Demon Records have released a selection of stunning Doctor Who sets for a number of years now, which includes some wondrous story serials, not forgetting that recent, rather excellent ‘The Tom Baker Record Collection’ vinyl set that explored his era – and one I recently reviewed.

And today, allon-sy! Here we have a fine specimen of Whovian goodness as David Tennant and Catherine Tate give their voice-acting-chops deep into a duo of killer stories in the shape of the Peter Anghelides-written Pest Control, and a genuine new favourite of mine, The Forever Trap, by Dan Abnett – both on vinyl for the first-time!

The Doctor-Donna effect was one many of us didn’t see coming, but now they’re a deservedly unique pairing in the history of the modern series, and it stood the test of the recent reboot, which saw their return to prime-time Doctor Who, and even if things were a big step forward in production values from what went originally (not to detract from any emotive or story scale, I’d like to point out), it was an absolutely welcome comeback.

This release from BBC Audiobooks and Demon Records, rejoicing the 60th Anniversary of the show, also celebrates Tennant and Tate’s partnership as two audio-exclusive stories, read by the actors themselves, acting out characters, and expanding this Whoniverse in their own unique and distinct ways, complete with original sound design alongside Murray Gold’s arrangement of the legendary theme music. As per previous Demon releases, it’s also mastered by Phil Kinrade, this time with design from Dare Creative.

Arriving in a strong 12” x 12” vinyl-shaped lift-off lid box, Doctor Who: Pest Control & The Forever Trap contains 6 x 140g vinyl LPs – three in Transparent Red and three in Transparent Yellow – and each of those housed in an illustrated inner sleeve! The art itself gives a tease of the story, plus a little imagery to build the Whovian sphere into which you’re about to dive. Also in the box is a 4-paged 12” x 12” booklet that features 2024 sleeve notes from the authors, Anghelides and Abnett, who offer a look back on the process of writing for the Tenth Doctor and Donna, how they consider their stories some 17 years later, and – particularly on Abnett’s pondering – how uncanny his work is in reflection to society. It’s also worth noting that both stories certainly have those Doctor Who hearts: linked to observations on civilisation and how humanity hides away its day-to-day dark existence, while The Doctor is searching for that slight shard of light piercing through the cracks.

Pest Control

In Pest Control, David Tennant takes the narration reigns for the whole story, with his take on Peter Anghelides story.First up, it’s a noticeably vastly descriptive adventure, in the sense that each individual war-trodden ditch and troubled character face is immersed in detailed specifics. The story tells us of a high-death-toll war, where the Doctor and Donna (making her first appearance in this manner) are caught in the middle of a conflict between vicious insects (the Serfians who arrive a little later in the story), humans, centaur-style race the Aquabi and a ruthless robot exterminator, all taking place on the planet Rescension (the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire). And maybe, just maybe, everything isn’t quite as it seems and to top everything off, the TARDIS is lost.

In an almost classic Who setup – where the main characters are going to have to utilise their smarts over advanced tech – the Doctor has to find his machine and while this happens, Donna ends up becoming part of the Pioneer Corps; affectively joining an army. As you do. During all this, something unknown is turning soldiers into angry, bitey beetles and clearly Donna has to be careful. So, all that has to happen is that our Doctor needs to find the TARDIS, Donna needs to stay alive – and amongst everything they must convince both sides to end this war… unfortunately though there’s also a remorseless exterminator trying to squash every insect and, yes, this means trying to kill everything.

Pest Control appears to have a lot going on at the same time but the production values are impressive, so you can hook in, thanks to Tennant’s storytelling and accompanying sound effects and score. Most of all, this is a Doctor Who ‘military’ story, which make this an interesting time to visit the tale, especially after Steven Moffat’s ‘Boom’ that just aired for Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor. Like most, the 10th Doctor’s dislike for all things military isn’t hidden, and it’s certainly a dark take inside the world of Who with numerous character deaths, and Anghelides’ story is effective at creating the reality of this.

With that in mind, and as you’d expect, our focus turns in on the humanity of the soldiers, and Donna’s role is absolutely key to that journey. And you’ve also got shifty characters aplenty drifting in and out of the narrative, taking our leads in different directors for reasons both good and bad, keeping secrets close. Also, Pest Control doesn’t shy away from the earthiness of everything either, with mild horror in explosive moments all the way through to grimy racism – which is rightly questioned.

