Collision Course written by Guy Adams and directed by Ken Bentley

What’s it About: Fallout from the temporal distortions has now reached Gallifrey. To find the cause, Leela and Romana remember travels with the Fourth Doctor to the same world, at different times. The enemy is revealed, and it may take more than one Doctor to prevent the destruction of everything!

Mockney Dude: The Tenth Doctor showing up was a brilliant surprise and totally unexpected and was clearly supposed to be so since he didn’t show up on the cover. Bernice tells him that showing off is always annoying. The tension between the first and tenth Doctors is wonderful. Bradley’s Doctor is so unimpressed that he considers the idea of never regenerating!

Physician, Heal Thyself: The only Doctor who hugs all of his companions at first sight. He thinks the seventh Doctor had a midlife crisis – that’s why he inherited a gothic castle rather than a TARDIS.

The Real McCoy: ‘If you could turn your volume down on your trousers, that might help’ says the seventh Doctor to the sixth. Old grudges never go away.

Softer Six: The sixth Doctor gets to tell the fourth Doctor that it isn’t all about him. He thinks older and wiser heads can sort this problem out…until the 7th Doctor shows up. ‘Navigation?’ says the sixth Doctor to the fifth, ‘it took you nearly a year to find the largest airport in England.’ He’s appalled at the lack of a sense of location and so he decides to make a speech on behalf of them all…only to be cut of by everybody.

An English Gentleman: Amongst all those powerfully characterised Doctors, he’s just sort of there.

Teeth and Curls: He was yomping through jungles when Leela was still in leather nappies. The problem with Time Lords these days is that they are all so gadget obsessed and spend their time wandering the universe staring at screens instead of looking at what s around them. The Doctor likes it when Romana is bossy too, pondering how wonderful she is and what he would do without her. The Doctor respects Leela’s wish to call the spectre a ghost but he can’t help mocking her a little at the same time. Romana was quite unaware that the Doctor had any limits and thinks he is an impossible man. He can’t solve anything just by sniffing it (unlike the first Doctor and his extraordinary abilities in The War Machines).

Noble Savage: Leela and Romana. It shouldn’t work at all. One is a predatory savage with prized instincts and the other is a galactic super brain with political aspirations. And yet this is possibly the greatest pairing that Big Finish has ever developed because it brings together those very diverse strengths into a formidable friendship. And Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward simply sing together, two committed actresses who guard their roles carefully and provide a hugely entertaining counterpoint to one another. She wonders why people always build dull metal boxes to live in. Sweetly, in a moment where the Doctor is genuinely afraid, Leela says she will protect him. Leela is overtly emotional when she thinks the Doctor is vanishing from existence. She faces death how she lived, with a knife in her hand and strength in her heart. She’s magnificent.

President Romana: Bossy Romana = great audio. At least to me. The Doctor suggests she always tends to be melodramatic but she denies this. It’s more his style. She doesn’t think changing history is impossible, just ill advised. She knows she doesn’t even have to ask about Leela’s involvement, she will just be there for her. The one thing that all the Doctors agree is that Romana is the best.

Archaeological Adventurer: ‘I’ve had several’, says Bernice. She’s the mother of all the Big Finish ranges and so it seems only appropriate that she is there when all the Doctors come together to fight the Sirens.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Never underestimate how nosy a Time Lord can be.’
‘Did I ever tell how important it is not to tamper with history?’ ‘Several times.’
‘You know Leela, it’s been a strange old life…but didn’t we have fun?’
‘Time is Silly.’
‘I’d say you have an excellent nose when it comes to most things.’

Great Ideas: The causal fabric of the universe is breaking down. Or something. The Matrix is undecided as to the Sirens actual status but according to one account they were imprisoned by the Temperon, a benevolent creature of great power lost in the tides of the vortex. Leela thinks that Gallifrey has too many legends (she’s right) but Romana makes the excuse that it is an inescapable hazard of watching over eternity. The Sirens have broken free and engineered a colossal event in space/time and the ripples from which are spreading galaxy after galaxy. The structure of the universe is a delicate thing, the whole of time delicately balanced. One thing leading to another. As Time Lords they can view the whole thing, well most of it and right now it is falling apart. Great holes being torn through time itself, changing cause and effect. What the Time Lords planned to do on was so radical, so insanely dangerous that they hid it as far away from the universe as they could. The universe cannot contain two timelines and so one has to cancel the other out. If the changes are small then the differences iron themselves out, time getting back on the established as quickly and as simply as possible. If it is not a small change then the alternate timeline becomes either the dominant one or the entire fabric of reality falls apart and we are all erased from existence. The timelines are in chaos, so many alternative futures and pasts all co-existing. In the chaos all this they are remembering the events in those alternatives. It’s all happening. Leela is both dead and alive and never existed at all. Talk about existential angst. The Sirens feed on paradox energy, the effects of sabotaging the test flight are so immense that the potential alone gave them enough energy to act.

Isn’t it Odd: Wouldn’t it be awfully embarrassing if the Sirens of Time were responsible for the end of everything? Not the Master or the Daleks or the Time War. But a race of cosmic beings created by Nick Briggs to kick start the main range (an idea that apparently caused Paul Cornell to leave the meeting of writers in a fit of pique!). I would have hoped for something a little more…imaginative. But I guess the biggest surprise that the universe could offer us is to fizzle away in a moment of humiliation. There’s one dreadfully embarrassing moment when the Doctor screams and it just sounds like Tom Baker gurning in a studio. I’m sure all of the technobabble makes some kind conceptual sense, but I lost a handle on it halfway through the story. There’s a difference between writing a complex story and a story full of absurd complexities. Frazer Hines sounds a bit off in this story, unfortunate given how stellar he usually is in the Early Adventures. The huge climax seems to involve all of the Doctors coming together to…pilot a ship. It’s hardly the most climactic challenge they have ever faced.

Standout Scene: Let’s not underestimate the emotional power of witnessing two versions of the Doctor and Leela and Romana all dying. It’s stunningly acted by all parties.

Result: Satisfying, and pleasingly commemorative. Big Finish rarely misses an opportunity to wave a flag to get some attention with a marketable idea but this time around it was completely right for them to do so. 20 years of audio adventures and an immense back catalogue of adventures…where do you start celebrating all of that? Naturally some ranges and characters had to fall to the wayside (the los of Jago & Litefoot is particularly felt in part five) but I think that Matt Fitton and Guy Adams have done a sterling job in cherry picking enough important and established characters and ranges to highlight. Early on in Collison Course, I really liked the idea of Romana and Leela discussing the fact that the Doctor took them both to the same planet but at different times and how that turns out to be an important element of the plot. Watching both visits play out, side by side, is the best use of temporal jiggery pokery in the set. Given how many stories they have featured in, this manages to be one of the best 4th Doctor and Leela stories and that’s only for the first half an hour of Collison Course, which really is fantastic set up. It’s the best of this story, which devolves into a multi Doctor story but really doesn’t need to beyond the excuse to bring them all together for the party. It becomes a jolly bitch fight between the Doctors with some very funny dialogue. The Legacy of Time isn’t completely successful (I’m not sure that the plot holds together particularly healthily) but it remains the best Big Finish celebration by a country mile, getting all of its characters together for an almighty shindig that genuinely feels epic and, more importantly, celebrates those characters at their best. It leaves Zagreus and The Light at the End in the dust. The science fiction is there to explore the characters and any box set that brings together all of the Doctors, Benny, River, Countermeasures, Ace, Jo, Kate Stewart, Osgood, the Brigadier, Jenny, Charley, Menzies, Leela and Romana and celebrates all of their strengths gets my vote. Massive kudos for holding back on the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master too. This is a party about Big Finish and their creations (by creations I include continuing all of these characters lives after their TV span expired) and on that level it succeeds brilliantly. If they’re lucky, you might even want to explore these spin offs some more: 8/10 (8/10 for the set)

The Avenues of Possibility written by Jonathan Morris and directed by Helen Goldwyn

What’s it About: DI Patricia Menzies is used to the strange, but even she is surprised when the eighteenth century itself falls onto her patch. Fortunately, she has the founders of modern policing to help with her enquiries. And when the Sixth Doctor and Charley arrive, they find armed and hostile forces trying to change Earth history forever.

Softer Six: The sixth Doctor and Charley stories were one of my favourite periods of Big Finish; when the trilogies were just kicking into gear and Barnes and Briggs were taking big risks. To have a companion hop Doctors from a later one to an earlier one was unprecedented and the air of mystery and suspense that surrounded the sixth Doctor/Charley relationship meant that things never got boring. On a purely performance level it gave India Fisher a chance to get her teeth into some really juicy material after coasting along endlessly in her latter eighth Doctor stories and she and Colin Baker developed a fine, warm and spiky rapport. Given how tediously long some runs can be on audio it seems almost a shame that these two didn’t have more time together. Always leave them wanting more isn’t a trope I would ascribe to Big Finish but in this case they gave you just enough to be desperate for more. To their credit they have only returned to the pairing twice in the intervening decade. Trust the Doctor to have friends in high places – this time it’s the Chief of Scotland Yard. His reputation precedes him but that is often the case. He’s the living proof that yes he really as wise and wonderful as everybody says. Even if he does say so himself. How the Doctor met Henry Fielding is a long story involving a Draconian Prince. It’s fairly obvious that as soon as Charley reveals the truth about herself that the Doctor will lose his memory of those events.

