Spoilers for series 1, episode 2 of Redacted
The ex-companions of the Doctor are being ‘redacted’. Rani, previously part of Sarah Jane Smith’s gang, is trying to warn those behind The Blue Box Files podcast that something is wrong. When Cleo and his brother, Jordan, agree to a meeting with Rani in a hotel room, they are confronted with a hologram image, which warns them that the Doctors’ companions are disappearing and that there is a threat to all humanity.
As Rani’s communication nears its end some kind of attack seems to be happening and those behind it triangulate where her signal is being sent. The attackers plan to teleport Cleo and his brother, offering an ominous threat that all humanity will die.
Thus ends episode 2 of the Doctor Who Redacted audio story. A lot happens in this second episode. The podcast gang - Cleo, Abby and Shawna discuss the rumours about the Doctor, believing him/her to be a gang leader and dangerous, but also connected to their fixation - the appearances of the Blue Box. They then run their next podcast episode - this time about the events around the Royal Hope Hospital which occurred in 2008 (the events from the series 2 episode “Smith and Jones” from the David Tennant - Tenth Doctor - era). Later, Abby interviews a psychiatrist, Dr Oliver Morgenstern (played by Ben Righton in “Smith and Jones” and now voiced by Kieran Hodgson). He is still bewildered by those events of some fourteen years ago. Now, he just wishes to move on, noting that he is uncertain if the hospital really went to the moon, and mentioning the Doctor as someone he barely remembers but knows to have been dangerous.
The independent confirmation that the Doctor exists and is dangerous gets Abby worried. She has sent Cleo to interview Rani, believing that she isn’t dangerous. Now, she’s not so sure.
In this episode we get a lot of Dr Who references, such as the Khan family (Yasmin or “Yaz”, companion of the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker), a reference to Penny Carter again (from episode 1 of Redacted as well as the Tennant era episode, “Partners in Crime”), Rani using the advanced computer Mr Smith to operate her hologram (from The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures), and mentions of Luke, Clyde, Martha Jones, and Jo Jones having already disappeared. From episode 1, we also know that Graham and Ryan have disappeared in Sheffield.
We are also beginning to get to know Cleo, Abby, and less-so Shawna. Cleo in particular, shines in this episode. We hear more of her relationship with her brother, Jordan, but also her broken relationship with her mother (and the mystery around their Dad’s disappearance continues to linger). Their story seems just as interesting as the larger Dr Who story that they are just getting involved in.
One last thing, before Rani is attacked she mentions that only three people now exist who remember the Doctor. Presumably, we’ll learn more in episode 3.