Jamie Revell

Two hour-long stories set during a gap when the Doctor is travelling without his companions, following the events of the audio Conversion. Unlike the previous anthology release, Time Alone, this one actually does explore what that means and ties a little better into the larger story they're setting up here.

Thin Time - The first story sees the Doctor arriving in a house in Victorian London on Halloween... and getting a rather different reaction from the one he usually receives. The result is a base-under-siege story with the house being threatened by an extradimensional force that's largely “off-screen”. It's a spooky tale, all the more effective for the lack of companions, which allows it to use more of its limited run-time exploring the guest characters and how one of them, in particular, is affected by what's going on. There's quite a lot of technobabble from the Doctor to explain what's happening, but it doesn't really matter and doesn't get in the way of the story itself, which is part mystery and part horror.

The coda at the end when the Doctor decides its time to rejoin his companions feels tacked on and out-of-step with the rest of the story. Still, at least it's linked in with events and was obviously a necessary step to get things back on track for future releases. 4 stars.

Madquake - The second story, unfortunately, does not work as well as the first. The premise is a good one, as we see what has happened to the companions while the Doctor has left them on a safe and tranquil planet. Which, as one might expect, does not remain that way for long... but it does mean that we get to see a story with the companions but no Doctor and to explore some of what they feel about the situation.

The focus, however, is mainly on Marc, the new companion introduced in the audio Tartarus, and how he is coping with what happened to him in the previous story to feature him. It may be plausible, but listening to him going through depression, and another character suffering from PTSD, accompanied by lots of sombre piano music just didn't work for me. Nor, to be honest, do I feel very invested in Marc as a character. Then, as is apparent from the cover, the Slitheen turn up, with all of their nastiest features on display and no hint of any levity. And then they basically just chase everyone about for 30 minutes. The psychological parts may be worthy, but despite the sense of danger, it all comes across as rather dull. 2.5 stars.

The Doctor travels to Dorset in 1830 to meet Mary Anning, the famous fossil collector. Of course, he manages to turn up just after a man is killed by a mysterious “monster” and sets about tracking it down in a story complete with whisky smugglers, wandering crocodiles, and plenty of fossils. The aliens involved in it all don't turn up until the halfway mark, but there's plenty going on before then, with Anning making a strong supporting character of the sort that, were she not a real historical person, would make a good companion.

Unfortunately, the first half is stronger than the second. Up until then, there's a good sense of 1830s society, something that kept Anning out of the scientific discourse at the time despite her obvious ability and knowledge. Since that's such an important part of her real-life story it feels entirely appropriate to deal with it here (through, for example, people's reactions to Leela) in a way that many Doctor Who historical stories tend to gloss over. Plus, there's all the whisky and the crocodiles to keep things busy, even if the villain is hamming it up a bit much.

Once the aliens make their appearance, however, the story becomes more focused on action and this, as so often on audio, doesn't work so well. It's often difficult to work out what's happening from bystander's descriptions or sound effects alone, and this applies to scenes of people trapped by the tide as much as the fight scenes with the monsters. Plus, the young lovers who find themselves caught up in it all turn out to be really quite annoying, constantly whimpering about how useless they are - which, may, perhaps, be intended to showcase Leela's heroism (and she is pretty good in this) but does wear thin after a while.

A minor point that I suspect most others won't have noticed is the use of words that didn't actually exist at the time - “dinosaur” is an example, having been coined in 1841. On the other hand, one could argue that it makes it easier for modern audiences to understand, in much the same way that we don't expect 16th-century stories to be written entirely in Shakespearean English. But there are surely ways around that.

The mid part of a trilogy in which the Doctor and Klein chase down a maguffin sought after by half the hostile races in the galaxy, this is a fairly straightforward story, but one that has a number of good points. Garundel, the camp salamander/toad alien from previous story Black and White, is holding an auction for the said maguffin, and Klein has to infiltrate the event. As is clear from the cover, the other bidders happen to include a Sontaran battle fleet.

Given recent trends in the TV series, and in some previous audios, its notable that the Sontarans are here portrayed seriously. Given that Garundel is already over-the-top, this is a wise decision, but it also allows us to see a different side of the alien warriors, whose leader's deep-seated belief in military honour makes him quite a sympathetic character. (It's also noteworthy that the commander is played by Dan Starkey, who plays Strax in the TV series... well, they are a race of clones!)

Accidental companion Will does little to redeem himself here, clearly falling for glamorous alien con-woman Ziv, who actually works rather better as a character than he does. Klein is, as one might expect, rather more prominent, and one can see some definite traces of her original personality here, as she witnesses the might of the Sontaran Empire. In fact, the Doctor is largely relegated to an observer, necessary for the final denouement, but otherwise ceding ground to the rest of the cast. This makes some sense for Seven, especially the ageing version shown here, alhough fans of more traditionally active Doctors might find it a little disappointing.

It's not a spectacularly original story, nor as memorable as many others, but it's slickly done, fast-paced, yet with room for some good characterisation, little moments of humour, and a better-than-average representation of the Sontarans. Which makes it more than merely a link between the first and third parts of its trilogy, and effective in its own right.

This fourth season returns to the format of the first two, with eight narrated stories, each a snapshot of some event in Gray's long life. Also, unlike the third season, there's no plot arc here and the stories are not arranged chronologically. It's a little uneven as a result, although there are a couple of gems amidst the more routine stories.