Edwardian Adventuress: There’s nothing a young lady wants more than to be scandalised and so Charley would read all the texts that her mother warned her away from. Both Charley and Menzies laugh in the face of ye olde gender politics and quite right too. I always loved how Charley refused to conform to what was expected of a young miss of the time. Instead she wanted adventure, excitement and danger. Boy did she get it. It took Charley some time to believe that the sixth Doctor was the same man as the eighth. She’s been at this game long enough to know when to switch into the old prisoner and escort routine. If the Sirens feed on time paradoxes then Charley knows of one very juicy paradox that they might find indigestible. Fielding tries to convince her to let the Doctor die but she refuses to let any man make that decision for her. That’s her Doctor and she’s going to save him no matter what the cost.

DI Menzies: I love the fact that the idea of the 18th Century crashing into her station doesn’t even cause her to batter an eyelid. Menzies isn’t irritated that somebody from the past considers it ridiculous that a member of the ‘weaker’ sex is in charge of the constabulary, she’s more wryly amused. ‘Things have moved on a bit since your day.’ I like the fact that Menzies is running the investigation and not the Doctor, she’s the one taking these huge ideas and trying to put them all in some kind of order.

Standout Performance: Colin and India, what a team. Fisher is especially good in her climactic moment.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Time is not behaving as it should’ ‘And you’ve come to give it a slap on the wrist.’
‘Zagreus!’

Great Ideas: A number of temporal breaches have appeared in 1751, breaches leading to alternative timelines. They are all radiating from the same central point, like the fractures around a bullet hole. Something has shattered the fabric of space/time and has left it in an extremely precarious state. Without sealing the breaches the crack may get worse, or even shatter, which would cause incalculable damage to the timelines. The Sirens are creatures from the legends of Time Lords from the dawn of histry (isn’t that always the way?) and they make their presence felt here by screaming their way out of a paradox.

Isn’t it Odd: I don’t think it has escaped anybody’s attention that this story was originally to have featured Jago & Litefoot and it is a tragedy that circumstances have prevented that from happening. To have two characters step through a breach in time from the 18th century to the current day and for it not to be Jago & Litefoot is a positive crime. But Jonathan Morris is too strong a writer to let that sort of block stifle his creativity and he powers on regardless. However, there is an air of tragedy about the story because of it. The theme music kicks in almost seven minutes into the story – is that a record for a Big Finish? It’s a shame that there is barely any interaction between the Doctor and Menzies.

Standout Scene: ‘You brilliant, wonderful girl. You’ve made me into the biggest paradox of all!’ In a fantastic moment (I had chills) that tears down the pretence between the Doctor and Charley and gloriously celebrates those first few years where Charley travelled with eight, she spills the truth about her history with his future. It’s beautifully played by both parties and once again leaves me gagging for more with them. Damn you Big Finish.

Result: An insane amount of wibbly wobbly timey wimeyness has been chucked at this adventure and the fun comes from stepping back from trying to make logical sense of it and just going with the flow and seeing where the story takes you. It hands you the gorgeous pairing of the sixth Doctor and Charley and the return of DI Menzies for start and those are all reasons to party. Colin Baker and India Fisher are clearly thrilled to be back together and their chemistry is as addictive as ever. We’re offered a peek into a fascinating alternative world where history took a very different path (was the use of Brigade Leader deliberate to suggest that this was the same alternative world as Inferno?) and afforded a glimpse into the relationship between the Doctor another famous historical figure. Is there anybody he doesn’t know? The Avenues of Possibility is the story where we realise just far back this story stretches into Big Finish history and as the saying goes we’re going right back to the beginning (excluding Benny, of course). There’s such a clever use of Charley, a character you would think had been exhausted of possibility but she’s vital to the climax here, the very nature of her continued existence being the very thing that allows them to escape. She’s brilliantly characterised throughout this and Fisher delivers one of her best performances as a result. It's interesting to note that this was directed by Helen Goldwyn and not Ken Bentley and the sound design and music was a lot more memorable than the earlier releases in this set. Over complicated, but massively engaging despite that: 8/10

Relative Time written by Matt Fitton and directed by Ken Bentley

What’s it About: Disaster strikes inside the Time Vortex, and the Fifth Doctor is thrown together with someone from his future… someone claiming to be his daughter! Kleptomaniac Time Lord, the Nine, believes it’s his chance to steal something huge. But Jenny just wants her dad to believe in her.

Fair Fellow: There’s some contention amongst fans of Big Finish debating whether Peter Davison sounds more authoritative and in control of the part as an older man or whether he was at his best on the TV in his thirties. I am very much in the former category, there is something wonderfully gruff and temperamental about him these days, whilst still having that energy and lust for adventure that he always had. He’s a much more rounded character and one that is far less likely to be pushed around. Of course, there is bound to be a paternal element to a story that features Davison’s real-life daughter opposite him and this is one occasion where I cannot separate Davison the actor from Davison the father and brilliantly it is the one story where that works very much in the story’s favour. When he starts ranting that she is reckless, selfish and thoughtless you can really hear a father berating his child. I’m sure Georgia has never done anything that caused Davison to says such things, mind. The effect is really fun, especially when you know the connection. The Doctor is pleased to hear that things in the future won’t be so different from now, especially all the corridors and running. Some people like clean lines and neatness, a practically – that’s the Doctor responding to how retro the TARDIS looks. He doesn’t need flash bang gadgetry to get around the universe. The Doctor is willing to initiate Time Ram on the Nine, he’s suicidally determined to bring him down. When it comes to it, every father is happy to show off in front of his daughter.

Hello Dad: Jenny was a hugely popular character from a not very popular story. I’m not sure how they managed that. The Doctor’s Daughter often comes bottom of series four polls and yet I only really hear nice things said about Jenny’s relationship with the Doctor and Donna and general pleasing things about what Georgia Tennant brought to the role. I thought she was just fine, if a little one note, but I’m pleased to say that she comes across as far more likeable and fully characterised on audio. She’s delighted to see the Doctor again, and manages to spot him (and his TARDIS) almost instantly. Because she is banging on about knowing him, dying and not changing her face the Doctor wonders if she has escaped from somewhere. To which she explains that yes, she escapes from all kinds of places. He cannot understand how Jenny can exist because he doesn’t just give away his genetic material to just anyone. What are the chances of her bumping into two Time Lords in such quick succession? Jenny, a technological product of the Doctor, manages to talk to talk to the TARDIS, technology that is biologically slaved to him. She has instinctive TARDIS control because she takes after her dad.

The Nine: He tries the Tenth Doctor approach of making a grandiose speech of being a Time Lord and that everybody should be terribly impressed because of it and then ruins all of that by being, well, a bit rubbish. He’s still a lot more fun than the Eleven as far as I am concerned, deliberately annoying and failing far more than he succeeds. Less a villain, more a meddler. The Doctor and Nine don’t socialise, and he sounds pretty put out by that.

Standout Performance: You know when you recognise a voice immediately but cannot find the face in your memory that it fits. A little digging later and Thana, the deliriously enjoyable spaceship captain, turns out to be none other than Ronni Acona. Her voice should be recognisable to many who watched comedy in the mid-2000s, aping all manner of celebrities in Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression. This is a standout turn, camp as Christmas and full of glorious bluster.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Do you know ho that sounds to me? Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah…you can’t have nice things.’

Great Ideas: There are fragments of temporal energy exploded all over the place. Timelines, time tracks, chronoplasm. They are caught inside it and one false move and it’s boom for them and potentially the universe. It’s nice to hear the mention of Vortisaurs, which takes me right back to the early days of Big Finish.

Isn’t it Odd: Jenny sounds a bit meh when she is talking about the plot. When the characters aren’t showing any great concern about what is going on it is best to sit back and enjoy and the interaction between the characters. I’m sure all these pockets of time are significant to the greater story but there isn’t the sort of cohesive momentum of plot through this set that you usually see in Big Finish. The technobabble is being dished out as a backdrop to find an excuse to celebrate various Big Fish ranges. I’m sure come the final instalment of this ‘epic’ that we’ll discover there was important information seeded in each story and in some magic spell of timey wimey it brings together all these characters and situations…but that hardly feels like the point of the set at all. It’s six stories featuring great characters who have had an extended life on audio.

Standout Scene: ‘I would be proud you know Jenny. I hope it is true. I’d be honoured to call you my daughter.’

