The Doctor has returned and he’s not best pleased at what River has been doing…

It was inevitable that River and the third Doctor’s paths should cross in this set, particularly as they so nearly did in the Peepshow story a few months back. The scenes between Alex Kingston’s River and Tim Treloar’s Doctor are an utter delight – the explosions as the Time Lord discovers what she’s been doing in his TARDIS (a jacuzzi?!) are worth the price of admission before we get to the multiple put-downs, and banter between them. And all of that is before the final revelations at the end of the set…

Lisa McMullin does a masterful job tying together the various loose ends from the series to date – while still leaving a decent length of time for a whole new box set of adventures to be interpolated (Liz talks about the months that River has been with UNIT), and I’d love to hear the Doctor’s adventures on his wild goose chase. The rapport between River and Daisy Ashford’s Liz continues to be a strength, and Jon Culshaw’s Brigadier returns to the fray, himself getting put down on occasion.

The set has been a slightly unexpected joy, pushing at the envelope of season 7 and giving us fresh insights into both Liz and River. More please.

Verdict: A fitting conclusion that brings the Doctor into the mix without forgetting whose show it is, sweetie. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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