The Eighth Doctor investigates vampires in Victorian Edinburgh…

Young Sherlock author Andrew Lane returns to the Doctor Who world for a story set simultaneously with the spin-off series for which he wrote the pilot (Jago & Litefoot) but at the other end of the country. It’s got links to previous vampire stories – a serial that’s been mined quite heavily in the past, notably by its TV author – but Lane throws in a number of left-field moves. There’s a couple of lines that you may initially be surprised got through the script editing process – particularly one that feels done to death (by the same TV writer, oddly enough) – but they’re followed up in a way that isn’t usual.

Dan Starkey narrates the story, and does a very creditable Eighth Doctor, in particular the way that Paul McGann pauses slightly mid-sentence and the tone of his voice lowers at key junctures. It’s not an imitation per se, but it’s very clear who it’s meant to be and contrasts sufficiently with the main narrator. There’s also a rather appropriate choice of tone for a lordly character – very reminiscent of James Mason as Straker in Salem’s Lot.

Verdict: Topped and tailed with a new version of the theme (presumably by David Darlington), this is a fine solo adventure for the Eighth Doctor. 8/10

Paul Simpson