The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan to Ekaterinburg in 1918…

Anyone writing a historical for the First Doctor – particularly for this inaugural TARDIS crew – has to balance the differing viewpoints established by the show during its original broadcast. The Aztecs sees the Doctor maintaining that history can’t be changed; not long after, the Meddling Monk is doing all he can to do so. The rules changed mainly because of behind the scenes differences in personnel, but at the time that Last of the Romanovs is set, it seems the Doctor is set in his ways.

Which presents Jonathan Barnes with a problem that he solves ingeniously, looking ahead to some of the later precepts established – as far forward as the 21st century version of the show – yet still staying true to the first season’s rules. We know that the Doctor and his friends aren’t going to be able to affect the historical outcome – one of the grisliest crimes at the start of the Soviet regime – but there are enough question marks over elements of it that you can just start to wonder. Full marks, also, for keeping this true to the knowledge of writers of the period – DNA results from bodies just over a decade ago confirm what most people believed to be the case regarding the Duchess Anastasia but Barbara Wright only knows what’s established in 1963.

Dan Starkey has played many parts for Big Finish, but this is one of his strongest performances yet, with not an ounce of humour present in his depiction of the Romanovs’ jailer, Yurovsky. Leighton Pugh’s Tsar Nicholas and Thomas Preston are men very much of their time, with the former possessing a dignity and strength to keep his family from too much foreknowledge of their fate. All the main cast are given moments to show their characters’ strengths and weaknesses, with David Bradley’s First Doctor at his best talking with both Yurovsky and the Tsar.

It’s a chaotic period of history, about which I strongly suspect the full truth has yet to be revealed. Jonathan Barnes weaves an intricate tale amongst the established pillars and Ken Bentley’s direction gives it the weight it deserves

Verdict: An excellent demonstration of the strengths of the historical format for Doctor Who. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order The First Doctor Adventures Volume 4 from Big Finish