• The Enigma of Dorian Gray – Gray is invited to the unveiling of a new computer system in 1960s Manchester and recounts the story of how he met its creator. On the face of it, this is more science fiction than the series' usual supernatural fare, but it's really more about the relationship between the two men and how it reflects on Gray's true personality. The horror stakes here are minimal at best, but it's a strong examination of our anti-hero's soulless nature.
• Freya – This time we move to 1970s Scandinavia for a story with links to Norse legend. It's a fairly straight-up monster story, albeit one that also relies on Gray's moral ambiguity. The isolated setting also helps, and the story manages to cram both tension and mystery into its short length.
• Human Remains – The third episode is set within a hospital where patients have been disappearing and Gray keeps experiencing something that may or may not be a hallucination. It's quite an inventive story, playing with the narration – some of which is delivered by Gray while he is on drugs – and making good use of the short run time. But what somebody would make of it who doesn't do what I do for a living, I don't know...
• His Dying Breath – An unremarkable tale following the standard tropes of the series without anything much new to add to them. It would probably have worked better in an earlier season, and on its own merits, it's quite good – featuring a supernatural killer stalking 1920s London. But it's been done before, and much of the course of it is, by now, predictable.
• Banshee – A ghost story set in Ireland at the turn of the last century, notable among other things for portraying Gray relatively early in his life, when the supernatural world is something he's only recently come to terms with. The twist ending is effective, and the creepy setting well-realised.
• The Abysmal Sea – Another straight monster story, this time set at sea, and with an inevitable similarity to Jaws. The story does a good job of racking up the tension, but it's also enlivened by some reflections on Gray's immortality and what it means, particularly in terms of his relationships to normal people.
• Inner Darkness – This is an unusually standard horror tale, the sort of thing that's been done many times before – albeit usually as the prelude to a story rather than the entirety of it. It's done well, but it doesn't ring any changes on the basic idea, and the fact that the only person supposedly in peril is Gray himself (who obviously isn't) takes away much of the edge. One of the weaker stories in the run.
• The Living Image – The final story in the collection is, however, one of the best, and particularly notable for not being horror. Instead, it concerns Gray swapping places with a (non-supernatural) doppelganger and experiencing life as an ordinary man with an unremarkable family. It's a good change of pace, making effective use of some of the complexities of its lead character – who really is the villain here?

A second series of three hour-long episodes, this sees Vienna back on Earth, somewhere in North America. The theme of re-writing memories, and what that says about our identities features, to at least some extent, in all three episodes.

* Tabula Rasa - The theme is immediately apparent in the first episode, which sees Vienna waking up with no recollection of who she is in a large hotel somehow sealed off from the outside world. While, of course, we know the answer to that mystery at least, many more present themselves, including an unexplained murder, as she explores her surroundings with an equally amnesiac accomplice. Even once we do start to get some answers (aided by a number of flashback scenes), they only raise more questions until we reach the final denouement. It's a good story, despite a few minor holes here and there, if not quite up to the standard of some of the episodes in earlier seasons. 4 stars.

* Underworld - This story starts with another murder mystery, and soon turns into a noirish tale of corruption and criminal gangs as Vienna helps the police track down the culprit. To a large extent, the episode is actually about Vienna's cop partner, played by Samantha Béart, and benefits from the change in focus. Nonetheless, Vienna does have a lot to do and, of course, there's the mystery of why on Earth she's working with the police in the first place. While memory alteration does have some bearing on the plot, here it's a relatively minor element in a story that has more to do with being chased by monsters through dark sewers. Nonetheless, the nature of events, and, in particular, the implications of the neural implant embedded in Béart's character raise this above the merely average. 4 stars.

* The Vienna Experience - While the first two stories seem linked only by the fact that they're set in the same city, everything comes together in the last one, in which the dangling mysteries are resolved. Vienna is once again helping the police, but the focus this time is on why she's doing that, the identity of a masked stalker following her about, and a sci-fi take on reality TV. There are some major twists in this one, causing us to question some of what happened in the previous episodes, and the show is certainly back on top form. 5 stars.

The trilogy has an open ending, with a promise of some significant changes to come in the third season, but isn't a true cliffhanger.

The seventh season sees the titular Victorian investigators encounter familiar faces from both historical and fictional criminal cases of the day.

* The Monstrous Menagerie – The duo are approached by Arthur Conan Doyle, who asks them to help investigate a mystery by pretending to be his fictional creations, Holmes and Watson. The resulting mystery has a lot to do with Doyle and his writings, with a particular focus being on his reasons for abandoning Holmes in favour of more serious fiction – The Final Problem having been published only a year or so before this story is set. It's one of those stories that downplay the real-world creativity of historical authors by having their works be based on actual experiences, although, in fairness, there is at least a good reason for it in this instance. It's quite fun, with plenty of science fiction elements in addition to the Holmesian references, although quite what's going on with the villain isn't entirely clear. 4 stars.

* Night of 1000 Stars – The story starts in media res, with Litefoot and Ellie fleeing from a monster that feeds on sadness and regret, eventually killing its victims. In an effort to stop a drunken Jago going out and putting himself in harm's way, they stage an impromptu performance at their hideout, which rapidly descends into them reflecting on their own biggest regrets. This makes it quite a nice character piece, for Ellie as much as for the titular duo, and Leela is also present, on the trail of the creature. While there are some good touches, credulity is strained at a couple of points, and the story is not really long enough for its 60-minute runtime, leading to some repetition of themes and details. On the other hand, if you prefer more introspective stories, this one should be for you. 3.5 stars.

* Murder at Moorsey Manor – Continuing with the theme of the first episode, Jago and Litefoot infiltrate a Sherlock Holmes fan meeting at an isolated country house, only to be confronted with a real murder mystery. The Holmes themes are really only relevant in passing this time, just a means of getting the characters together. In fact, if anything, the events are more reminiscent of a certain Agatha Christie story, although the details are far more bonkers and more steampunk than anything Christie ever wrote. There's no point trying to work out who the murderer is (it's not that kind of mystery), it's more about the motive and how our heroes are going to escape, but it is great, completely mad, fun. 4.5 stars.

* The Wax Princess – Jago and Litefoot team up with Frederick Abbeline to track down Jack the Ripper (who is still around, for entirely implausible reasons). The connections with the real Ripper are sufficiently tenuous that the story would have worked just as well – and arguably better – with a fictional killer, but clearly somebody thought that a detective series set in Victorian London had to include him at some point. While the science fiction elements are in the background for most of the story, they are present, and the story doesn't have the darkness one would expect for something featuring a notorious real-world serial killer. If you put that aside, though, it's a decent adventure with a suitably dramatic denouement. 4 stars.

As usual, the set ends on a cliffhanger, although, in this case, it's one that will only make sense if you've listened to a certain other Big Finish release.

