The Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive in Tibet and encounter monks on a pilgrimage…

This is one of those stories that’s filling in the gaps in Doctor Who history, explaining how the Second Doctor came to have the holy ghanta of Det-Sen monastery in the TARDIS at the start of The Abominable Snowmen, and his relationship with certain characters within that story. The impression given in the original TV serial is that this was that incarnation who made the first visit in the 17th century, but this tale posits that it was actually earlier, and along the way ticks off its various “to-do” items to set up what we already know (and links to various theories regarding the Great Intelligence along the way).

There’s a different energy to the story, though, which comes from the introduction of what, to Big Finish, is effectively a new companion – Dodo Chaplet, played by Lauren Cornelius. In the extras John Dorney notes that he went back to the extant adventures, particularly The Gunfighters, for Dodo’s character, and as with the introduction of Tom Allen’s Oliver Harper a few years back, having Dodo there rather than Vicki, or just the Doctor and Steven travelling alone, changes things up. Dodo’s energy bounces out of the audio, and I hope this is not the only time we hear Cornelius in the role.

Peter Purves modestly says that he does an impression of William Hartnell, but it’s one imbued with personal memory and decades of experience, and it’s very easy to forget that it’s not two different actors when the Doctor and Steven are arguing. While maybe the Doctor overdoes the “my boy” (particularly when speaking to one Paul Courtenay Hyu’s Oddiyāna), there’s plenty for both characters Purves plays to do, particularly in Steven’s relationship with Kerry Gooderson’s Pema.

Director Lisa Bowerman and sound designer and composer Toby Hrycek-Robinson maintain the “lost TV episodes” feel of the range with clear fades to black and delineated scenes. Given that a lot of the story has a background sound of the snow in the mountains, that’s a good move.

Verdict: An enjoyable creation of a different culture, and a strong audio debut for Dodo. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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