The Doctor takes Leela to meet famous fossil-hunter Mary Anning – but aren’t fossils meant to be dead?

Helen Goldwyn’s tale for Tom Baker’s Doctor is differently paced to many Big Finish adventures, which works to its advantage. There’s quite a long section that deals with more natural perils than the Time Lord and his companion normally have to contend with, and I may be wrong, but I think this is the first time we’ve had someone give birth during an audio. (In the story I mean – I don’t think there was that much method acting going on!)

Jamie Robertson’s score and sound design are very effective and Nicholas Briggs gathers a smaller cast than for some audios, not that you can tell that from the number of characters. There are strong performances by Lucy Briggs-Owen as Mary Anning, and Charlotte Bate as Lizzie Berenger at its heart while Ian Coningham and Alan David share the various male roles with Joe Sims making Jim Berenger a very human figure – someone who wants to do the right thing, but is sometimes swayed by others, and has to face his own fears.

Verdict: Something slightly different marks this adventure out – recommended. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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