Travelling alone, the Fifth Doctor realises that his oldest enemies are somehow tied up with mysterious events in Australia.

Changes had to be made to the Big Finish schedule as a result of lockdown, and this and next month’s releases are very much a case of working with the various restrictions that this brought. Peter Davison is joined by a repertory company of actors for these eight episodes – four in this release, four next month – and for once, it’s quite deliberate that there are the same voices (and faces) in each encounter.

The set begins with James Kettle’s Aimed at the Body, in which the Doctor encounters one of the most infamous figures in English cricket, Douglas Jardine, setting the scene for a discussion of the rights and wrongs of playing to win at any costs. But there’s another problem for the Doctor to solve, as the geography starts to move around – and he can hear some all too familiar voices.

Jonathan Morris’ Lightspeed has the pace of a modern episode, as the Doctor meets some very familiar figures, none of whom seem to recognise him. There’s some great moments in this, even if the central revenge plot seems a bit over the top.

Simon Guerrier’s The Bookshop at the End of the World changes the pace completely. This is the episode which perhaps demonstrates the ensemble nature of these releases best (to be discussed further in the part 2 review), and Guerrier weaves an air of mystery around the situation that just adds to the questions already in the listener’s mind.

This set concludes with Dan Starkey’s Interlude, in a Florence that’s both very familiar to the Doctor and completely alien. There’s some fun had with the amateur players that the Doctor falls in with, and yet more questions posed by the final reveals.

Don’t go into this expecting all the answers – it’s very much part 1 of a two-part tale, told in eight distinct chapters, each with their own mood and character. It has that anthology feel of not knowing quite what sort of story you’re going to get next, with the added bonus of Nick Briggs getting to deliver some quite unusual Dalek lines!

Verdict: A puzzle that draws you in – I’m intrigued to see where it goes next. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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