Purity Undreamed

The Mindless Ones by Paul Magrs: I always look forward to a Paul Magrs script because he writes with such a deft sense of humour and creativity. You know you aren't going to get a Death to the Daleks ripoff with Paul, and he always remembers that audio is a celebration of language and that the dialogue is one of the greatest weapons of this medium. He takes a university setting, which series 10 proved to be a massive win for Doctor Who (mind we had already had a dry run with Evelyn Smythe), and makes it the ideal place for the Doctor, Mel and Hebe to have a stop off. Honestly, the plot is slight and plays second fiddle to everything that this story is setting up for this set but the characters are so much fun to be around that that doesn't matter one jot. Giving the sixth Doctor a set of regulars around him (there are four women at his side throughout this set) and doing surprising things with them is a brilliant coup on the part of Jac Rayner. Mel is smart and bolshie here, Hebe relaxes at last in her homecoming, and newbies Elise and Professor McBride are sweet and icy cold in turn. I particularly loved Imogen Stubbs' turn as the clinical and argumentative Professor, making no attempts to make you like her and yet you feel a certain affinity for her regardless. The Doctor is prepared to give her a chance, especially when she helps to save the day. This is all character and considering that is my in to Doctor Who I was in my element. I listened to this set on the beach with my fella and it was a wonderful day of audio surprises: 8/10

Reverse Engineering by Jonathan Morris: Using Professor McBride as a way of bringing the Doctor into the action was a stroke of genius. It gives the set a sense of coherence. And given the subject matter of this story (to try and create the perfect human) it makes absolute sense of the twist that is to come in the next set. The tale that transpires here is pretty familiar; part base under siege, part mad scientist. It features a lot of frenetic energy and some scary moments but what really stands out is the character work again. I'm really starting to like McBride now, despite the feeling that something is off about her. Hebe and Mel are working together brilliantly and make an enormously likeable pairing. This is the traditional filler in the middle of two glorious character tales and is probably needed for this to feel like Doctor Who rather than a spin off of Dr Who and his fabulous New Gang. Psychotic hominids are scary! Fun, and doing more work to make the last instalment hit: 7/10

Chronomancer by Robert Valentine: Oh boy. There is a scene in this story that I would love to tear out and hold up as exactly what Doctor Who can achieve when it is firing on all cylinders. Professor McBride's true colours are revealed and the Doctor, in an understated moment of riveting drama, tells her why she is exactly what he hates about the universe as a whole. I was sitting under the pier on the beach listening surrounded by people on a warm day and it was like everybody had vanished and only Colin Baker and Imogen Stubbs existed in this sequence of disquiet. When Doctor Who dares to make a point like this, to truly expose the worst of humanity and show its disgust and anger, I am often taken aback. When it is written and acted this well, I'm astonished that this silly show can make this kind of point this well. The rest of this story is enjoyable to listen to but the tale of SF antics really is only there to prop up the scintillating character work that has been laced through this set. Hebe gets an unforgettable moment with McBride too, and the last ten minutes leave you with gasping at how a character can go from being so resourceful to our new antagonist. It's effortlessly done and the cliffhanging ending left me desperate to hear more. What's that? This isn't out until next year, you say? Big Finish! The individual stories in this set play second fiddle. The character work is unbelievably good. On it's own merits, Chronomancer is worthy of a 7. McBride takes this to a: 9/10