A planetary survey team in the 40th century comes across the last survivor of an extinct race, held captive in an underground bunker by a robot nurse. I imagine that it won't really come as a surprise to anyone discover that he is being kept locked up for a very good reason, but that's not the story's main twist. (Which doesn't come until around the half-way point, so I'll consider it a spoiler, although I note that other goodreads reviewers disagree).

This is, admittedly, a fairly straightforward tale, not really breaking any new ground. But it does bring out some of the flavour of the Hinchcliffe era, with some good use of both the Doctor and Leela. Perhaps the closest parallel is with The Brain of Morbius in that that, too, is a fairly straight reworking of one of the Universal Horror films of the '30s moved to an SF setting. This isn't as good as that, and strays further from the plot of the original, but the nature of the villain is essentially identical, so I suspect listeners may differ as to whether it's a homage or a rip-off.

For me, it worked well, fitting its 60-minute length, with the second half being more dramatic once the nature of the opponent is revealed. On the downside, with the exception of the villain, none of the supporting characters are particularly well developed or noteworthy, and it's basically a run-around, full of the tropes of the Fourth Doctor's first few seasons, but without really building on them. Whether you enjoy it may depend on whether you're after nostalgia or genuine surprises, but I'm going to give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. It may not have been great, but I found it fun.

A ”special collection” of two 2-hour stories, this marks the first appearance of Matthew Waterhouse as Adric in a BF production. Given that Adric is often listed as the single least popular companion in Doctor Who history, and that that was at least partially down to Waterhouse's lacklustre performance in the role, I confess to approaching this with some trepidation. Fortunately, however, not only is Adric written better here, but Waterhouse's many years on the stage since what was, after all, his first acting role, has clearly paid off. On the other hand, he's obviously no longer a teenager, and his voice has unavoidably changed rather a lot since he was one, which I initially found a little distracting.

* Psychodrome

Set immediately after the events of the TV story Castrovalva, this story involves the Doctor and companions landing on a mysterious world where they are not the only strangers. It's initially slow, and a little confusing, with an unusually large number of guest characters divided up into the four rival groups on the planet. We're into the second 30-minute episode before it becomes clear what's really going on, but, once it does, the story greatly improves as everything that's already happened falls into place.

The story has two particular strengths. Firstly, it fits beautifully into its slot within the TV series. It's not just the presence of Adric, and the fact that the Fifth Doctor (for, I believe, the first time in a BF story) still has his sonic screwdriver. It's the references to recent past adventures – Castrovalva and Logopolis play heavily into it, but there are plenty of direct connections to events of the Fourth Doctor's final season, from Full Circle onwards. In fact, if you're a new series fan, and haven't seen those, this story will probably make less sense, and certainly have less impact.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it builds on those stories to really explore the budding relationship between the recently regenerated Doctor, Adric, and their two new companions. We get to see many of the things that the series at the time never bothered with (and that the new series generally does much better), with characters reflecting on their past experiences, and what they want for the future. It's these relationships that are the real core of the story, showing the formation of a dynamic among the TARDIS crew that's glossed over in the original, essentially popping into existence between Castrovalva and Four to Doomsday.

So this story not only obviously belongs where it's set within the original running order, but actually expands and improves upon the character-based elements of the TV show, with some great insights into the minds of those involved, the Doctor included. I'll deduct half a star for the early segments, but that's all. (4.5 stars)

* Iterations of i

This begins as a ghost story set on a rain-swept islet off the coast of Ireland in 1981. These elements alone are very good, setting the scene and revealing the basic mystery of the house and its former occupants. With most of the characters in this particular TARDIS crew being inclined to science and reason, they search for an explanation that can be couched in scientific terms (something that not all writers of tie-in works set in this era have necessarily followed). When they find it, it's a particularly interesting explanation, and one that's quite high concept by DW standards.

The monster, the i of the title, does bear a superficial resemblance to others that have been used in previous audios, although the specifics are different. However, it is very well handled here, a mysterious presence that's never quite seen - indeed, that can't normally be seen at all - and whose motives are as much a puzzle as its nature. Once the details do finally become clear, we have an exciting climax in a race against time.

Once again, Adric is well used here, in a story that's particularly suited to his talents. Nyssa is somewhat more peripheral, although far from ignored, but Tegan's personality, and the Doctor's occasional exasperation with her, do shine through. There are also quite a lot of puns to break the tension in what's mainly a dark and atmospheric story, and some nice reminders of the '80s setting.

Of course, this isn't hard science fiction, and, looked at in that way, the story is not rigorously scientific, instead using the language of science (specifically, mathematics) to describe something that is, from a narrative point of view, purely supernatural. But doing it in this way does fit with the era (one thinks, in particular, of Castrovalva), and does not in any way detract from the story. Perhaps more importantly, given the theme of the box set, it's good to see Adric written well, shorn of the sexism and sulkiness that he was often written with on TV, yet without wholly making him a different character. (5 stars).

This is the final part of the “Second E-Space” trilogy. As before, there are some thematic links with the equivalent story in the original televised trilogy, which in this case is Warrior's Gate, although this is otherwise entirely new.

What's perhaps more significant is that we are told, in the opening moments, that this is a companion departure story. The bulk of it, in fact, consists of the TARDIS travellers recounting what has just happened to them, with each taking up one of the 30-minute episodes. The downside here is that the conclusion loses something of its sting; we know it's going to happen, we have a reasonable idea as to why, and the only real question is exactly how we're going to get there. Perhaps the only real advantage is that the second and third episodes take place simultaneously, being told from different perspectives, with the actions in each episode influencing the other - something that works well.

Leaving aside this choice of framing device, the story itself concerns the Doctor and companions landing on a world boasting an exit to our own reality from E-Space. But the use of that portal comes at a terrible price (in more ways than one), and it's here that the story is on its strongest footing, posing questions about the true value of human life in the face of universal entropy. This central dilemma is forced into focus by the fact that we learn early on that E-Space itself is dying, with escape offering the only possibility of long-term survival.

There are some other weaknesses here and there, with the steam-powered robots not being terribly plausible, and the space pirates being cliched and annoying. The monsters, once they turn up, are at least effective, but in the grand scheme of things, they don't do much other than be threatening. The actual companion departure scene at the end is emotional and well-performed but would probably have worked better had we come into it blind, rather than being told the outcome at the start of the play.

