dw3d02_slipcase_1417sqThe Doctor helps Jo investigate the disappearance of her cousin’s husband…

David Llewellyn’s addition to the Third Doctor mythos is set on Earth in one of the New Towns that sprang up fifty or so years ago. Of course, this being the Third Doctor era, there are links to mysterious elements from the past, and, of course, the titular Hidden Realm with something of a Quatermass feel to some of the revelations. Llewellyn understands the dynamic between the Doctor and Jo, and gives Tim Treloar and Katy Manning interaction that you really feel could have been extracted from an unused script of the period – given the nature of the story, probably a follow-up to The Daemons – and that sounds like Jon Pertwee and Manning from those halcyon days.

One of Llewellyn’s other strengths is in the supporting characters he creates, and we have some fine examples here – some just caught up in events and coping with them in the only way they know how, others who are doing the wrong thing for what deep down they may know is the wrong reason, but which they can justify to themselves.

Nick Briggs gives this story a completely different feel to The Transcendence of Ephros, both in terms of the pacing and the sound design, as well as getting performances from all the actors that bring out when they are affected by a key element of the plot (which I don’t want to spoil) without it feeling unnatural.

Verdict: Another enjoyable step back four decades! 9/10

Paul Simpson