The Doctor and Leela arrive back in London – but something definitely feels wrong…

Justin Richards combines two of his interests for this convoluted tale for the Fourth Doctor and Leela – the time travelling exploits of the Doctor, and the behind the scenes intrigue of the Second World War. The first episode feels a bit like the start of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, as the Doctor returns to an abandoned city, but it quickly takes a different tack, as the time travellers meet some inhabitants who somehow feel… off. And why are they being warned away from the Edge?

As the cover gives away, there’s a monster of the traditional sort in this story – albeit things aren’t quite what they seem – and there’s an opportunity for discussion of the morality of war, and the decisions that people have to make during it… decisions that they might well make differently in a peacetime situation.

Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Darren Boyd are all on good form, with Ken Bentley’s direction and Jamie Robertson’s sound design helping with some of the misdirection to ensure that as listeners we’re never too far ahead of the participants.

Verdict: A clever tale that uses the specifics of its setting well. 9/10

Paul Simpson