An accidental collision brings the TARDIS crew in contact with a very dangerous criminal…

Cavan Scott’s tale is currently notable because it marks the first time that Kamelion has appeared as a companion in the Big Finish stories – now voiced by Jon Culshaw, with the actor explaining some of his vocal choices in the extras, which are fascinating in themselves. I say currently, because, as with Janet Fielding’s “one-off” appearance many years ago, things will move on and stories featuring the robot could well become simply another of the many strands of the 5th Doctor’s adventures. Unsurprisingly, given Scott’s track record writing Doctor Who, this doesn’t need the novelty value to make it stand out.

As director Ken Bentley points out, there’s something of a comic book feel to this four-parter, Telling a tale within the constraints of that medium means Scott knows how to communicate information to the listener (and the characters) in a very fast and effective way, and the opening scene on the ship, while not giving us the visuals for the guest aliens, tells us a lot of what we need to know. Kamelion’s presence adds an air of uncertainty, both in terms of how much the other TARDIS crew (particularly Tegan) can trust him, and how much he is being influenced by outside forces. Scott neatly parallels that with the environment on the planet on which most of the story takes place – it’s a planet covered in mists where the visitors are afraid of a creature that can become mist…

Freed from the constraints of the robot’s physicality, Kamelion can take a much larger part in the story, and I’m intrigued to see how the next three stories will use him…

Verdict: A strong introduction for the “newest” TARDIS crewmember. 9/10

Paul Simpson