Never meet your heroes…

Tim Foley gives us the longer of the two stories in this latest box set of adventures for the TARDIS crew somewhere between Arc of Infinity and Mawdryn Undead, and there’s a great deal to admire in it. A lot of the time the focus is purely on our central trio, and there’s opportunities for all of them to shine – the Doctor’s almost giddy excitement at the thought of meeting one of his all-time heroes is balanced with Tegan’s thoughts at the start of the fourth episode when she really believes the end is nigh (and that speech is still powerful even though as listeners, we know full well that it isn’t!), while Sarah Sutton ensures Nyssa is very much the glue that bonds the three together.

One of those stories that you think you know the twists that are coming, but are still surprised when they do (or indeed don’t – Foley plays fair, but has fun with expectations), it has an intriguing structure, with excerpts from conversations between the two guest characters starting each episode. Howard Carter’s sound design sells the vastness of the spaces involved, and his score is suitably 80s but dialled down in the mix so it feels present but not overwhelming.

My own real issue with this is that it follows on from the end of Jonathan Barnes’ The Edge of the War, which set up the potential for real interpersonal conflict between the TARDIS crew, rather than bitchiness, but that seems to have been waved away – there’s potential for a story to be interpolated here (or even maybe an Interlude?).

(And don’t skip the extras, if only for Janet Fielding’s description of the job that got away…)

Verdict: An engrossing tale that looks at the nature of heroism and hero worship. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order from Big Finish