"And stop wearing my face. It's well weird."

"And stop wearing my face. It's well weird." - Police And Shreeves Review

Performed by Sophie Aldred

Written by Adam Smith

Directed by Nicholas Briggs & Ken Bentley

Like all Shreeves, San loves to absorb electricity. But her landlord finds out about her alien abilities. Then the Doctor and Ace get involved...

Like San's human form, Police And Shreeves is instantly forgettable . Apart from one possible fake Brigadier, there's nothing that makes you think or that makes it a fun story. Instead it feels like you haven't even listened to it: it's so ephemeral that you forget you've even been listening to it. To be honest, it's probably one of the most forgettable Doctor Who stories ever.

The plot is so paper thin and so small scale that it would have worked better as an Avengers episode (no, not the Marvel superheroes, I mean the 60's crime fighters!). If the threat had been better established from the beginning, like in Robot, as a powerful menace, than that wouldn't be a problem. However, here it's just a extra detail, trying to make the story matter. The characters too are also instantly forgettable. The Doctor, Ace and the Brigadier are barely in it, and the rest are completely wafer thin. Even Nick Briggs' music is forgettable, which is very rare for him. Both Sophie Aldred and Martin Montague both try to salvage something through the reading and sound design, but by then, I'm afraid it's too late (at least for this reviewer).

Police And Shreeves shows why Doctor Who, in a short story format, can't always work. It also must surely help to contribute to the reason why the Short Trips range hasn't returned since 2011.

TARDIS Rating - 2/10

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