Result: ‘Not interrupting Daddy/daughter time, am I?’ An entire hour giving the father/daughter team of Peter Davison and Georgia Moffat a chance to act against one another. This is such a cute idea and obviously too much for a ‘we’ll try anything’ company like Big Finish to resist. Matt Fitton has a prolific number of Doctor Who stories under his belt at this point and so his inclusion in this set was a must. He’s not my favourite writer, but he’s extremely capable and generally produces scripts that are at the very least entertaining but can occasionally fall into the excellent territory. I find he writes characters far more intricately than he does plot and that is very much the case with Relative Time. It features all manner of temporal shenanigans that all add up to nought in the end when what you are here for and the highlight of the story is the Doctor/Jenny and the villanous interaction, all of each are packed with lovely moments. I’m not madly invested in Jenny and I’m not sure how much I buy her emotional connection to the Doctor and so there was a feeling that I was being exploited here, much like in The Doctor’s Daughter. Davison is so good that he makes their scenes count, just as David Tennant was in her debut. The Nine is a delight as usual, a meddlesome villain who barely deserves the description but manages to be enjoyably sarcastic. This is weakest of the set so far but is more than listenable; it doesn’t have the dramatic tone of the first, the cleverly constructed plot of the second or the heart-breaking interaction of the third. This is probably more representative of what Big Finish releases on a month by month basis than those first three though; fun, entertaining, disposable. Professionally produced fluff: 6/10

The Sacrifice of Jo Grant written by Guy Adams and directed by Ken Bentley

What’s it About: When pockets of temporal instability appear in a Dorset village, UNIT are called in. Soon, Kate Stewart and Jo Jones find themselves working alongside the Third Doctor, while Osgood battles to get them home. But this isn’t the first time UNIT has faced this threat. Only before, it seems that Jo Grant didn’t survive...

Good Grief: He’s clearly very distracted by his tussle not to notice that the Jo standing in front of him has aged about 50 years from the one who usually accompanies him. He thought she’d just had another night on the town with Mike. The Doctor assumes this is the Jo Grant that he travelled with and is astonished that she can follow the scientific gobbledegook that is flying around. I love how it refuses to shy away from how patronising the third Doctor can be. The Doctor suggests that they all stop for lunch in the local pub in the middle of the crisis, much to Kate’s astonishment. He seems to spend his time bouncing from one apocalypse to another. It’s a relief for him to see that Jo survives his company. The Doctor always thinks of something; its usually mad and shouldn’t work. For a time, not long after she bumbled into his lab he didn’t realise how lucky he was to have her but he know realises that Jo was always brilliant. He’s not sure he taught her anything important that she didn’t already know. He knows what he is supposed to do and what he’s not supposed to do but when it comes to Jo Grant he will always break the rules.

Dippy Agent: Jo wonders if Kate calls the anomaly ‘holes in time’ because she is present and, well, she’s a bit dippy. Jo is more interested in whether they will be visiting the nudist beach in Dorset than investigating the temporal anomalies. The Doctor used to go off on his own adventures with Jo whilst she was stuck back at HQ going through reported sightings of the Master. What on Earth do you do when somebody crops up and claims you took part in an adventure that you don’t remember that you died in it? That’s got to put a crimp in your day. Jo clearly isn’t a temporal anomaly because her continued presence hasn’t torn the world apart. She always feels like she should salute when she is introduced to UNIT officers, obviously something that was programmed into her by the Brigadier. Showing just how things have changed since her time at UNIT, Jo is astonished (and delighted) that they now rehome aliens that mean no harm. There’s a glorious moment when Jo dives straight into danger without thinking and Kate can’t help commenting on it. Jo knows precisely when the Doctor is lying, she knows him too well not to see it. Jo doesn’t want to tell the Doctor about her future but he assures her a bit of gossip is fine. Imagine juggling 7 children and 13 grandchildren! She assures the Doctor it is a wonderful life. The Doctor is sure that the world cannot spare Jo. She tries really hard to describe her time with the Doctor and she settles on absurd and exciting. There’s a moment when I really thought they were going to go through with Jo dying and I had goosebumps all over.

UNIT: I’ve not heard any of the UNIT box sets since they took their divergence into the New Series, not because I am not fond of the characters of Osgood and Kate Stewart but just because an oversaturated market has meant that I have had to make some savvy choices about how to spend my time. I’ve heard mixed reviews (like reviewers know anything about what I’m going to like?) and it does feel like they are opting for the nostalgia element rather than running with anything truly fresh. When the War Master, the Cybermen, the Wirrn and her from Mind of Evil all showing up this is clearly designed to marry New Who with classic Who. I’m sure they are perfectly entertaining but not one set has reached out and shook me awake enough to devote time to them. On the strength of this story, perhaps that is an oversight on my part. Listen to Kate Stewart as she talks about Doctor. She’s hardly at her most complimentary. Osgood always feels you can be surprised what you can do with junk. Was it my imagination or has Kate Stewart lost all sense of humour on audio? She hates being lost, she is a scientist and often reduced to a layman when dealing with this kind of case. She genuinely believes that it should have been her to sacrifice her life, rather than Jo.

Standout Performance: Well it wouldn’t be a Big Finish story if Nicholas Briggs didn’t play a part somewhere. Katy Manning deserves the spotlight that she gets here and Jo is typically wonderful; enthusiastic, emotional, likeable and capable.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I can’t just walk off and have lunch!’

‘Please don’t tell me I’m five minutes away from watching a Brontosaurus knock a church over.’

‘He can face up to Daleks, Drashigs and Bandrils, but I think I’ve found the one thing in the universe that really scares the Doctor…’ ‘Not at all, I love children!’ ‘I was talking about responsibility.’

‘Jo, I’d tell you to stop trying to sacrifice yourself to save the planet but you wouldn’t listen. Quite right too.’

Great Ideas: You cannot start a story with a tagline of ‘we’re killing off Jo Grant’ and then fail to deliver upon it. What a way to kick things off. Slightly more amusing is the suggestion that Jo and Osgood are in a situation of mortal peril that turns out to be nothing more than a dramatic water slide. There are pockets of temporal instability are fluctuating with alarming regularity. The fabric of space/time is something you don’t want to poke great holes in and they could be looking at a potential extinction event. Must be Tuesday. Nothing screams Pertwee Who more than temporal jiggery pokery occurring in a cute coastal town. The gag about 16th Century peasants being stuck in the 21st recall both The Time Monster and Invasion of the Dinosaurs. People digging themselves out of the ground.

Audio Landscape: The sound effect for the time flow analogue. Nothing can ruffle your fan feathers more than a sound effect from the classic series.

Standout Scene: ‘Kate, how many people get a chance like this? If you don’t do this you’ll never forgive yourself…’ How remiss of Kate not to realise that this version of the Doctor has a close working relationship with her father. When he mentions his name, she’s in shock. That’s when I knew that we were in for a lot of feels. She’s tempted to make a call to him but is snapped out of it before she has the opportunity. The Brigadier never knew he was talking to, but to Kate it is the most important moment in her life. Also, the moment Jo finally says ‘I love you Doctor.’

Result: ‘Whatever I am Doctor, I learnt from you’ ‘Nonsense, Jo. You were brilliant from the moment you arrived in my lab…’ There’s holes in time that allow characters from the past to connect with characters from now. That’s the basic plot of The Sacrifice of Jo Grant but by describing it so you would doing it a huge disservice. It has all the emotional weight of Find and Replace and that story could be summed with a similarly basic plot device to allow the Doctor and Jo to communicate. What matters here is the feelings of everybody involved and the heft of nostalgia that it generates. Adams is right on the button with making you long for the Doctor and Jo to go off on adventures together again and in bringing together Kate and her father, it taps into a poignancy that is rare in Doctor Who stories. I was holding back tears at one point and that just isn’t like me at all. This isn’t just a celebration of Pertwee Who or the Big Finish UNIT series, it’s a celebration of Katy Manning and her glorious contribution to the series. She’s the glue that holds all this together. The link between old and new. And quite rightly Jo is characterised perfectly; bold, brave, silly, intelligent and quite barmy. Manning has long been a fine ambassador of Doctor Who and it is long past time somebody held her this high and shone a light on everything she has to offer. For those of you who like a lot happening there are exciting events (and time for a trip to the pub) couched in the usual Big Finish action set pieces but at the risk of repeating myself that isn’t the priority, and as this takes place over 50 minutes there isn’t much in the way of relevant explanation. I’m assuming this will all be part of some grand masterplan that is tied up in Collision Course at the end of the set. I gently chide Big Finish for going for the nostalgia jugular eight times out of ten these days but when they get it right they get it really right and Sacrifice summoned something deep rooted to surface out of me (my love of the Pertwee era, of the Brigadier and of Katy Manning) and left me both grinning and weeping. In these stories where your favourite characters think they are going to die it gives them a chance to say how they finally feel: 9/10

The Split Infinitive written by John Dorney and directed by Ken Bentley

What’s it About: A criminal gang appears to have recruited a member with time-bending powers. It’s a case for the Counter-Measures team – in the 1960s and the 1970s! The Seventh Doctor and Ace have their work cut out to save the day twice over, and make sure Gilmore, Rachel and Allison don’t collide with their past, or their future.

The Real McCoy: Gilmore isn’t sure that when the Doctor explains anything that it makes it any clearer. I know what he means. What lovely organisation exists in both the 60s and the 70s does he know? He’s talked a Dalek to death and so he can’t imagine too much opposition from an East End gangster. Like the proverbial bad penny the Doctor always turns up. One of the disadvantages of hanging with time travers is that things can get very complicated. The Doctor is not entirely sure who Punshon is but he’s certain he finds out in the future, or perhaps the past. Coming from any other Doctor this would unbelievably cheeky – pointing out that not everything has been explained but don’t worry you’ll find out by the end of the box set – but McCoy’s master manipulator has probably already listened to it.

