Doctor Who: The Lady of Mercia

I'd describe this as a “semi-historical”, since, while there are no aliens or monsters, time travel is itself quite integral to the plot, rather than merely a vehicle for getting our heroes on site - The Time Meddler is really the only TV story to fit this sort of description. In this instance, the TARDIS crew follow a trace to a time experiment being conducted at a university in the north of England in 1983. Soon enough, Tegan finds herself transported back to the summer of 918, where she encounters Æthelflæd, the titular Lady of Mercia.

Æthelflæd is a real, if obscure, historical figure, by some definitions the last non-Viking ruler of an independent kingdom in northern England, and a very rare example of a reigning queen from the period. Exactly what happened to her - and even more so, to her daughter Ælfwynn - is obscure, which gives Magrs room to play with the various possibilities.

The plot largely centres around the regulars attempting to get back together again, but has plenty of complications built around the guest characters, both at the university and in 10th century Mercia. Ælfwynn is particularly notable, here portrayed as an aggressive warrior-woman causing havoc wherever she goes. (I can't help but think, what with the regional accents and the frequent mentions of ‘the kingdom of the North' that must all sound a bit Game of Thrones to American listeners...)

It's mostly serious, but lightened with a few good comic lines here and there, and many of the guest actors play multiple roles, allowing for more characters than there might otherwise be. Tegan is the primary focus, with Turlough and Nyssa taking a back seat. There are a few duff notes here and there, with perhaps the most obvious being that Ælfwynn's fate is not being entirely satisfactory - although, historically speaking, it's certainly plausible. For me, this is more than offset by some good characterisation and an involving tale set in a relatively unknown period of England's history.