The Doctor is summoned to a world that seems like Earth, but Rose spots that it’s more than a touch askew.
Freed from the Powell Estate, this series of stories set amid the Ninth Doctor’s television run continues with a call for help broadcast to the TARDIS. On arrival in London however, Rose spots that this is a very dodgy copy.
False Friends
An excellent pre-credits tease, pulled from a dramatic moment later in the story, sets up this tale of imperfect copies. Rose is being tested by the Doctor, demanding that she proves she is human, but she can’t!
As we spin into the episode proper, we encounter Minnie McKeith and Gary Purdue through narration. For the awkward pair, it’s a meet not-so-cute on a train as they recognise each other as real people surrounded by facsimiles, for us, it’s a great introduction to them and their predicament.
Rose and the Doctor then join the tale via a distress call he can’t resist. As they team up with Gary and Minnie, we slowly learn the purpose of this constructed world and the threat it poses…
Timothy X Atack’s world is an amusing creation, with its bizarre train announcements, odd museums, smugphones and zany characters, but he makes a deeper point. This is like an AI-slop generated world; all surface skimmed from Wikipedia with no depth. There’s plenty of peril too, with a good old-fashioned countdown, and great scenes with the two Roses. Every good companion deserves a doppelganger, and Billie Piper is terrific up against herself!
Christopher Eccleston is well-served here too, with a touch of that hard-edged, battle-scarred survivor coming through. In the guest roles, Extraordinary’s Máiréad Tyers and Joe Pittes offer quirky humanity and feeling as the mismatched Minne and Gary, while Nicole Davis’s Alice JNKL520 and Glen McCready’s Peter &# both bring the fun.
In Summary
‘False Friends’ brings the horrors of the data age to life with it’s AI-slop take on the world. It also identifies a gap in the evolution of one of the Doctor’s foes, and uses it cleverly. This is another top-tier outing for the Doctor and Rose.
Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: False Friends is available on CD or download to own from Big Finish now.
Catch up on our reviews of The Ninth Doctor Adventures.
Next Time: The Rag Man
When Jackie was a little girl, her mum used to tell her that if she didn’t behave, she’d leave Jackie out for the Rag Man, and he’d take her away with all the other rubbish. A silly story.
Except now the Rag Man has come back again, his filthy cart resting in the middle of the Powell Estate, a cloud of flies buzzing in his wake. And he’s coming to take everything Rose and Jackie have ever loved.
The Rag Man is written by Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle, and reunites Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper with Camille Coduri’s Jackie Tyler. The guest cast features Lesley Joseph, Amerjit Deu and Dan Starkey.
Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: The Rag Man is available to pre order from Big Finish now and released in December 2026.
And a Christmas Special for 2026!
Also coming in December is a Ninth Doctor Christmas Special, streaming free on the official Doctor Who YouTube channel. Writer Robert Valentine’s tale reunites Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor with his granddaughter Susan!
When Rose and Jackie start early Christmas prep, the Doctor opts to do laundry. The Wash Inn is a hub and haven for lonely souls, and who is more lonely than the last of the Time Lords?
But why has the memory of his granddaughter, Susan, begun to trouble him? What terrible force lurks in an innocent washing machine? And is there enough Brite White in the world to deal with it?
It will all come out in the Wash…
‘The Wash’ will also be available to purchase from Big Finish too, with the CD version containing a collectable Christmas card.