Oh Wicked: I laughed my head off when Ace showed up and Gilmore exclaimed that things were about to get a whole lot worse. You said it mate. I suppose it couldn’t be an anniversary release without Ace showing up. Much as I am completely bored with the character by now – her Wikipedia page lists 129 stories featuring the character across different media and I’m sure some of them are missing – she has been a staple of Big Finish for 20 years now and that deserves recognition.

Countermeasures: There’s a glorious Archer feel about the Countermeasures team, a professional spy organisation steeped in 60s clichés. There’s none of the explosive wit of Archer but that feeling of James Bond is there, cases coming from the most unusual of places and having to perform all manner of subterfuge to solve them. It’s headed up by Gilmore, Jensen and Williams, played by Simon Williams, Pamela Salem and Karen Gledhill respectively and they are exactly the sort of solid British actors who fronted these kinds of shows in the 60s. It’s an authentic, lovingly created recreation of the 60s Britain spy genre. Gilmore believes that without stronger evidence it isn’t really a case that belongs with Countermeasures. It’s not often that Rachel gets to bag out the destruction and she finds it a little bit exciting. Only Rachel truly gets her head around the temporal madness of this story; if they die in the past, they die in the present. Alison suggests they have had a bit more experience since Ace last visited and that they can look after themselves these days.

Standout Performance: You could highlight any of the performers here but Pamela Salem takes the crown for my money. And that’s just because she’s Pamela Salem and she has gloriously rich voice for audio.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Elementary temporal theory. Time doesn’t stop existing because its passed. The events of that time are happening now. Just then.’

Great Ideas: A number of high-level institutes have been raised and ransacked in the last six months and no one has been able to figure out how. They have the best security that money can be but it has been proven worthless. Bob Kazon is a new thug in town with no past. There’s no trace of him beyond the past few months. He wears the cloak of the legitimate businessman but in reality he is brutal gangster. There’s’ two occurrences of temporal distortion afoot; one on the 60s where the Doctor sent Ace and one in the 70s that he is investigating. The temporal anomaly is drawing the two years towards each other, crunching time down towards a singularity. When the two ends of the time distortion meet they will act like a black hole, only in time. The Doctor won’t know the precise ramifications of what happened ten years ago until they have finished happening. The anomaly has manifested in human form suggesting it is somebody injured in a time travel experiment.

Musical Cues: I love the music from the Countermeasures series, all 60s piss and vinegar. Sometimes it feels like you are immersed in an Avengers story.

Standout Scene: ‘Retiring in their seventies but working in their 80s, that sort of thing…’

Result: ’In space/time terms, the 60s are being dragged towards the 70s!’ Devilishly clever and complex, The Split Infinitive manages to be both a fresh Doctor Who story and an effective Countermeasures one. I don’t pretend to know too much about the spy series (Big Finish’s output is so prolific that some spin offs have had to fall by the wayside) only that it features three gorgeous, recognisable characters and that it recalls the 60s in all the best ways. If the material is anything like this I may be trying out the four series in the future. My only experience of Countermeasures is their original outing on television and the audio The Assassination Games but I certainly saw enough potential in those two to suggest that the spin off has buckets of potential. This is the fourth story in Dorney’s Rocket Man narrative and they continue to deliver the goods, this time turning up when you least expect them. I love how this tale begins by apparently celebrating one element of Big Finish’s back catalogue and ends up glorifying in quite another. Two for the price of one and with any luck it will encourage those listeners who haven’t heard the riches of these two distinct elements will be hungry for more. That was probably the idea. But this isn’t just a marketing exercise with John Dorney at the helm. Very unusually for the seventh Doctor he explains everything as they go along…which is a blessed relief because this is an extremely complicated story. Ace gets to be young and bolshie and guide the action in the sixties with Gilmore making sound military choices, Rachel grasping the temporal mechanics and Alison there to remind our regulars just how far Countermeasures have come. Smartly plotted, with lots going on. Keep your wits about you and you’ll get a lot from this: 8/10

The Legacy of Time: Lies in Ruins written by James Goss and directed by Ken Bentley

What’s it About: Time is collapsing. Incidents of chaos and devastation are appearing throughout the lives of one Time Lord and his many friends – all fallout from one terrible disaster. From Earth’s past and present to timeless alien worlds, from the cloisters of Gallifrey into the Vortex itself... The Doctor must save universal history – and he needs all the help he can get. On a strange ruined world, a renowned archaeologist opens an ancient tomb. Only to find another archaeologist got there first. Professors Summerfield and Song unite to solve a mystery. Then the Eighth Doctor arrives, and things really become dangerous. Because their best friend isn’t quite the man River and Benny remember…

Physician, Heal Thyself: Bernice might be the Doctor’s best friend but River is his wife. Since Bernice was around when the Doctor turned human and enjoyed his time with Joan Redfern she must be think he is a bit of a player by now. He’s travelling with a woman called Ria, who is awfully posh and approachable and as such he has three women to try and appease in this story. He doesn’t recognise either Bernice or River, which clearly trips up both of them. What on Earth could have happened for the Doctor to have to have dropped his smile? He’s no good at War because he doesn’t like pointless things. For once he has obeyed the cardinal rule of his people by staying on the fringes of the Time War and not getting involved (those of us that have been following the Time War series will know that that is his intention but it’s not the way it always works out). The Doctor never dreamt that the Time Lords could lose the War but the implication that Gallifrey has been destroyed forces him to face that possibility for the first time and it haunts him. Haunted by the ghosts of Time Lords, he screams ‘I should have done more!’ Listening to him weep and cry out, lost and afraid, is unlike anything we have ever heard before. The Doctor stood by whilst the War raged on and look what happened. War is the most boring game of all and he refused to play. He never thought it would come to this and accepts that he was wrong. River suggests that a War Doctor is a brave new Doctor that she will come to get used to. Maybe he has been standing on the sidelines of the Time War for too long. Perhaps it is time he interfered. Always do what you do best.

Archaeological Adventuress: ‘It started out fun, and then it all got so sad…’ Bernice and River meeting is something that has been suggested for a long because on paper they have essentially the same character spec, but in realisation (mostly down to the actors and their initial creators) they are quite different characters. Russell T Davies started something in School Reunion when he had Rose and Sarah have a cat fight over the Doctor because that’s precisely what happens here. Personally, I would have preferred for the two of them to have found a more mature stance to their meeting but it’s written so well (some of the insults are top notch) that I cannot really complain. And it’s not long before they are working together. If River had bothered to come to more of Benny’s lectures then she might be more experienced. Bernice made such an impact in the wilderness and is probably the companion that has had the most life outside of their original run with the Doctor (Sarah Jane excepted) and River has easily had the most impact on the New Series, and is now spreading her wings across all of the classic Doctors. Bringing them together is a momentous event. Having a Bernice Summerfield story set during the Time War gets my fanboy senses tingling in all the right ways. She only popped in on Gallifrey for mini breaks. Bernice says the Doctor always listens to her in the end because that is why he keeps his companions around. She will tell him he is being an idiot at any time, no fee. River tells Bernice that one day all of this comes good.

Hello Sweetie: ‘Selective amnesia was our boxes of chocolates and bunch of roses…’ They both think they are the best archaeologist in the universe. That’s a problem. That’s why River selected Bernice to be her tutor and that reason is the Doctor. River has a sonic trowel (this gag is getting out of hand) and Bernice raises an eyebrow at that but as long as it gets the job done. She loves all the Doctors in their different ways. Bernice wants to turn her ears off when river alludes to herself and the Doctor making love. River has an entire building fall on her head and her hair is still immaculate. She’s an expert in hiding what she thinks. River knows that in the long distant future for the Doctor that it all becomes right with Gallifrey and the Time War but she also knows that she can’t tell him that. As the Doctor rebuilds his world River claims she has never seen him look so powerful before. To try and snap him out of his near murderous lunacy, Rivers canes the Doctor right around the face.

Standout Performance: Paul McGann. Let’s never underestimate what an incredible actor this man is and Life in Ruins brings the full force of his skills to fore. The rawness in his voice at times is the most emotional we have heard the Doctor on audio. In many ways I’m hoping it doesn’t get more unstripped than this. I couldn’t handle it.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Isn’t that massively complicated?’ asks Bernice of River’s timeline with the Doctor. ‘Yes,’ River sighs.
‘Where did you get married?’ ‘On top of a pyramid during an apocalypse’ ‘Right. Right, course you did.’
‘This is my planet!’
‘I’m rebuilding Gallifrey, stone by stone. The whole planet. The Capitol. Home of the wisest, most boring race the universe has ever known. And isn’t it magnificent?’
‘Run and hide children because the Doctor’s coming.’
‘The universe must be in big trouble if it’s doing this to the Doctor.’