Nonetheless, this story wraps up not only the trilogy, but also a longer story arc starting with Cobwebs five years previously. There are links to earlier stories in the arc (most notably Prisoners of Fate, by the same author, and rather better) but in the end, while it's clearly a conclusion of sorts, it's not a very spectacular one. Three stars feels a little harsh, but this feels like something that could have been better had it been done differently.

Among the many problems with the Sixth Doctor's run on TV is the fact that he doesn't get a proper regeneration scene - he just (apparently) bangs his head on the TARDIS console between seasons so that we only see the aftermath. Here, Big Finish fills in that gap by imaging what his final adventure might actually have been like and giving Six a more heroic departure.

This is achieved with four hour-long episodes, three of which form a single plot arc, despite being spread widely across Six's tenure, and featuring a different companion in each one. And, as is clear from the cover, there are also returning characters from the TV series...

* The End of the Line - A spooky and claustrophobic story about passengers trapped on a train as inexplicable and unpleasant events occur around them. The companion here is Constance, who actually made her ‘debut' a few weeks later in Criss-Cross. This feels a little disjointed from that one, probably because it's set some time later, so as to avoid her unfamiliarity with time travel overshadowing a story where the focus should be elsewhere. Fortunately, she's written and acted well enough that that doesn't matter; we can accept that there's some gap in there that we haven't seen and just leap into this story. There's a decent twist towards the end, although the connection with the other three stories in the set is rather tacked-on. 4.5 stars.

* The Red House - The Doctor and Charlie arrive on a human colony world that hides an unusual secret. The basic premise is an interesting one, taking a common genre standard and subverting it in an unusual way. The story also has to fit within the relatively brief run where Charlie accompanies Six, referring to, but not relying on, that particular plot arc (which is explained for those unfamiliar with it, but doesn't really affect events too much). Some of the guest characters are a bit weak, and the story isn't really as good as the other three, but it's still decent enough for a one-hour story. 4 stars.

* Stage Fright - This was my favourite story of the four, and there's a lot to like in it. Flip provides a nice contrast with Constance and Charlie, providing a modern eye on the 19th-century setting as well as showing off a dent in her ‘daredevil' attitude. She is joined by Jago and Litefoot, who are always a joy to listen to, and are also accompanied here by Ellie from their own series. On top of all of that, as the main villain's plot swings more fully into operation, there are plenty of references to the regeneration scenes for the previous Doctors - it's a bit of fannish self-referentialism, to be sure, but obviously appropriate given the theme of the collection. 5 stars.

* The Brink of Death - So here we have it; the actual regeneration story. Honestly, it is a bit overly complicated, relying on the Matrix and regularly jumping about from place to place as the Valeyard's plan for final victory unfolds. Mel is largely superfluous, here because she obviously needs to be, and is instead largely replaced by a guest character who, in fairness, really works quite well. Much of the story entails the puzzle of how we are going to get to what we see at the beginning of Time and the Rani and, while this isn't the strongest story overall that part at least is well-handled, and gives Six a proper send-off at last. And his final lines are way better than his last utterances on TV... 4 stars.

The final part of the Dark Eyes quartet is fully up to the standard set by the prior parts. Once again, although packaged as four stories (with two writers alternating between them) it's really a single one, jumping about in time and space. The task for the writers here was to tie up all the plots and loose ends of the first three instalments, bringing back the Master, the Daleks, the Eminence, and more to bring everything full circle. As will be apparent from the cover, there are Sontarans in it, too, here playing a somewhat different role than they normally do.

While the Daleks are the main threat - as they were in the original instalment - it's really Alex MacQueen's Master who shines, dominating his portion of the story and getting some fantastic lines. Nicola Walker is also impressive as companion Liv Chenka, making her character likeable and sympathetic, while remaining distinct from prior TV companions.

Time travel and its repercussions are integral to the plot, something that's to be expected after the earlier offerings in the series. In this respect, the first segment is particularly interesting, taking a common sci-fi plot device and examining it from an entirely different perspective. There are also some fun ideas in here (particularly what one of the villains has done with the Moulin Rouge), and a good mix of different tones from the somewhat leisurely beginning to the dramatic and emotional conclusion, which is much stronger on the action.

This entire series has been consistently good, with perhaps its only real flaw being the sidelining of Molly after the first couple of releases. One suspects that might have had something to do with the availability of Ruth Bradley, and the need to set up Liv as a longer-term replacement once it became clear that Dark Eyes was going to be more than a one-off, but her introduction was so good that her reduction to background plot device is inevitably disappointing.

That aside, this finale brings together all the elements that made the earlier parts successful and provides a fitting conclusion to a plot arc and series that's longer than most of the TV show's seasons.

Charlotte “Charlie” Pollard was the first companion of the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audio plays, starting her run back in 2001 with Storm Warning. She was last seen, having been forced to leave the Doctor for the second time, working as an agent for the Viyrans, a robotic race dedicated to eliminating contagion from the universe. Here she returns as the star of her own 4-part mini-series.

* The Lamentation Cipher – We pick up Charlie's story an unspecified number of years later, with Charlie feeling herself redundant to the Viyrans' mission, as well as somewhat starved of human company. The story concerns itself with her attempts to leave their service, just as she becomes invaluable to them for a reason that they refuse to explain. The opportunity comes in the form of a mysterious nebula called the Ever-and-Ever Prolixity (why is unclear, given that it doesn't even speak... perhaps it inspires prolixity in others) along with a rather strange Viyran with an agenda of its own. It's a decent sci-fi story, although more serving as an introduction to the larger plot arc than worth much on its own account, introducing characters and elements that will be more significant later on. 3.5 stars.

* The Shadow at the Edge of the World – Charlie returns to 1930s Earth, and finds herself thrown into what's essentially an HP Lovecraft homage. A group of women are lost in a forest in northern Scotland, pursued by monsters somehow connected to the ruins of a seemingly pre-human temple, and slowly being driven insane in the process. The story is somewhat weakened by the stubborn refusal of the women to explain what is really happening to Charlie, long after there's any good reason to do so (or, indeed, after it's obvious to the listener) and a slight over-reliance on the phrase “what did you just say?” That aside, it's a dramatic chase story with well-drawn characters, and (for good or ill) lacking Lovecraft's nihilism. 4 stars.

