Leela is sent to find to a conference to find out why someone has claimed Gallifrey is being represented there – and meets River Song who’s on a mission…

Lisa McMullin’s opener for this box set celebrating some of the strong female characters in Doctor Who teams Leela (in her Gallifreyan days) with River, leading to the expected clash of cultures and outlooks between the pair – but also some intriguing similarities. There’s a moment towards the end of the episode where you know the Doctor would have handled things rather differently, and in his company, so would both of these characters (probably) but without his restraining influence, they’re able to react as they would naturally. Which isn’t good news for the person who they’d be restrained against…

McMullin understands what makes both Leela and River tick, and the ways in which they react to situations, particularly when things are more fluid than either of them would prefer. Louise Jameson and Alex Kingston sound as if they’re having great fun and director Helen Goldwyn allows the parallels in the situations to come out without making a big fuss of the scenes in which they appear.

Verdict: A suitably convoluted tale for River that brings out the contrasts between her and Leela well. 8/10

Paul Simpson