Great Ideas: One of the constant joys of hanging around with Professors Benny and River is that the series’ internal continuity can be referenced a lot within their adventures and the Slithergee (Flip Flop) and the Chelonians (The Highest Science) get a nod in the very first scene. Imagine standing on the ruins of Gallifrey being haunted by the souls of all the Time Lords trapped in the Matrix. The Time Lords built a great computer to map the universe and the ghosts are echoes of it. The use the Matrix to predict things. Int eh wrong hands that technology, that knowledge could be very dangerous. The Matrix has gone mad and its spectres are reaching out to punish. The Times Lords wanted to be left alone and so they built the biggest fences around their planet. When they said keep out, they meant it. The Doctor turns the ruins of Gallifrey into a world at his command, to reach out into the universe and right wrongs. That’s not my Doctor.

Audio Landscape: A very familiar horn sounds out and I got the tingles again.

Isn’t it Odd: There’s something clearly very off about Ria from the start, bouncing around ruins like an excitable child. The Doctor built the perfect android companion, the weirdo. When the Doctor yields power and threatens to destroy other worlds and civilisations Bernice suggests that this just isn’t him. I hope she is talking about this incarnation because that is exactly like the Doctor she travelled with.

Standout Scene: The moment that Bernice says what both River and the Doctor are thinking that the ruins of the planet are might be one of the most spine-tingling scenes in any Big Finish story. The implications are enormous.

Result: ‘Who are you to stop me?’ The eighth Doctor, Bernice and River on a mysterious alien world in ruins…what could possibly go wrong? The Legacy of Time kicks off with an outstanding opening story courtesy of one of the best writers on Big Finish’s staff and exemplifies precisely what this company produces at it’s best; escapism, mystery, drama, and a life for characters established elsewhere that can be explored in more depth. Here you have a Doctor who was given a one-shot wonder in the TV Movie, a companion who was created in novels during the wilderness years and another female protagonist who was given prime attention during the TV series revival all coming together to show off new shades of their characters. No matter how hard they might try, I can’t imagine the TV series torturing the Doctor more than this Big Finish adventure does. It’s an astonishingly dark take on the character, especially shocking since it is the cuddly eighth Doctor who is the focus. Forced to face the reality and finality of the Time War, it is the Doctor’s first true realisation that his planet is doomed and his people are destined to be lost. McGann gives one of his most memorable performances (I won’t say best because there are simply too many to choose from); desperate, depressed, angry and terrified. It’s a version of the Doctor I never thought I would see. I haven’t even mentioned the meeting of Bernice and River, which is as spectacular as you might imagine. If there were ever two companions that deserved to be present when the Doctor is stunned by this portent of the future that will consume his life, it’s Professors Summerfield and Song. Even if things don’t quite turn out to be as they appear, this is still a watershed moment for the series mythos. Lies in Ruins has the weight of the Time War and over a decade of TV storytelling behind it and uses that to create something powerful, complex and emotional. It’s going to take something truly special to top this in the rest of The Legacy of Time: 10/10

Island of the Fendahl written by Alan Barnes and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about: The Fendahl is the death of evolution, the horror that lies in wait at the far end of the food chain. The Fendahl is death itself. And the Fendahl is dead. The Doctor destroyed it many years ago, in another incarnation, when he encountered it in a place called Fetchborough. But if the Fendahl is dead… how can it live again, on the remote island of Fandor?

Breathless Romantic: In a moment when bad things are happening and Lucie is being facetious, the Doctor has to remind her that things are actually very serious. The Doctor shouting shut up at seagulls resonates with me because that is basically my entire life where I live. At one point the Doctor cries ‘Oh no, hippies!’ which seems a very odd for him to say given that he is the most famous space hippy in the universe.

Lucie Bleedin’ Miller: It’s amusing that Lucie presumes that Dieter is speaking in English because the TARDUS translation circuits are working when in fact he is just a foreigner who is very polite. She doesn’t want the police asking questions about the Doctor or the TARDIS because…well what on Earth would she say? What is it about poor Doctor Who companions that when they are left alone they always wind up falling over a terrible danger? Jo leaves the TARDIS in Planet of the Daleks and is attacked by invisible nasties and gets an infection, Sarah leaves the TARDIS in Death to the Daleks and is attacked by grunting savages, discovers an evil alien city and is almost sacrificed and Lucie leaves the TARDIS in Island of Fendhal and she immediately meets somebody who chloroforms her to ‘save’ her. My advice…stick with the Doctor. Saying ‘stuff your tradition’ to the locals might not be the best way of getting them on side. Why the hell would should be carrying salt on her? Only Lucie Miller could walk in the middle of cult of flame wielding cultists and start mouthing off. Like Donna, the mouthier she is, the funnier. She uses the Doctor’s cravat to staunch his bleeding because she always hated it. In an especially memorable moment, the Fendahl controlled Doctor orders Lucie to blow his head off with a shotgun. There’s an echo of Lucie’s death in this, the Fendahl sniffing out that she is already marked. This showcases Lucie far more effectively than the opener, giving her the same kind of autonomy but in a far more dramatic situation (and with much better dialogue).

Standout Performance: Unfortunately, I have been a Doctor Who fan for far too long and so I am attuned to people altering their performances to suggest that they are on the bad guys side. That’s exactly what happens with Carlyss Peer who joins the story in a very regular, authoritative way (she is a detective after all) but not long before the climax she begins delivering her dialogue in a slightly bored, slightly knowing way that suggest she is on the turn. I’m glad it didn’t take the Doctor any time at all to realise. Both Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith respond brilliantly to this script and are totally committed. McGann as the Fendahl is especially chilling.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘There’s only one Fendhal, it’s the end of evolution, the horror that ends in wait at the far end of the food chain.’
‘The Fendahl is Death. But Death cannot die.’
‘Imagine. Something so black that the Daleks called it darkness.’

Great Ideas: The opening is a re-run of Planet of the Daleks with the Doctor falling into a coma and Lucie having to cope on her on in the TARDIS in a crisis. Fandor Island is more like 1807 than 2007 (that’s a clever reference to when Lucie featured in the series, showing how the series features contemporary Earth stories at the time they are being made). The Doctor destroyed the skull of the Fendhal in Fetchborough and through that their influence over humanity. A coven of witches, 12 disciples of the Fendahl with the power of the gestalt. Power enough to conjure up a spectral Fendhaleen – a giant soul sucking caterpillar. I might have known that Mx Steal from Image of the Fe Fendahl would have had a hand in this. Even in death his legacy of ultimate control using the power of the Fendahl lives on. The black hole that featured in The Dalek Trap is where the Doctor dumped the skull from the original Fendahl story. It made the Doctor forget and all that time it remained inside the black hole clinging to its final foothold to the universe until the Daleks fell inside the black hole and it took possession of them. The Daleks called it the darkness. A vast cosmic pentagram linked by a trial of artron energy. That’s why the TARDIS refused to obey the Doctor’s instructions because he would have completed the circuit and the Fendahl could have travelled between all the worlds in between at the speed of thought.

Audio Landscape: Those sucky Fendhaleen noises still make my skin crawl. In fact, there is a whole canvas of excellent sound effects for the Big Finish team to borrow from the original story.

Isn’t it Odd: This is probably the best example of a Big Finish story with a terrific idea at its heart, great build up and then wham, it just ends. I appreciated the little coda that suggests more trouble to come but my ultimate feeling was ‘is that it?’

Standout Scene: There’s a great moment when the dialogue and pace drop away and the Doctor is alone on the island with church bells ringing and finally some suspense is allowed to creep into the story. It needs much, much more of that sort of thing. And I knew that there was more to that choice in The Dalek Trap that Lucie had to make! Everybody dies or nobody dies…Lucie made the call for everybody to live and in doing it freed the Daleks, and the Fendahl. Nice job, Lucie Miller.

Result: Doctor Who does the Wicker Man with Fendahl influences. That’s what you’re getting here and with a few laughs and moments of suspense it is certainly worth your time. It’s packed full of very interesting ideas and imagery. Unfortunately, it’s far too strong a concept to waste on an hour-long bit of fluff. This is one of those tales that deserves to be a main range adventure (which is bizarre because Barnes’ recent Alien Werewolf in London would have been much better suited to the one hour format) because you could easily sculpt a more complex, substantial four part story out of the setting, characters and concept in play here. So much atmosphere is lost because Barnes has to get to the point so quickly. The result is a story that is enjoyable to listen to but you’re not going to remember it next week beyond the fact that it is another sequel. That sums up this set rather well, actually. Agreeable, but undistinguished. What I’m saying is that with this box set you are getting exactly what it says on the tin; four fun but completely unnecessary extra Lucie Miller tales with Eddie Robson’s story unsurprisingly standing out the most (because although at the time Lucie Miller was a full time companion he was actually on par with Barnes and Briggs but nowadays the gulf between what they produce is far more pronounced), a smart script from a new female writer, a better than average Barnes and a typically unmemorable Briggs. It’s terrifically produced, directed and acted and on those terms alone it is worth picking up. But this is fluffiest fluff, digest and forget. Would I like to see more of Lucie Miller? Definitely. Would I like it to be set with a stronger over-arching story playing out across all the stories? For sure. There’s a link between the first a last stories here but it is merely a way of getting from A to B rather than anything more substantial: 7/10

The House on the Edge of Chaos written by Eddie Robson and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about: The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Lucie to a vast house on the planet known as Horton’s Orb. The only house on Horton’s Orb, in fact. Outside its outsized windows there’s nothing. No land. No sea. No sky. No life. Just an endless expanse of static. Inside the house, there’s an upstairs and a downstairs – servants below, gentlefolk from the finest of the house’s families above. Alas, there are altogether too few eligible ladies on the upper floors these days. Meaning there’s a vacancy for Miss Lucie Miller, single and unattached… Outside the house, the static howls on. Except now, the static wants to get in.