* The Fall of the House of Pollard - Appropriately for a series with Charlie as the protagonist, this story really delves into her backstory, rather than focusing on more traditional adventure fare. Set a few years after her disappearance to join the Doctor, we begin with an insight into how her apparent death on the R101 has affected her family, in a story that has inevitable links back to both Storm Warning and the iconic Chimes of Midnight. Charlie, meanwhile, is trapped in an inter-dimensional space, and, once she's out of it, the eventual reunion works wonderfully, with her parents' reactions entirely believable and suitably complex. There's a degree of action in the final segment, leading into the next episode, but it's not what the story is about, and the ending itself is wonderfully poignant. 5 stars.

* The Viyran Solution - We're back to space opera for what's essentially a direct follow-on from the first story of the set. What the Viyrans really want with Charlie becomes clear, as do the answers to a number of other dangling questions. It's a reasonable runaround, and plays up the alien nature of the Viyrans, as well as allowing some good turns from the human villains and other supporting cast. It's honestly not as interesting as the two more stand-alone stories in the middle of the set, but at least it provides a decent sense of closure, and gives Charlie a chance to be heroic. Although the story itself is wrapped up, and doesn't truly end on a cliffhanger, it is open-ended, with scope for more, that was followed up in a second season a few years later. 3.5 stars.

The third season consists of seven stories, which, unlike those of the first two seasons, are entirely set in the present day. Most of the episodes are linked by a plot arc, although a couple remain essentially standalone. Also, unlike the previous seasons, the stories here are not narrated, being more or less straight audio plays, structured so as to require a limited cast. Perhaps as a result of this, it's the most consistent season so far, full of supernatural horror and emotional angst.

• Blank Canvas – A particularly dark tale, this follows up on the events of ‘Running Away with You' at the end of the second season. Here, three teenagers break into Gray's old mansion, two years after his disappearance. Of course, some of what they find is familiar to us, but, with the story told from their perspective, Gray's motives remain a mystery until the end. In fact, the overall tone is reminiscent of a slasher flick, as exploration turns to horror for the young intruders.
• The Needle – Gray visits London's financial district to regain access to his funds. What results is a ghost story set almost entirely in one of those flashy modern skyscrapers that dot the City's skyline. There are plenty of references to modern times, reminding us that Gray has been incommunicado for the last few years, and a few chills along the way as the mystery of what's happening is revealed.
• We Are Everywhere – An episode that's more psychological horror than anything else, although it probably wouldn't be if Gray were able to die. This starts in media res with Gray trapped in a cave by a sadistic killer, before we flash back to see how this situation came about. The plot is rather straightforward, although the fatalistic tone and unpleasant consequences for Gray do help to raise it above the mundane.
• Echoes – Essentially a piece of exposition that helps to define the larger story arc for the season, this sees Gray trapped on a tube train talking to what are apparently the ghosts of past acquaintances. It serves to move the plot along and pose a number of questions, and, in that respect, is interesting, but it's a piece of a larger tale, rather than a proper story in its own right.
• Pandora – Gray visits a tarot reader with a reputation for performing miracles and spends much of the episode being grumpy about it. Inevitably, there is something darker going on although it's quite a while before we find out what it is. It's a relatively simple piece, and, like the episode before it, more of a link to what happens next than a strong story in its own right. The tarot reader is, however, well written and performed, avoiding some of the more obvious clichés.
• Heart and Soul – A story that's largely about Gray's past relationships, as he meets an old flame, and tries to cope with the implications. There is a supernatural element, too, involving a circus with an unpleasant secret that ties into wider events. The resolution of that part of the plot is, perhaps, a little predictable, but the remainder is left open, leading directly into the final episode.
• Displacement Activity/The Darkest Hour – The strongest story of the season, this brings the plot arc to a very satisfying climax. The central idea behind it (which becomes apparent at about the half-way point) is a clever one, and the horror elements are effective, but the real strength is in Gray's relationship to his lover, and just how reciprocated those feelings are. This one is an easy 5 stars, and the season as a whole comes close to that, too.

Three more stories featuring the London version of Torchwood in the early 2000s before its fall. As with the previous release, the feel is much less dark than the TV series or the regular Torchwood audios, although Yvonne Hartmann isn't as sympathetic a protagonist as, say, Kate Stewart in the UNIT audios. Marketed as “for mature listeners”, this is due to the occasional f-word and some implied gore, but not, say, anything sexual or truly horrific.

• The Law Machines – The Mayor of London (a fictional one, not Ken Livingstone) decides it would be a good plan to station heavily armed autonomous robot policemen across the city. Because that sort of thing never goes wrong. In fact, as the title and cover picture imply, this is a sequel to the DW TV story The War Machines, with a battle across London starting before the title music finishes playing. It's primarily focussed on Hartmann, shown here as ruthless and disdainful of the people she's supposedly protecting. Despite the fact that there's a fair bit of military action, this also has several touches of humour, some of them due to WOTAN not fully grasping how computer technology has advanced since 1966. As a result, while it's not a terribly deep story, it's an entertaining listen. 4 stars.

• Blind Summit – The second story is set earlier, recounting Ianto's first encounter with Torchwood, before he was officially recruited. It's more or less entirely told from his perspective, alone and alienated in London, and, at this point, a decent man who is quite unsuited to the threats he encounters. Hartmann shows a sympathetic side that we don't often see and is arguably at odds with the portrayal in the previous episode, while the story itself is a relatively routine piece about alien tech being used for cynical purposes. There is some gore and a brief LGBT encounter, but they feel tacked on because somebody felt that they ought to be there rather than because they're needed. It's a good performance from David-Lloyd as Ianto, and fills in some of the character's background, but otherwise it isn't much we haven't seen before. 4 stars.

