Ann Kelso learns the hard way that the Doctor’s assurances aren’t always quite correct…

Phil Mulryne is in charge of Ann Kelso’s first trip to an alien planet, and quite carefully doesn’t do what you might expect – the WPC is very matter of fact about what’s happening, which given everything that’s happened to her, isn’t that surprising. Even the arrival of a mobile dog, in the form of K-9 Mark II, doesn’t faze her. The relationship between Tom Baker’s Doctor and Jane Slavin’s Ann is continuing to develop at a credible rate – they’re not suddenly best mates travelling around the universe; she’s there for a very specific purpose, and John Leeson’s K-9 fits nicely into that mix.

Jeremy Clyde’s Lord Braye, Fenella Woolgar’s Vanessa and Lizzie Roper’s Trenchard give the story a similar sort of slightly satirical edge that the titular monsters’ first appearance boasted, courtesy of Robert Holmes. Clyde’s Attenborough-esque descriptions in particular raise a smile. Andrew Ryan has something of a thankless task as Titus Wayland – he has a particular dramatic role to fulfil, which he does well, but the character is something of a “red shirt”.

There are differences to how the Drashigs appeared 46 years ago (or 5 years in “real” time) to their presentation here (I won’t spoil the story by going into what or why) but this allows Mulryne to tip his hat to both the Jurassic Park and Alien franchise without it ever feeling like pastiche.

Verdict: A rip roaring adventure. With the emphasis on roaring. 9/10

Paul Simpson