Marc discovers that life on board the Doctor’s TARDIS can be more than a little eventful…

Big Finish are experimenting with the main range with this latest trilogy – the first release, last month, guest starred Cicero, and was told over two double-length episodes; this month, we get two separate stories from writers new to the Big Finish universe. One of the strengths of the main range has been its use of the four-part / two-disc format which allows the writers to indulge in more worldbuilding, and character development – in fact, overall lets the stories breathe more. I should note that either of these two tales feels rushed – it’s more of a general comment on the differences between aspects of Big Finish’s output.

Interstitial, by Carl Rowens, brings the TARDIS, with new companion, the former Roman slave, Marc to a very familiar type of space station, where, thanks to problems with time, the crew is divided. This gives George Watkins’ Marc a chance to experience so much that’s completely new, and Watkins sells that sense of wonder well. For much of the time, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding are together as Nyssa and Tegan, which makes a pleasant change.

Martyn Waites’ Feast of Fear gives Sutton some very different challenges from normal, as it’s Nyssa’s turn to be possessed (something that was more of Tegan’s trademark on the TV series). There’s a lot packed into these episodes, and director Scott Handcock makes sure that the assorted strands get their own weight.

Handcock has brought together a number of new voices to Big Finish for these stories, which always helps to set a story apart, and I suspect we’ll be hearing quite a bit of them in the future.

Verdict: Two quite different adventures for the Fifth Doctor and friends. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order Interstitial / Feast of Fear from Big Finish