• 9 to 5 – The final story is the strongest, following on from events in the other two and tying them together. The key character here is a temp working in an anonymous office building whose life is suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of Torchwood. I'll note that Ianto here seems to have a more important role within the organisation than is implied in the TV series, basically being a fully-fledged operative, but I guess this was necessary to give him something to do. That aside, it's a story about office life, and in particular a, well... dehumanising... view of HR departments. There's also pathos as the ordinary office worker at the heart of it all realises how what has really been going on affects her, and a common Torchwood theme of the interaction of new technology with everyday life. 4.5 stars.

The Doctor and Leela arrive on an uninhabited jungle planet at some unspecified point in the future, only to run into a group of rowdy soldiers on a hunting expedition. We're almost at the half-way point before the Zygons properly turn up, although there are hints of their presence before that, and the big cliffhanger reveal, while hardly surprising by that stage of the story, at least doesn't make the assumption that you haven't bothered to read the title of the play.

The story is fairly straightforward, with the Zygons following up on their unsuccessful plan to conquer the Earth in their sole appearance in the classic TV series. Interestingly, they are portrayed here in a way that's closer to the way they appear in the new series - and the reason that that's notable is because this would have been written (and, indeed, recorded) before anyone involved knew the plot of The Day of the Doctor, the Zygons' NuWho debut story. This doesn't have the brilliance of that, or, indeed, of The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion that followed, and the setting is obviously different, but there are some distinct parallels.

The fact that the human soldiers are (intentionally, one assumes) no more sympathetic than the alien invaders does at least raise the question of whether we really want the Doctor to be helping them, although this isn't really addressed head on. One flaw in the play is that their leader is somewhat over-acted, leaving one, as a minimum, to question why Earth's government trusted the safe-keeping of a crucial maguffin to such a complete arse.

So, yes, there are some good bits in here, but it's a story that's been told better elsewhere, and, indeed, Zygons have been dealt with better by BF themselves before (in The Zygon Who Fell to Earth and Death in Blackpool). While it's possible that it might have felt more significant had we not had The Day of the Doctor before we had this, it ends up as a decent bit of filler, but not much more than that.

As the cover picture makes clear, this is a sequel to the TV story Full Circle, and is, in fact, written by the same author/scriptwriter. Given the location of that story, it's also the start of a “Second E-Space trilogy”, with the Doctor once again trapped within the pocket dimension that forms the setting of much of season 18 on TV.

In this story, descendants of the crew of the starliner in the original story return to Alzarius to learn more about the marshmen from whom they are descended and study the ‘mistfall' phenomenon. This, of course, is exactly where the TARDIS crew arrive after falling through a second CVE (there is, to be fair, a reasonable explanation for this, with Adric having messed things up shortly before his death).

There follows quite a lot of running about in the jungle, Tegan screaming at things, and Turlough trying to avoid trouble. In addition to the menace of the mostly non-speaking marshmen, and getting lost in the mist, it turns out that saboteurs are trying to wreck the expedition's chances of survival, for reasons that only become clear in the final quarter. In fairness, that motive is at least a reasonable one, even if the chosen method is questionable. The supposed mystery of the main saboteur's identity is also pretty easy to guess.

The story attempts to expand a little on what we know of both the marshmen and the New Alzarians from the old starliner, but it's fairly minimal, and the former aren't really an interesting foe, mainly grunting and smashing things. Although Nyssa comes out of it reasonably well, her fellow companions don't, and, while the story is competent, it's also fairly routine. Its problem, perhaps, is that it's mostly a re-hash of a story that was merely average the first time round.

The story ends on a cliffhanger.

Big Finish's first release to be focussed solely on the modern series, after they gained the license in 2014, this is a 4-part release that comprises a single story. Kate Stewart and Osgood are the central characters, joined by three newcomers to fill out the ranks. And what better way to kick off a series about UNIT than with the return of the autons, which also heralded the dawn of the ‘UNIT era' proper back in 1970?

The result is, in some respects, a modern updating of Spearhead from Space, with 3D printers and fibre optic internet connections joining the deadly mannequins. There are, of course, plenty of references back to the original series, with the Brigadier being mentioned quite a lot, but nothing that is likely to get in the way of the story for those only familiar with the new one; the only plot point that does rely on a TV episode relates to Rose.

Redgrave and Oliver are both great in their roles, bringing their TV characters back to life. The new captain and lieutenant show promise, although as yet there's little to see in Colonel Shindi, who mainly takes the Brigadier's old role of promoting the military solution. There's also a glossy, modern feel to the story, enhanced by a good theme tune.

The first two parts of the story are probably the strongest, although the second one is unusually short (37 minutes, rather than the usual 45-50). The latter half is, perhaps inevitably, stronger on the action, something that would look spectacular in a properly done film or TV episode, but can sometimes be a little confusing on audio. But even so, it manages to be engaging, with a fast-paced story and some good use of Osgood as scientific advisor. Despite the combat, this does have something of a DW feel, blending some of the original UNIT era's action-oriented style with a modern series aesthetic.

This 4.5 stars rounded up, rather than the straight five, since the story arguably doesn't have any great depth. But it's a great launch to this new spin-off, allowing us to see Earth under threat when the Doctor isn't around, and setting up new characters for the future.

The Doctor tries to lift Hex's spirits by taking him to the opening night of a comedy play. The play in question is Aristophanes' Peace, which puts the opening night in Athens in 421 BC. While certainly no record, this is unusually far back by the standards of Doctor Who, although it has to be said that there is no real attempt at any sort of historical accuracy in this story.

In fact, much of it seems to be intended, like the Greek play that inspired it, as a comedy. There are a few laughs here and there, certainly, but, for the most part they fall flat. This, and the stylistic imitation of Ancient Greek theatre in some of the first part (Ace, for example, is the Chorus) mean that it initially drags a little and takes a while to get anywhere. Even the more serious sub-plot involving Ace fighting against Athenian mysogyny has little tension or dramatic heft.

Once things really do get underway, and the real threat reveals itself, the story does improve, as Athens spirals towards disaster. This would, however, doubtless have been better had the comedy been more effective, providing the counterpoint that Goss was presumably striving for. Instead, these elements make the setting feel implausible, rather than amusing, and leave one with the sense that there's actually quite a good story under here, struggling to get out, but which only really surfaces for between a quarter and a third of the play.

