Someone wants the Doctor dead – but for once he has no idea why…

David K. Barnes contributes the final story in this first box set, and starts to pull some of the strands together. By the end, things have definitely moved on, in terms of what some of the characters know about each other, and the overall arc (assuming that at least part of that involves getting the Doctor and friends back out in Time and Space). We get the introduction of an organisation that seems to be targeting young people, and a race who have travelled back to 2020.

Barnes ratchets up the tension as the episode progresses, with the Doctor and Andy Davidson forced to work together, and counterpoints this with the domestic side of the Doctor’s housemates’ lives. A meal for them all seems like a good plan – Liv and Tania probably wouldn’t agree! – and Barnes underlines some of the core character traits (as well as some interesting observations on certain parts that hint at things to come).

The whole box set has been an exercise in doing something very different with the Eighth Doctor, and Paul McGann, Nicola Walker and Hattie Morahan have each been given quite unusual scenes for their respective characters. Tom Price has made a welcome addition as Andy, with Rebecca Root’s Tania and Joel James Davison’s Robin given the most development for their characters – it feels as if they’ve been around a lot longer. Kudos to director Ken Bentley and producer David Richardson for assembling a strong solid core around which to tell this unusual tale.

Verdict: An enjoyable finale with hints for the future – roll on set 2! 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order Stranded volume 1 from Big Finish

And watch out for interviews with Rebecca Root and Tom Price coming to Sci-Fi Bulletin shortly