dwst0702_gardenersworlds_1417The Doctor and Jo help UNIT investigate a very unusual sighting in an English village…

George Mann’s UNIT era tale feels a little bit “Pertwee by the numbers”, reworking a host of elements from The Daemons in particular (the Doctor and Jo disagreeing over something initially then a media broadcast affecting the Doctor’s decision to get involved; UNIT making its base in the local pub etc.) and unfortunately ends with a solution that really does raise considerably more questions than it solves. You can overlook what feels like an inaccurate memory on Jo’s part by putting it down to her, at some point, going through the files of Liz Shaw’s adventures, but the rather cavalier attitude displayed by the Doctor to a fundamental element of the show grates the more you consider the ramifications of what he does.

That said, Tim Treloar gives a bravura performance, his now well-tested Third Doctor joined by a fun rendition of Katy Manning’s Jo and a perhaps slightly less secure Mike Yates, as well as assorted voices for the various villagers of Colston Burleigh. It’s just a shame that it’s in a story that really doesn’t live up to the standard the range has produced in recent times.

Verdict: A good performance of a weak story. 6/10

Paul Simpson