Comedy can be a struggle with Doctor Who, and it's a testament to BF's usual quality that their comedies tend to work more often than not. I found that this fell into the latter category, although it's by no means a complete flop, and a lot may depend on the listeners' sense of humour, or perhaps just their expectations - I think I was hoping for something a lot more faithful to history than Goss had any intention of providing, so for me, that let it down.

It's okay, but not great, and one hopes that this trilogy picks up with the last installment.

This is a base under siege story with the unusual twist that the defenders are a squad of Sontaran soldiers. (The presence of Sontarans in the story isn't revealed until the 30-minute mark, but given the title, and I think it's fair to say it isn't a spoiler). It is very different from the previous audio story to use a vaguely similar premise, Heroes of Sontar in that, despite the odd humorous line here and there, this isn't played for laughs - the intention is something darker and more psychological.

This is achieved by keeping the real foe mysterious and having slowly affect the minds and sanities of those on the base. This gives us the chance to see Sontarans in a way that we normally don't, as much victims as anyone else, and slowly cracking under the strain. There are human prisoners in the story as well, to remind us of Sontaran brutality, not to mention a murderous crustacean that just seems to be there to jump out randomly at the other characters. But the personalities of the Sontarans are at least reasonably well done, and the one of them that, for whatever reason, is unaffected by the monster comes across as almost sympathetic - if only by contrast with his fellows.

Although she does get a chance to work on a computer program at one point, Mel is not particularly developed here, being mostly generic, if less irritating than she often was on TV. She is also unaffected by the foe, which was possibly missing a trick - not so much for the sense of peril, which she's in plenty of anyway, but because of the potential insight into her mind. We're also before the scheming, slightly darker, version of Seven from the final two seasons, which makes him less interesting, too.

In the end, the Sontarans are too single-minded, the prisoners too bland, and the occasional attempts at humour too ill-judged for this to be any more than merely average. It's an interesting idea, but one that doesn't quite reach its true potential.

There is a tradition by this point that the odd-numbered seasons of Jago & Litefoot (apart from the first one, of course) throw something different into the mix, be it a change in the setting or a guest character from elsewhere. This time around, the ‘something extra' is that the Big Bad happens to be the Master, apparently fresh from the events of TV story The Deadly Assassin. At least to begin with, though, he's in the background, steering events from a safe remove without our heroes being aware of his presence.

• Jago & Son - The first episode is about... actually, I'm not entirely sure what it's about. There are Satanists, and a deadly monster stalking the streets of London, but beyond that, the plot is a bit hazy. Our two heroes are apart for much of the episode, each being given a new character to play off. In Jago's case, that's the titular son, or at least somebody who believes himself to be Jago's illegitimate son, although there's not really much exploration of the ramifications of this and the real story is (perhaps deliberately) left vague. Litefoot is paired instead with an old flame, now a formidable middle-aged woman who has taken up archaeology and, honestly, she's a lot more fun as a character. But she's not enough to raise this story above the merely middling.

• Maurice - Jago and Litefoot encounter composer Maurice Ravel as he's writing what's probably his second most well-known work (after Bolero), Gaspard de la Nuit. It's quite possible that if you know your musical history, and, in particular, the poems that the work in question is based on, you may find a lot more depth and resonance in this than I did. To me, unfortunately, that element meant nothing. Instead, I was left with a slightly odd story about an insectoid alien hiding in a terrarium and a minor mystery about why Ravel is carrying something that seems to belong to the Doctor. It's perhaps better than the first episode, but, once again, not up to the level that this series normally reaches.

• The Woman in White - Fortunately, things improve in the second half of the collection. The third story also features well-known historical figures, in this case noted thespian Sir Henry Irving and author Bram Stoker. In the real world, Irving was one of Stoker's inspirations for the character of Dracula, and here that's expanded, with the story involving some other tropes that appear in the famous novel. On the other hand, since J&L has done vampires before, the story here has to be about something different, yet sharing similar traits. The story weaves together separate investigations by its lead characters, as well as other pieces of Victoriana to create an engaging and dramatic tale that's different enough from Stoker's novel to avoid falling into the common SF trap of “he wasn't really an original writer, he just fictionalised something that had actually happened to him.”

• Masterplan - Finally, the Master becomes the focus as he reaches the point of being able to carry out his scheme. (This, incidentally, appears to occur immediately prior, from the Master's perspective, to the DW story And You Will Obey Me, released the previous month. However, the two stories are entirely standalone, with the connection being an easter egg, rather than a plot point). The supporting cast of Ellie, and especially Inspector Quick, have a significant role to play, and, as indicated on the cover, the Doctor also eventually makes an appearance. While he tends to dominate the denouement, however, most of the story isn't really following him, with the title characters and the Master playing a far more significant role. The insidious effects of the latter's scheme are effectively shown, and it's a satisfying conclusion to this latest set of stories.

The final story ends, as always, with a cliffhanger (foreshadowed, for once, by an event earlier on) that sets things up for the next season.

An anthology of four 30-minute stories connected by a loose meta-plot that essentially serves as a teaser for the next 7th Doctor story in the range.

* You Are the Doctor - An audio play written in the style of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, this is the strongest story of the four. The plot itself is simple enough, but the unusual style of the storytelling (complete with second-person narration) gives it a distinctive feel, and is directly relevant to what's going on. It's a slapstick comedy, using a villain that appeared less successfully in a previous story, but here fits right in with the style. Although one could actually listen to this in the style it's imitating (it uses numbered tracks) it's arranged in such a way that you can - and probably should - just listen to it in sequence. Unlike the other stories in the collection, it's also exactly the right length for what it's doing. 4 stars.

* Come Die With Me - Continuing with the theme of games, this time we have a murder mystery dinner type of event, with a reclusive genius inviting guests to his home to solve a series of murders. It's the sort of story that might have worked better if it were longer since, as it is, there's no actual mystery to solve and at times the characters have to do things without any apparent reason. There are some nice ideas in it, but it's too slight to be effective. 3 stars.

* The Grand Betelgeuse Hotel - A story that's told mostly in flashback, as Ace stands accused of a number of serious crimes before a kangaroo court. Once again, a longer story might have worked better, as there's precious little substance to this one. There's some attempt at characterisation of the one alien we see, but the humans are basically cyphers, and the resolution at the end of the story is about as predictable as it gets. 2.5 stars.

