Lady Christina: Series 1

A set of four largely unconnected stories starring Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina da Souza, the aristocratic cat burglar and nearly-companion of the Tenth Doctor from Planet of the Dead. Each story is built around a planned theft of some sort, although not always by Christina herself, and not always as the main focus of events. There's glamour, gadgets, a flying bus, plenty of links to the TV series, and a clever and kickass female lead... but, on the whole, it's not really one to be taken too seriously.

• It Takes a Thief – The story kicks off in a setting that's surely ideal for Lady Christina – the French Riviera. She's there for... well, fairly obvious reasons, but it turns out that there's a more deadly cat burglar also at work in the area. For some reason that I wasn't really clear about, this brings the attention of Interpol, rather than the French police, and Christina has to clear her name. (In this story, Interpol appears to be an actual international police force, rather than a liaison and database-storage organisation, as they are in the real world).

The result is a fun caper, with Christina being joined by an upper-class twit as she hunts down the killer and spends a lot of time in expensive hotels for the idle rich. The theme tune to this series is a little reminiscent of the James Bond theme stylistically, and this feels very appropriate here, with its daring escapades and implied glamour. There are also several connections with the TV series, as well as with another audio series (in the latter case, though, it's more of an easter egg, and you absolutely don't need to have encountered the character before). 4 stars.

• Skin Deep – Here, we're in for a much more typical Doctor Who story, although it's not initially clear whether we're dealing with aliens or some new piece of deadly technology. It has some points in common with the TV story Partners in Crime (as is mentioned in an aside by one of the characters), but the resemblance turns out to be fleeting. The story is more significant for bringing back Donna's mother, Sylvia, as Christina befriends her as part of some larger scheme.

Sylvia isn't really as much fun as Donna is, and, although she does have an important role in the plot, she seems there more to provide a connection with the TV show than for any other reason. However, we do get to see a little of Christina's background, and some of what drove her to become the woman she is. (Among other things, to the surprise of surely no one, she turns out to have gone to school at Roedean). In the end, it's a decent attempt to do a DW tale with Christina as the protagonist, although she doesn't come out of it entirely positively. 4 stars.

• Portrait of a Lady – We're back in full James Bond territory with this story about a master criminal arranging an art heist. The heist is a relatively minor part of the story, which is really about the struggle to retain the stolen art after the theft. Lady Christina herself doesn't turn up until some way in, and the story is at least as much told from the perspective of UNIT officer Sam Bishop, who's trying to track her down. Along the way, there are flying cars, alien tech, an angry Sontaran, and... well, quite a few Bond cliches.

Although this is definitely fun, I found it not quite as good as the first two tales. The main reason for this is that the action is difficult to follow in a few places, with not quite enough dialogue to make it clear – often an issue on audio. But, in addition, some of the geography just doesn't make sense, with the most obvious example being the presence of the Amazon jungle in Argentina (coastal Argentina at that, so maybe 1000 miles too far south?) If you don't mind that, though, it's a decent caper, although more The Spy Who Loved Me than, say, Ocean's Eleven. 3.5 stars.

• Death on the Mile – We move to Edinburgh for the final instalment – which makes a change from so many stories set in London... or Cardiff, for that matter. Once again, this is a heist, this time of some mundane, but very valuable, treasure concealed beneath Edinburgh Castle that just has to be stolen while the Royal Military Tattoo is going on. (So, yes, there's bagpipes). Bishop is providing security, but this time the focus is more on Christina, although their encounters in the previous story do play into this one. There's also an appearance of a character who appeared early on in the modern UNIT audios, although it's not necessary to be familiar with her, since she's effectively introduced as new.

The story is quite mad, with teleportation, remarkably effective antigravity, and (as is obvious from the cover) a certain race of New Who aliens making a prominent appearance as they race Christina for the treasure. But it's good over-the-top, fun, and easier to follow than the preceding story, assuming you don't mind a number of major Edinburgh landmarks getting trashed along the way. A good conclusion to the set, if not the deepest thing Big Finish have ever done. Plus, you know... it has farting aliens. 4 stars.