The Counter-Measures team face an unusual foe – on two fronts.

The adventures of the Counter-Measures team have been one of my favourite spin-offs that Big Finish have produced over the years and the news that we’ve got at least three further stories for them (including this one) came as a relief after it seemed that they were heading for extinction. Consistently strong performances from the ensemble – Karen Gledhill, Hugh Ross, Pamela Salem and Simon Williams – and inventive tributes to the ITC shows of both the 60s and the 70s have been hallmarks of the range, and they continue here in a particularly time-bending story, guest starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred (well, that’s how it feels anyway).

There’s a great moment in Terrance Dicks’ novelisation of The Three Doctors where one of the Doctors wonders what would happen if an earlier incarnation were to be killed during their battle with Omega. John Dorney’s script runs with that idea, with events in the 1960s and 1970s happening simultaneously and the Doctor – stuck in one time zone – needing to be kept abreast of what Ace is up to in the other so he can act accordingly. It’s a very clever conceit which is added to by the nature of the criminal gang who seem to have assistance from a time-bender – and allows Dorney the chance to give the core characters some opportunities they wouldn’t normally get.

Verdict: One of the best Counter-Measures stories – and a great introduction to them for those who’ve not heard them outside of Remembrance of the Daleks. 10/10

Paul Simpson

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