Doctor Who: The First Wave

A First Doctor story told from the perspective of Steven. Or at least, it is to an extent. That's because, compared with previous Companion Chronicles, this is much more like a regular play. Steven still does act as narrator, but there's notably less narration than usual, and no less than three other voice actors (as opposed to the usual one).

Anyway, this is the final part of the “Oliver Harper trilogy”, which sees the Doctor and Steven joined in the TARDIS by a '60s stockbroker. It follows on directly from the events of the second story, The Cold Equations, in which our heroes discovered a historical record stating that they had died on a remote planetoid out in the Kuiper Belt. It turns out that the record dates to not long after Steven's time, so that he has unusually good grasp of the setting. Indeed, as in the previous story in the trilogy, much is made of Steven's past, elaborating on his character as well as how he got to the situation in which he met the Doctor.

The story has a number of hard science fiction trappings, and makes use of some real science in explaining what's going on; something that tends to be particularly fitting for this era of the show's history. The villains are one of the less impressive alien races from the classic TV series, but are used very effectively here, making them seem both more alien, and more of a believable threat, than was managed on screen. For those familiar with the original, there's the added bonus of foreshadowing elements of the race's future encounter with the Fourth Doctor.

When stripped down to its bare bones, there perhaps isn't much of a story here, and those who prefer linear stories may not like the way that it is told out of chronological sequence. But to my mind this is more than made up for by the characterisation of Steven and Oliver, who spend much of the story alone together. It's also a surprisingly touching send-off for the latter, considering that he has only appeared in three stories.

One of the stronger Companion Chronicles, showing what the format (albeit with some modification, in this case) can do when it's used well. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.