Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures, Volume 5

Although there were (and still are) those uncomfortable with recasting the title role, as this line of audios has done, by the time this volume was being prepared, it had evidently proved popular enough that Big Finish felt comfortable in taking the next obvious step. So, this time, it's not just the Third Doctor that is recast, but also both the Brigadier and Liz Shaw, the former by impressionist Jon Culshaw and the latter by Daisy Ashford, the daughter of the original actor. Obviously, like Treloar himself, neither is a perfect imitation, although Culshaw does come pretty close. But it seems likely that anyone who finds that a problem won't be listening to this series anyway, and allowing the characters back opens up possibilities that relying solely on Jo Grant cannot.

To make full use of this, for the first time, both stories in this volume are ‘70s set UNIT stories, rather than one of them being set off-world. As usual, the '70s ambience is boosted by incidental music that effectively imitates that used on the show in this era, helping these stories feel even more like actual episodes from the time.

Primord – Although Inferno is one of the most well-regarded of all the Third Doctor stories, few would argue that it's because of the monsters that feature in it. Yet here we are with a story that features them as the focus... and, given that premise, it's surprisingly good. The problem with the Primords is that they're just growly monsters that kill people, which isn't the basis for a great story on TV, never mind on audio. So, instead, what this story is really about is the human villains that are trying to use the Primords for their own ends, rather than the monsters themselves. Although, when they do get to run amok in the final 30-minute segment, they do so quite effectively.

The story sees Jo and the Doctor go to meet up with Liz in Cambridge while the Brigadier separately investigates something that we know from the opening scene (not to mention the title) has something to do with the eponymous monsters. The way Jo is handled here is one of the story's strengths; the Doctor is out of the way for a long stretch, leaving Jo – assisted by the Brigadier – as the primary protagonist fighting against the Primords and human villains. That the story manages to do this while staying true to the character is a definite plus. On the downside, considering that it's her debut in a full-cast audio (she had previously appeared in some of the Chronicles series, when Caroline John was still with us) Liz spends almost the entire time acting out of character. Yes, there's a good reason for it, but, as a return to the series, it's a little disappointing. Here's hoping for something better the next time she's used. 4 stars.

The Scream of Ghosts – Liz does not appear again in this one, although we do get Benton. The latter is still voiced by his original actor, although he's old enough now that Culshaw arguably sounds more like the Brigadier than he does like his younger self. We also move back from Cambridge to the ever-popular Big Finish setting of rural Kent, where people have been hearing strange sounds and televisions are acting up. This seems to have something to do with a research laboratory trying to invent a mobile telephone in a clever use of “futuristic” technology that (from the description) seems primitive to us 50 years on.

The first half builds up the mystery as events in the village become ever stranger and more deadly, without any hint as to what is really behind them. That comes a little past the halfway mark, with a twist that ties into a TV story that (were there not a clue on the cover) is probably not one you'd expect. The result is a good story, that feels very much a part of the ‘70s and that makes particularly good use of the audio format. Of course, Big Finish can't build every story around audio effects but when they do so successfully, like this, the result is something that's better than it likely would be on TV. It's also another instance of making a ‘monster' seem more original and interesting than they actually were on the original show... 4.5 stars.