Breathless Romantic: He’s been travelling the universe for ages now and he has never been stuck anywhere for too long. Certainly not longer than a few hundred years. I can hear all the book fans of Doctor Who sighing with relief. It’s nice to have them referenced again. Lurking in a young lady’s – what will people say? The Doctor is vicious with the TARDIS at the climax when the Ship tries to wrestle control from him. I don't think I have ever heard him sound so at odds with the TARDIS, it's a bizarre tonal shift.

Lucie Bleedin’ Miller: A more subdued, investigative side to Lucie with a difficult mystery to unravel, Eddie Robson always did know how to bring the best out in this character. Once she is trussed up in finery Lucie cannot get used to everybody telling her how beautiful she is. Of all the Doctor Who companions Lucie wasn’t really one to have her head turned by good looking men and so to have that sort of attention from women is a complete surprise to her. I liked her reaction to her class difference to those in the house, surprised at the luxury they live in but not patronised or patronising about it. She knows what terraforming is and snaps at the Doctor when he seems to suggest she might not.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘What do we do?’ ‘Maintain order!’ I guess that would be the British way in space.

Great Ideas: That’s one of the best blurbs to any Big Finish release I have ever read. What an enticing prospect, a two up, two down in a void of static going about its daily chores. Eddie Robson always did have a good eye for a fun and freaky premise and this one is easily imagined, full of mystery and built in suspense. Imagine an episode of Downton Abbey where they pull back to reveal that the house that all this hustle and bustle has been taking place in is trapped in a featureless void. Endless static that drowns sensors and drives people mad. 300 live above stairs and 8000 below. Class divides still occur, all this way-out space. A creature that hunts blind in the static. Grace and Mr Horton were the first settlers on this planet with an idea to terraform it and make it habitable for everyone who followed. Nothing went wrong at first and so they sent message that the planet was suitable for colonisation but then the planet reacted to their presence and became hostile. By the time the second wave of colonists arrived the house was swamped with static. The terraformer is still running here, responding to Horton’s needs. It is producing the static because it is covering the awful truth and a manifestation of his guilt. It’s guarding his secret and maintaining his world of order. He killed the first Mrs Horton because their ideas of a perfect world were different. The conflict infected the landscape and ultimately killed Grace.

Isn’t it Odd: The Doctor delivers the truth about the house remorselessly and with much conviction. Perhaps it is because he is so appalled at Horton’s actions that he cannot find it in himself to sympathise with the situation that has been created but having him deliver the news so snappily robs the scene of any emotional worth. It’s more a summation of a plot than a revelation. With so much coming out this month, The Legacy of Time included, it feels like this box set, which deserves some celebration, will be brushed aside in favour of bigger and better things. And that's a shame.

Standout Scene: The twist that the entire house is made out of Horton is a grisly one that is well explained by the Doctor and gets more disturbing the more you think about it.

Result: A colony ship which is acting like a Victorian mansion? Eddie Robson throws you straight into this story without any warning or help, expecting you to keep up with the situation that is playing out and offering explanations later. He’s not interested in waving a flag for the eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller but instead thrusts them straight into danger and celebrates them by showing them at their reactive best. Sapphire and Steel seems to have the monopoly on bizarre juxtapositions like this story but with a premise like this (‘Hierarchical house inside, deadly static outside’) you cannot help but make comparisons. Listening to the usual classist dialogue in a science fiction setting meant I was constantly being pulled in two directions which had a pleasing, disorienting effect. Mind you skipping between a wedding proposal and a static monster is exactly the sort of hybrid of domesticity and the monstrous that Russell T Davies promoted so I shouldn’t be too surprised. My one complaint is that this is told at such a pace that it feels as though it needs more time to explore its characters and ideas in more depth. Robson has to introduce his ideas, explore his characters, throw in some twists and tidy everything up at the end all in the space of 50 minutes. If anything the story is too tight and could have done with some breathing space. If the downside is that this story is too short then that suggests that what we have is really rather fine: 8/10

The Revolution Game written by Alice Cavender and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about: It’s Lucie’s birthday, and her birthday treat awaits. But whatever she’s expecting, it’s not what she’s getting on the colony world of Castus Sigma in the year 3025: ringside seats for the interplanetary Retro Roller Derby – sponsored by Heliacorp, “turning sunlight into gold”! It’s more than just a game, though. For the competitors, it’s a matter of life or death – a New Life with Heliacorp, or a living death on Castus Sigma. Or, on this fateful day, a very actual death. Because there are strange creatures living out on the plain, beyond the colony. Creatures with every reason to want to sabotage the games. Creatures with a grudge.

Breathless Romantic: If The Dalek Trap was a showcase for Lucie’s independence, The Revolution Game gives the very sweet and enjoyable eighth Doctor pre-Time War to take the spotlight. God bless the Doctor, he figures a game of TARDIS roulette (basically letting the ship decide with no input from him) is enough of a treat for Lucie for her birthday. Given the sort of hair-raising adventures the Ship usually throws them into that is hardly my idea of being spoilt. As usual the Doctor is being mistaken for a representative of a rival corporation. The Doctor spells out the downfall of this corporation and then makes it happen. Wonderfully he does this by causing an act of untold destruction and setting a race of enslaved children free. What a guy.

Lucie Bleedin’ Miller: ‘If I don’t make this I am so gonna haunt you Doctor!’ She’s been counting down the days since she joined the Doctor and they are way past her birthday and the Doctor owes him at least one day worth of being spoilt rotten. Her mum was once Queen of roller discoing. Once, Susie Dugdale challenger her to race a milk float down Waterloo Road and she ended up copping a broken wrist. I love how they never shy away from Lucie’s working-class background – in fact they revel in it. We’ve clearly reached a point in time where the companion can say the word coccyx…there’s progress for you. Just call her Blackpool Rock because she’s that hard that she’ll break your teeth. Not wanting to talk about it is blokes the universe over. Lucie has that similar quality to Rose in that she is so down to earth that she can pretty much strike up a conversation (and therefore a friendship) with anybody from humanoid to alien, and she does both here. Bionic Lucie or Glaswegian Kiss? On her birthday treat somehow she ends up competing whilst the Doctor winds up nibbling on canapes and drinking champagne. Go figure. She screams ‘come on Blackpool!’ when she participates. She realises that in the grand scheme of things nobody thinks she is important…but also that that gives her a chance to make difference on her travels.

Standout Performance: Jonathan Keeble sounds remarkably like Gareth Thomas. It might be a little too early for Big Finish to be thinking about recasting for their Blakes’ 7 range but he would certainly be my contender if they ever decide to do so.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘It must be strange to be so squishy.’

Great Ideas: Doctor Who has a record of taking normal animal life, flora and fauna and giving it an aggressive science fiction spin. I don’t know what Hyenoids look like but they sure as hell sound pretty nasty. Desiccation tolerance is the biological ability to create a glass shell to protect yourself. When the humans came to Castus Sigma the Jengu waited for them to finish building their colony hoping that they would hibernate but that moment never came. Each time the humans make a new solar cell panel they take the life of a Jengu. Consumerism causing mass murder of young, there’s a terrifying environmental message for you.

Isn’t it Odd: Applying the wrong theme eighth Doctor tune to this box set (they’ve used the Charley Pollard one as opposed to the jauntier upbeat version that accompanied Lucie’s adventures in the past) is the sort of attention to detail that Big Finish doesn’t usually get wrong. Why is Lucie no longer making diary entries? What was the point of that?

Standout Scene: I love the idea of an alien race that is forced to take action because humans have colonised their world and stolen their rain, despite the fact that they love our culture. They are fans of human music and films and entertainment. That’s novel. I like how the story misleads the audience into thinking that it is leading up to a terror attack on the dam but ultimately the aliens want to protest peacefully. How the one person we thought we could trust turns out to be the villain of the piece is quite elegantly done. Perhaps villain is to strong a word. Misguided, perhaps.

