‘THE LYING OLD WITCH IN THE WARDROBE’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Where was Romana in ‘Destiny of the Daleks’?
This story is by Mark Michalowski and it features the Fourth Doctor and Romana. I enjoyed this intriguing little story, since it takes place during the events of the first Romana’s regeneration in ‘Destiny of the Daleks’. It’s amazing we didn’t know there was something else going on in that story.
It turns out that the Romana who joined the Fourth Doctor in ‘Destiny of the Daleks’ wasn’t Romana at all. She was in fact a female embodiment of the TARDIS called Iraj. This is a story that predates ‘The Doctor’s Wife’. I wonder if Neil Gaiman had inspiration from reading this story for that episode.
The real Romana initially assumed that Iraj was the wardrobe mistress in the TARDIS. She becomes surprised when Iraj traps her in a bubble and goes out in Princess Astra’s form from ‘The Armageddon Factor’ to accompany the Doctor. Apparently the TARDIS wants the Doctor for herself.
It’s amusing that there’s now creditability to the Romana switching bodies during that opening sequence in ‘Destiny of the Daleks’ featuring her and the Fourth Doctor whilst he’s repairing K-9 in the TARDIS. It’s a fascinating revelation that Romana in that story wasn’t who we thought she was. 🙂
In the end, Iraj/the TARDIS returns upset that the Doctor didn’t notice her when they were dealing with Davros and the Daleks. Romana encourages Iraj/the TARDIS that the Doctor appreciates her far more than she knows. Eventually, Romana is freed and she regenerates into the Princess Astra form.
‘The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe’ rating – 8/10
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