* Dead to the World - There's a slight improvement in the final episode, set on a doomed tourist liner marooned in space. The last surviving crew and passengers are fairly well drawn for such a short story, and the villains are at least different, if not hugely plausible. There's also a reasonable mix of humour and more serious threat, although the story isn't long enough for the tension to really build. Having said, it makes as good a use of the short run-time as can be expected, and suits the Seventh Doctor well. 3.5 stars.

This starts out quite well, with a story contrasting the Lanterns' Earthly lives with a mission to save an alien race facing an extinction-level disaster. That's followed with what's largely a comedy piece, although with a rather effective new villain. Seeley seems more at home with Simon than with Jessica, but he uses both effectively, with some nice construct imagery. Unfortunately, the last third is largely a drawn-out slugfest that just goes on for too long and has the characters making some dumb decisions just to drive things along. The political allegory is also heavy-handed and doesn't quite achieve what it's trying to.

The series of partly narrated retro-stories reaches the fourth season of the original TV show and thus the Second Doctor. Anneke Wills (Polly) takes over narrating duties, while Hines does his usual excellent job of voicing the Doctor. In a move that was (and remains) somewhat controversial, a wholly new actor was brought in to voice Ben; to my mind, he does a good job and feels as if he fits right in.

The story is set on a colony world where humans have built a utopian society, partly with the assistance of servitor robots. This set-up is immediately reminiscent of The Robots of Death, but the story itself is really very different. To begin with, it is quite slow moving, with a limited cast of guest characters, as the Doctor and his companions investigate a mysterious death. Things do, however, pick up in the second half as the disparate threads come together.

In a side-plot to the central mystery, there's also some nice (albeit not stunningly original) social commentary as we see what robots designed to imitate humans do when given their freedom. The setting itself has a number of early 21st-century touches, all of which are obviously ‘futuristic' from the perspective of Ben and Polly, let alone Jamie, as well as some genuinely SF elements such as artificial reality.

Both Jamie and Polly get a fair amount to do, although they are apart for most of the story. Ben is rather more in the background, presumably in deference to the absence of his original actor, while, of course, the Doctor is far more present than he was in the majority of the Companion Chronicles that preceded this series. In that respect, it's truly a Second Doctor story, and one that brings some of his personality traits to the fore.

In the end, I found it just a little bit too slow to get started to really award it 4 stars, despite a number of good elements. It could be that Guerrier is better with one-hour stories than he is with the longer sort here, but, either way, while it isn't one of his strongest, it's far from meritless.

This is the first half of a two-part story. I am reviewing both releases here.

This is the first of the Fourth Doctor/Second Romana audios that I've listened to and, at the time it came out, it must have been quite a pleasant surprise that we'd ever get such a thing. Certainly, there's no great spark between Baker and Ward here, but both characters are very much on form, taking one right back to their time on TV together. (Both actors had, of course, been reprising their roles for some years separately before this came out). And we get K9, too, who is an integral part of this particular plot.

The Doctor and Romana find themselves separated on a planet where soldiers from the future are striking at the past, taking its resources for themselves. The result is a story that's considerably more complex than the usual DW fare, with the two Time Lords popping back and forth between the past and the future and sometimes encountering the results of their actions before they've performed them. For some listeners, perhaps, this might be a bit of a stretch for a two-hour audio play (rather than, say, a novel), especially given the relatively large cast of guest characters; it's the sort of thing you need to pay attention to, rather than having on in the background.

That said, I felt it worked. I did see the mid-point revelation coming some way off, but, without the audio cues, I might well not have. The motivations of the two sides in the war make sense, and both are sympathetic, with the story having a moral message that's pro-conservationist as well as anti-war - but lets it speak for itself, rather than overtly hammering it home. In particular, it brings out Romana as an equal to the Doctor, playing to one of the strengths of that character, as well as bringing out some of Four's flippancy.

And both Romana and the Doctor skirting around the line “you can't rewrite history - not one line!”

The series returns to using existing monsters for its third outing, and interestingly, picks the Silents - in their only audio appearance so far. They are an interesting foe, one that's particularly memorable from the TV series and that doesn't have the disadvantages in an audio-only format that, say, the Weeping Angels do. Indeed, in many ways, this is a direct sequel to The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, explicitly dealing with the long-term repercussions of events in that story.

Another feature is the return of not one, but two, characters from the first release in this series, UNIT Extinction. Colonel Shindi is slightly softened from his militaristic tone in that story, but remains relatively uninteresting. More surprising is the return of investigative reporter Jacqui, previously a thorn in UNIT's side, but now filling in a role not unlike that of Sarah Jane in the later UNIT stories on TV. It's a welcome expansion to the lineup of regular characters, and I was a little disappointed to discover that she doesn't appear much in future releases.

Although this ‘season' consists of four hour-long episodes, it really contains three stories, all tightly linked, but separated by a few months - something made easier by the fact that the main characters aren't able to remember how serious the situation is for long.

The first story is, of course, about UNIT's initial encounter with the Silents. It's a strong and slightly creepy investigative tale playing up the antagonists' powers as well as setting the scene for what follows. The second is a satirical tale running over two episodes, and concerns the sudden rise to power of a populist politician. Sensibly, we never discover what this person's policies actually are - I envisaged him as a Nigel Farage type, but other listeners might just as well see him as a parody of Jeremy Corbyn. It's the strongest part of the collection, building to a climax on the day of a general election, and with the Silents putting modern social media to great use.

The final episode is set on an orbiting space station as it finally becomes clear what the Silents' ultimate objective is - something that's been mysterious up to this point, with only the trail of dead bodies and our prior knowledge of the race implying that it's anything particularly bad. It's a good climax and resolution to the arc, if not quite as strong as the previous episodes if taken in isolation.

Much fun is had throughout with the Silent's memory wiping ability, especially in a sequence in which Kate and Osgood are reviewing video footage of a member of the race with another UNIT officer. Add to that the direct references to events in the modern TV show (and a namecheck for something from the classic one) and this is a great addition to the series.