Result: ‘They’re just insects, Doctor…’ This is immediately more interesting and engaging than The Dalek Game, with a less congratulatory feel and more striking characters. Rather than the vacuous narrative of Briggs’ opener, The Revolution Game is packed full of incident. It’s a bizarre premise, the outer space roller skating championship, but one that plays into Lucie’s background and has the feel of the high energy stories like Max Warp and Grand Theft Cosmos, which were some of the highlights of Lucie’s original run. Castus Sigma might sound like the sort of unseemly alien world that Doctor Who conjures up for a one-story wonder but it is strikingly realised thanks to some terrific world building, smart direction and the fact that all the actors are taking this story seriously. The aliens are very well done too. What I really like about this story is how the Doctor and Lucie turn up somewhere quite innocuously and immediately sniff out an injustice and put things to right. I wouldn’t want them to be the intergalactic do-gooders of universe on a weekly basis but it’s lovely every now and again to have a story where, without breaking a sweat, they are a massive force for good and leave a positive impression on a world for all the right reasons. This is not the most refined of Doctor Who audios but it flits confidently between its entertaining premise, exotic aliens and environmental message. It was enjoyable to listen to with the Doctor and Lucie providing extra sparkle. Well structured, this is an ideal use of Doctor Who in a 60-minute slot. I would have started the set with this story because it re-introduces the regulars with a lot more skill: 7/10

The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller Vol.1: The Dalek Trap written and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about: "It’s a funny thing, livin’ a ‘life or death’ life. Fightin’ monsters. Seein’ alien planets and spaceships and stuff. Thinkin’ about it… it’s sort of addictive." It’s been several months since Lucie Miller, Blackpool’s mouthiest, landed up travelling through time and space in the company of the Doctor, the last living person to believe that frock coats are acceptable apparel. They’ve met Daleks on Red Rocket Rising, Cybermen on the planet Lonsis and alien monsters eating glam rockers at a service station just off the M62. But their greatest adventures are yet to come…  The thing about black holes is, they’re big and they’re black and they’re deadly, and you’d have to be mad to go anywhere near them. Because anything that falls inside a black hole ends up crushed in the singularity.  Unfortunately, the Doctor just went mad, or so it seems, and flew his TARDIS beyond a black hole’s event horizon, causing him and his companion Lucie Miller to end up marooned on a planetoid just inside the event horizon. Along with a Dalek saucer… and something else. Because this is no ordinary black hole… This is the Cradle of the Darkness.

Breathless Romantic: A cute, trouble free eighth Doctor free from the shackles of the Time War. Perhaps that is the ultimate refreshment with this incarnation given that so much of his material these days is tied to that appearance in Night of the Doctor (how a ten-minute vignette can have such an impact on the eighth Doctor’s run is quite astonishing). He’s that bouncy, witter Tiggerish eighth Doctor of old, knocking about the universe for the sheer fun of it. How lovely. He hoots with joy at the idea of running through the snot of a monster that might be mistaken for rain. Laughing, singing, id’ almost forgotten that he was capable of those things. When the Doctor hits Lucie you know something must be wrong.

Lucie Bleedin’ Miller: Lucie is at the beginning of something that she feels is worth recording, the beginning of something special in her life. She explains how she was kidnapped by the Time Lords and dropped him with the Doctor, who is dead good fun and is taking her on outrageous adventures. It’s an opening that suggests the magic of the Doctor Who formula through the eyes of a regular human lass. Sheridan Smith is immediately likable, just as she always was. She suggests that she could have gone home at the end of Human Resources but instead thought stuff that for a game of monkeys. There’s a sweet moment when Lucie celebrates her time with the Doctor which is about a million times less annoying than the great emotional love-in at the start of new Earth (the Doctor and Rose literally on a date getting off on their own wonderfulness) because whilst it is commemorative (which you cannot blame this box set for, it is rather what it is about) it is a fairly brief pat on the back before snapping back to the adventuring. She knows the Daleks are bad news…oh Lucie if only you knew. Her life with the Doctor, it seems to count for so much.

Standout Performance: Smith; brilliant, brave, enthusiastic, relatable. Despite some dialogue that threatens to trip her up.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘You’re gonna be the death of me…’ might be really obvious line, but it does pack a punch.
‘Lucie bleedin’ Miller, you will identify this device!’ I think this entire story might have been created just to justify that line.

Great Ideas: The bioship Stenguard is currently located on a planetoid, which is held midway between the event horizon of a black hole and its centre. Objects caught in a black hole can be crushed by the singularly or propelled into another universe. They are in the cradle of the darkness.

Audio Landscape: There’s a hysterical opening where the Daleks are crushed by a singularity that is brilliantly staged, despite the histrionic technobabble delivered by Nicholas Briggs.

Isn’t it Odd: In a story that is already short on time, was it really a good idea to feature a montage of snippets of adventures with the Doctor and Lucie? I get what it is trying to achieve, but it leaves the main story with even less time than usual to develop. Briggs was clearly so caught up in the idea of Lucie’s return that he just wanted stress the fun to be had with the character. And who can blame him? I really like the idea of Lucie’s audio diary of her adventures, but it does feel very Bernice Summerfield and it is a shame that it never featured in her actual run. However, as a way of getting to Lucie’s thoughts and feelings in an economic way, it is a brilliant device. The first half of the story is practically empty of plot and explanation so the latter half offers up great gulps of exposition. Lucie admits at one point that she is talking self-indulgent, self-pitying rubbish, which could be Briggs trying to hang a lantern on his troublesome dialogue but I genuinely think we are supposed to feel something when Lucie confesses how important her life is with the Doctor to her diary. It seems odd that in order to give Lucie a bigger bite of the apple that the Doctor has to be removed completely. The inference seems to be that the two cannot work in tangent with each other with hr just given the focus.

Standout Scene: There is a huge, complex, moral question at the heart of The Dalek Trap that Briggs completely fails to capitalise on except for a glib choice in the final five minutes. Either everybody survives the black hole, or nobody does. That means Lucie has to decide whether to save the people who are trapped and the Daleks and release them back into the universe or to abandon them all after having gotten to know them. There’s huge potential there. I would have gotten to that point quite soon and given a great deal of time to Lucie having to make a adult and difficult choice. Instead the story is far more interesting in waving a flag and saying ‘Lucie’s back!’ Lucie takes a deep breath and decides that nobody dies. Which would have been a great conclusion for a more substantial story to reach.

Result: ‘It is the Doctor! Our saviour!’ Someone has been reading my wish list. Right near the top of my list of wants would be a celebration of Sheridan Smith’s tenure with Big Finish. Lucie Miller was a massively agreeable character, still one of best original companions that Big Finish created and played with real gusto and verve by Smith. A set that dips back into her time with the eighth and a number of standalone stories from that time strikes me as one of the most refreshing things they could do with the eighth Doctor right now. Nicholas Briggs writing a Dalek adventure is not exactly a novel idea. Actually, he has terrific form in doing so from the dramatic heights of Patient Zero, The Mutant Phase and To the Death to the stunning four series Dalek Empire series. His few misfires (The Conquest of Far, Energy of the Daleks) are unfortunate but harmless enough fun and have come from simply being too prolific in the area of Dalek drama and running short on ideas but even those are entertaining in an extremely macho, meat and potatoes kind of way. A bit like Terry Nation on autopilot. Briggs is somebody whose scribblings have fallen out of favour in the past five years because his name dominates Big Finish’s schedules (in the form of acting, directing writing and producing) but it is worth remembering that at its best his output is dramatic and operatic and at worst entertaining enough to pass muster. How does he fare bringing back Lucie Miller years after her unforgettable exit from the audio range? The Doctor Trap is enjoyable, inoffensive stuff. It has a fun premise (the Daleks in trouble and trying to ensnare the Doctor to get them out of it) and waves it at the listener without ever threatening to challenge them with it or examine it in any detail. It’s a most unusual way to conduct a plot, by seemingly forgetting to add one. There’s some hints that this is tied into a greater story but I don’t listen to an hour long story hoping for hints to a narrative that’s more interesting than this. Briggs’ dialogue is as functional as ever (‘it’s bat poo crazy, all of it!’), where I would probably have kicked off the set with script that sparkled. Sheridan Smith is as addictive as ever. That’s the reason to dive straight into The Dalek Trap. With the Doctor acting peculiarly it is down to Lucie to take control of this adventure and that is when it shines. It’s certainly not for the Daleks, who barely feature and squawk and scream when they do but offer nothing new. This is as functional as any of Briggs’ 4DA stories but with added Lucie and that gives it a touch class: 5/10

Memories of a Tyrant written by Roland Moore and directed by John Ainsworth

What’s it about: What if you’d committed a truly dreadful crime but couldn’t remember? The Doctor takes Peri to the Memory Farm – a state of the art space station where hidden memories can be harvested and analysed. To their surprise, they find the station in lock-down and all its resources dedicated to probing the memories of an elderly man. Garius Moro may, or may not, have been responsible for the deaths of billions of people many years ago, but he simply can’t remember. The assembled representatives of two opposing factions, each with their own agenda, anxiously wait for the truth to be unlocked from Moro’s mind. But when a memory does eventually surface, everyone is surprised to learn that it is of Peri...

Softer Six: ‘At least there are no giant maggots…’ For the Doctor there are plenty memories that he would rather not dredge up again, that he would rather not relive. This was supposed to be a nice break from people pointing guns at them but somehow the TARDIS cannot help but deliver them into the path of trigger-happy people who aren’t happy to see them. He’s still got his bite, electrifying the floor when attacked to subdue his assailant. He hopes he doesn’t regenerate soon, he’s grown rather fond of this body. Much like Azmael, Dastari and ‘Tonker’ Travers, the Doctor reacquaints himself with a friend that he has met previously off-screen. How fabulous to hear the Doctor saying: ‘They won’t kill me! I’m a very famous war criminal!’ Much like The Twin Dilemma and Mindwarp, the Doctor is painted in villainous colours and much like the Doctor of this era and the end of Trial it is all subterfuge to hide the fact that he really is quite a hero. Has a Doctor ever been shaded in such villainous shades before? It’s because Baker plays it so well. He’s finally got the technology to spread a pacifist message and to make people believe that it is there own desire. I’m not sure I approve of this kind of brainwashing but as a way out of the climax, it is frightfully clever.

