One scientist believes that the perfect weapon already exists. It just needs to be tamed…

It doesn’t take long to see where the story is going in Assets of War. A military base trying to use a monster as a weapon. Experimenting on that monster to get the best results. The protagonist arriving at the base and seeing that what the scientists are doing is wrong. Anyone who’s watched Jurassic Park or other movies of man trying to control nature knows where this is heading.

So at first, Assets of War comes across as being more than a little predictable. Sometimes, a basic predictable story isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’ve just got an hour to tell your story in.

But for a while, you almost start to worry that you can guess a little too much of this episode’s plot in advance. Fortunately, writer Lou Morgan has more than a few tricks up her sleeve to surprise the audience.

Damian Lynch, Vincenzo Nicoli, Carole, Roly Botha, and Beth Chalmers star in Assets of War.

Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions

Gallifrey’s classes

During the inevitable outbreak, we get to the most interesting part of the story. It’s not the monsters escaping, although they are explored in a satisfying way. But rather, it’s why the monsters are set free that matters.

Over the course of Assets of War, we start to get a good idea of Gallifrey’s class system. Of who benefits from the Time War and who doesn’t. Across various Time War releases, we’ve seen innocent races on other worlds badly affected by the war. (One of the best examples is The Famished Lands from The Eighth Doctor: Time War 3.)

But it’s interesting that even people on Gallifrey have been negatively affected by it. Across various stories in both the Classic Series and the expanded universe, we’ve been given hints of a class system on Gallifrey. Of those who are Time Lords and those who aren’t. Those who can regenerate and those who’ve been denied the privilege. So it’s honestly refreshing that Lou Morgan explores that in her story.

As a result, we get an episode that begins with a seemingly predictable storyline before changing into a deep exploration of the Time Lords. Overall, Assets of War is another decent episode of Susan’s War that presents a different perspective on the Time War.

Which stories do you think are the best at exploring Gallifrey? Do you think the class system of the planet should be explored in more detail? Let us know in the comments below.