And, as you’d hope in Who, on the lighter side, the relationship between Donna and the Doctor is a fine one. Not only are there references to Star Trek (Amusingly Doctor McCoy and Captain Kirk for our duo) but the balance of consideration to each other is strong, and they’re not always ‘together’ either which highlights their impressive, individual character traits. There’s also lots of fun, and tongue-in-cheek comedy plus a whole host of amusing horse-puns trotted out through the centaur-chats, but not in a mean way. I’ll also never forget ‘death by warrior ponies!’

There is plenty happening in the heart of this Who, sure, the story is straightforward yet remains sufficiently insistent throughout, and speeds along at a decent pace. David Tennant’s range of voices flows precisely between his own narration and the Doctor, along with everybody else, and his Donna keeps her spirit for sure. Although, his voice for a key character, Lenova, leans a little on Wallace & Gromit baddies (which is a bit distracting) yet overall this story hits certain genre tropes and also manages to keep it fresh, funny and makes sure it lays down the cards in terms of core Doctor Who beliefs in relation to war and power-hungry beings.

The Forever Trap

The Forever Trap is a special one, for me, and Dan Abnett’s absorbing story entices you in from the very start. Initially riffing a little on Donna Noble’s opening TV episode, The Runaway Bride, the pair are travelling through time and space when a polite holographic man suddenly appears – which we know, in the TARDIS, should be impossible.

This person represents an advert pop-up you might see on a website, or it’s akin to spam email you probably receive every day, and while they both dismiss/delete him and don’t want what he’s selling, he only vanishes when Donna accidentally brushes the edge of her hand through the entity, and before they know it, they’re whisked off to a place called the Edifice, which is a propose-built, luxury-led collection of apartments, complete with everything you’d ever want or need… somewhere in deep space with a hint of the M. C. Escher drawing ‘Relativity’.

While they see the benefits of this place, which over time will show the Doctor the mountains of Gallifrey and Donna visions of Chiswick, which should be the name of her one-woman Donna Noble play, there’s clearly something else at play – especially if it can tune into their wanted desires. And, expanding the story, they’re not the only residents living there as other areas and apartments are also occupied, and it’s full of creatures and beings from across the known, and unknown, Universe all living side-by-side in perfect harmony, well I say harmony, because there’s certain floors that even the comfortable inhabitants won’t visit. And those? They’re full of the baddies of the deep, dark depths of space – so not so much harmony? No, not so much.

Here’s the other thing, as much as the Doctor and Donna try to get to the bottom of what’s going on, in a place where both the top and bottom seem like an impossible destination, even the creatures that work there don’t seem to know who’s actually in charge, and who’s running things – and this beautiful strangeness builds so well in the story, with little titbits and reveals as the story progresses. The narrative is teasing, taking us towards the big question “Who, or what, lies at the heart of the Edifice?”

The Forever Trap is aptly named because while the complex world seems almost endless, it surely has to have something running it somewhere, or are the Doctor and Donna here forever? From strange beginnings, all the way through a whole host of alien creatures like the Sontarans, the Rutan, the Baracta and the Shvone (to name just a few), the sheer scope of Abnett’s story – alongside great sound effects and scoring again, takes us into a gradually darker, gritter, sweaty and physically heavy environment where they learn creatures are also disappearing in the dark (Vashta Nerada anyone..?), to reveal that fear is a powerful force in the world of rumours.

As well as a sincerely intriguing storying at the heart of this release, what’s particularly magnificent about The Forever Trap is Catherine Tate’s vast, completely believable, range of voice characters – and especially her take on Tennant’s 10th, which is extremely entertaining and on the money. Her crossover from her own narration to Donna is flawless, and I honestly felt like I could hear Tennant’s Doctor during the storytelling… and the comedy relationship is here once again as well, so remember one thing, ­ (right?!)

The Forever Trap is entertaining and packed with puzzles and mystery boxes, which is definitely my bag, and overall these two stories in this vinyl boxset work perfectly together – taking in different perspectives of what makes Doctor Who so timeless (and occasionally smelling of jelly babies), but also because David Tennant and Catherine Tate are clearly loving the material. Although, I will say that Tate’s take on The Forever Trap that just surpasses Tennant’s world creation for me, with some outstanding narration. (And I love you both, promise!)

Doctor Who: Pest Control & The Forever Trap (David Tennant & Catherine Tate) is out now – Buy it here: https://amzn.to/4e3LFwS