Busty Babe: It has been an astounding amount of time since Nicola Bryant last turned up in a main range story leading to all kinds of speculation as to why that might be. I’m wondering if it is simply because Alan Barnes (former script editor as of this story) simply wasn’t fond of the character and decided to give others a crack at the whip. Whatever the reason it is a great shame because, as proven here, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant have possibly the best chemistry of any Big Finish line up at this moment in time, a friendship that has been forged over 30 years and a chance to play the relationship between the sixth Doctor and Peri the way they had wanted to on television. In a weird quirk of fate the sixth Doctor and Peri have gone through one of the most loathed combinations on television to one of the most sought after combinations on audio. How things come in and out fashion are wonderful like that. Peri is astonished that the Doctor has gotten her to the right place for once, and he thinks she’s pretty cute for suggesting it. There’s so much that Peri cannot remember about her dad as she was only 13 when he died. It’s rather touching when we start rooting about in Peri’s memories and get to listen to her as a child. Audio has truly afforded this character a great deal of development not bestowed on television. She had a few hiccups with the Doctor but she trusts him totally now. Peri might not remember meeting Moro…but what if she meets him in the future? Her parents are called Janine and Paul.

Standout Performance: Joseph Mydell has a challenging part to play, having to convince as both a subdued, potentially innocent man who’s memories are being sifted and a madman who remembers murdering without apology. Colin Baker hasn’t been given the opportunity to act his socks off in such an interesting way since The Curse of Davros.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘You fainted. I think it was all the stress of trying to avoid being eaten by your lunch.’
‘I remember the feeling of fear. People cowering, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed.’
‘Typical lawyer, obsessed with pedantry.’
‘You don’t seem like a dictator.’
‘I’m the only one who knows and I can’t remember.’

Great Ideas: The Doctor has brought Peri to the Memory Farm, one of the foremost research facilities for the retrieval and assimilation of memories. Every moment you have experienced is all in your mind and at the Memory Farm they can exhume even the most buried of memories. It’s an exciting prospect but what if the memories aren’t what you’re hoping for? Sylanoids are half amphibian, half plant. Garius Moro is a man who was responsible for genocide on an interplanetary scale, wiping out billions of people in the blink of an eye and was never caught. Is the evidence against him compelling or circumstantial? Time to start borrowing into his memories to find out. The Memory Farm is currently positioned in a neutral part of the galaxy and the space security forces are on standby. How fascinating to be able to witness a real memory and not your skewered memory of it. We all remember details erroneously. The machine then matches music to how it makes you feel. If you’ve (potentially) killed billions of people then any of their relatives or friends could be on board trying to assassinate you. Finding an unbiased jury against Moro would be problematic. What if there was a way to make false memories flood through the station? The real perpetrator could point the finger at an innocent and have them believe that it is a fact.

Standout Scene: The build up to the reveal at the end of episode two is expertly handled. Who the hell is Moro? When the truth comes to light I had goosebumps.

Result: How is it possible that a genocidal maniac recognises Peri when she has no memory of him? What a refreshing story for the main range; intelligent and dramatic. It’s an exploration of a fascinating science fiction idea (a machine that can dig up memories as they were rather than how you remember them), a psychological study (is Moro a murderer?), a mystery (how does he remember Peri?) and a whodunnit. John Ainsworth is unapologetic in his willingness to slow things down to allow the exploration of all of these aspects of the story, given the actors space to really impress. Tyrant is produced, directed and script edited by Ainsworth so this is his first attempt to put his stamp on the main range and he’s pulled across the impressive Roland Moore, a writer who is unafraid to put character first, for a memorable debut outing. There’s an entire episode where Peri grapples psychologically with a potential mass murderer to try and stir up some of his memories. The question is in a story about repressed memories…can the ones that surface be trusted? It’s a fantastic story for both the Doctor and Peri, appropriate given we haven’t enjoyed this combination for five years. Peri is particularly participatory (try saying that three times fast) and given a juicy dramatic role, proving the Doctor’s innocence when all the evidence points the finger at him. What I really enjoyed was how naturalistically it all plays out. So many Doctor Who audio dramas are pitched at a hysterical level whereas this story plays out as it really would; procedurally, passionately but not melodramatically. With so many false leads, the mystery lasts the two-hour length and it all comes to a head satisfactorily in the final episode which refuses to dish out easy answers. A main range adventure with some substance…who would have thought it? Should somebody be punished if they cannot remember the crime they committed? You decide: 8/10

Jago & Litefoot & Patsy written by Paul Morris & Simon Barnard and directed by Lisa Bowerman

What’s it about: When a monster is discovered on the bank of the Thames, Jago and Litefoot team up with the mudlark Patsy to investigate.

Theatrical Fellow: Jago raises a toast to the Red Tavern, which for all it’s tawdry atmosphere (and as much as Jago tries to pretend otherwise) has turned out to be a successful venue for them to conduct their investigations from. A more than passable HQ when there is a flap on. He calls him and Litefoot a crime fighting partnership akin to Holmes and Watson. He always has had delusions of grandeur. In the theatrical trade where he makes his living the more monikers, the better. A consultant to Her Majesty’s Constabulary! When you give a loud hailer and ask him to threaten criminal minds, he seizes the opportunity to put on a good performance. He’s not an expert in celestial spheroids.

Polite Professor: Given their standing in society you could well imagine Litefoot looking down on a tramp like Patsy but being Litefoot he naturally does nothing of the sort, treating her with the utmost respect and dignity. He hates to ask somebody to speak ill of the dead…but that isn’t going to stop him trying. Litefoot alighted to Jacob’s Island once upon a time and found it rabbit warren of waterways, as alien as other worlds he has visited.

Patsy: ‘What you got under that sheet? A stiff?’ Patsy Potter the Princess of Patter? It’s nice to broaden the range of the series every once and a while and Patsy makes a pleasing contrast to the morally upright Ellie and constabulary presence of Quick. She’s a ghoulish character, as explicitly drawn here as she was in Talons of Weng-Chiang. She trawls along the river like a spook, stealing what she can, eyes and ears open, with contacts amongst the lowest of society. Patsy doesn’t understand why Jago needs so many names when she gets by in life perfectly well with one. She keeps herself in such style mud larking along the Thames. She’s proud of her profession. Patsy is drawn to the macabre and can more than cope with a bit of gore, she actively seeks it out. I’m guessing all sorts washes in on the Thames. Patsy talks longingly about the days when she was pretty and beautiful. When faced with a man with extensive burns to his face she admits she wouldn’t want to wake up next to that in the morning! Just because she is a mudlark that doesn’t mean she hasn’t got standards.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I don’t know why Conan Doyle doesn’t let them nip down the boozer every once and a while!’
‘Not Percy Puddlwhack, purveyor of Puddlewhack pork pies? The princeliest pies and the primest pork, that’s the Puddlewhack promise!’

Great Ideas: ‘The Terror of the Thames’ is perhaps the title they could have gone for had they not wanted to advertise the presence of that glorious old soak Patsy. It sounds like some deliciously lurid old penny dreadful . Or ‘The Thames Titan.’ A piscine pariah of prodigious proportions is terrorising the river dwellers of London. Litefoot does point out that fishermen, men who spend most of their time alone with their imaginations, are hardly the most reliable of reporters. A dead fish holding a pocket watch? My reaction mirrored Litefoot and Quick’s.

Standout Scene: ‘It’s enough to make a pig puke!’ The best moments came when Patsy blundered into a scene with no decorum and Litefoot and Jago (Jago, can you imagine?) had to cover up her faux pas!

Result: The title couldn’t be more accurate as two becomes three for one entertaining instalment. You find these episodes in most procedural or investigative dramas where somebody outside of the professional establishment joins the team for a story and offers a fresh perspective on things. In Jago & Litefoot it was never going to be a regular person from the street but instead goes for the most ghastly and colourful option; the spittle flying mudlark Patsy who featured memorably in Talons. She’s an unforgettable presence, drawn to the nastier side of life, unafraid to say what she is think and holding on tight to her dignity despite her circumstances. Jago & Litefoot never once talk down to her, which I found highly refreshing because it would have been easy to have one or the other resist her assistance. This genuinely plays out like an episode of CSI with much fruitier dialogue and a more elaborate setting, with a thorough and detailed investigation and the backstory of the non-regular playing an important part in the narrative. I’m not sure this is a route the series should go down indefinitely but as an intriguing one-off (and one where the supernatural elements were kept to an absolute minimum until the climax) it was a lot of fun to listen to. This one is practically sold on the chemistry of the actors and Flaminia Cinque brings something lovely and protective out of Benjamin and Baxter and delivers a pleasingly uncouth character in her own right. I could do with a story with a really emotional, considerate script like those from the early days of the series because all three of series eight have been meat and potatoes Jago & Litefoot, rather than anything extraordinary. However, if the main range was as appealing as this when it was in meat and potatoes mode we’d be in wonderful shape. This range is never less than agreeable, and that sums up Jago & Litefoot & Patsy perfectly: 6/10