Seriously injured with a weapon dragging him backwards through his regenerations, the War Doctor stumbles out of a field hospital and sets to work finding out who did this to him and how he can stop it. But, as is often the case, the Meddling Monk has other ideas.

Robert Valentine, handed the unenviable (and yet so very enviable) task of kicking off Big Finish’s celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who is deceptively light on its feet. Valentine’s script is basically a Crosby/Hope (or maybe Brian and Stewie ‘Road to’) story, with Baker’s 4th Doctor and Hound’s glorious Monk bouncing off each other like a pair of gloriously disreputable puppies at its core. Throwing superlatives at Tom Baker seems like an exercise in futility; he’s Tom Baker, he’s amazing, but here he really is… well… amazing. Baker finds a version of the Doctor who’s recognisably enjoying wearing his old face and yet also bowed a little by the sadness and weight of the lives he’s lived since he first wore it. He clearly relishes having someone to play with and Hound’s temporally dislocated Bertie Wooster is the perfect foil. He’s not only tremendous fun, he’s also a chance for the Fourth Doctor to be the adult in the room for one. It’s a really fun dynamic and it isn’t the only one.

Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver are fantastic here and it’s interesting to see how they’re both almost the stoic elements of the story. Osgood is so excited, Kate is so desperately needing her weekend in Cromer but they show up and they save the day because that’s what they do and what we hope we’d do in that situation. Their interactions with Baker are a joy and their interactions with Sadie Miller’s Sarah Jane Smith doubly so.

Miller has the most thankless task I can imagine; following Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith at a very specific time in her life. Along with the typically brilliant direction from Helen Goldwyn and Valentine’s script, she forms a trifecta of benevolent conspiracy that finds something which is clearly Sarah Jane but not, at a time we’ve seen before. The emotional weight, for Miller, of playing her mum’s most beloved role must have been staggering. She doesn’t just carry it, she soars with it and Miller’s version stands side by side with the original. I would imagine it can’t have been easy. I’m so glad, and so grateful, it was done and works so well.

This isn’t nostalgia in its own service, but rather an open eyed and open hearted exploration of the long storied past of the show. That’s even true of the villains, and Ewan Bailey is especially good as ‘Mr Mallory ‘and Galavaunt. The ending here echoes everything from Robin and Marian to the Tenth Doctor’s refrain of ‘The man who never would’ and, most of all, the fact that time passes. There’s a victory here but it’s one wrapped in kindness and acceptance far more than things exploding at the last second.

Verdict: This is a literate, character-facing story. It’s subtle and broad, funny and dark and it’s one hell of a good start to the series. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart

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