Across time and space, three incarnations of the Doctor find themselves tied up with an old friend’s quest…

And so, 22 years after it began, Big Finish’s stalwart main range finally draws to a close, with a story that deliberately uses a similar shape to the very first story, The Sirens of Time, as well as a few very meta references to mark the occasion. And it is one story – there have been queries as to whether because each episode has a title that it’s not therefore one story, but the tale could have been told in a similar way to Masterful, with the listener jumping from one thread to another in the first three episodes.

Robert Valentine has done a grand job, providing us with three quite different stories for the fifth, sixth and eighth Doctors in the opening episodes, before bringing them together – and providing a well-telegraphed role for the seventh – in the finale. Turlough and his Doctor are embroiled in a quest; Constance and her Doctor – with help from Calypso Jonze – deal with an uprising; while Charley and her (first) Doctor have a vampiric problem in July 1999 (now why does that date ring a bell?). Each encounters Kevin McNally’s rather unusual last of the Death Lords as their old teacher Gostak’s actions have consequences.

There’s more than a hint of the two archetypal classic Doctor Who team-ups about the closing episode, without Valentine ever letting it feel like he’s pastiching Bob Baker and Dave Martin or Terrance Dicks’ work, and the Doctor interaction feels rather mature compared with that of the original three. The companions get plenty to do in the individual episodes (particularly India Fisher’s Charley), although perhaps understandably they take a backseat in the fourth. Director Ken Bentley and sound designer/composer Wilfred Acosta give each episode a very different feel, reflecting the slightly over the top elements of the first two particularly.

While I understand the logic for changing the format as a business decision, I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s subscribed for many, many years who will miss the arrival of a new four-part story each month. With Short Trips also moving to the box set format, it means there’s now no consistency of release in that respect – but Doctor Who has always been about embracing change.

Verdict: A hearty farewell to the monthly adventures from its four core Doctors. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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