The Doctor and Charley visit the Time Lord’s old friend Henry Fielding – but he’s not at home… because he’s currently in 2009…

It’s going to be harder to review this story without starting to get into spoiler territory for at least the overarching plot of The Legacy of Time, so if all you’re interested in is whether this makes a good return for both Miss Pollard and Detective Inspector Patricia Menzies, then the answer is a definite yes. Jonathan Morris’ tale – as with all the Earthbound stories in this set – combines multiple time zones in its own unique way (with due deference to Goodnight Sweetheart, acknowledgement of which is given in dialogue). With all the time jumping, it’s perhaps been inevitable at some point we’d get some alternate timelines being created, and the Doctor’s weary line about one particular aspect echoed my thoughts at the exact moment he said it.

Charley Pollard has been a core part of the Big Finish Doctor Who universe for almost the whole of its existence, and while there have been times where I’ve felt that she’s suffered a bit from overexposure, it’s great to hear India Fisher back alongside Colin Baker. Morris makes their convoluted history together an essential part of the plot and creates a convincing alternate timeline (with a nice injoke about the “United” part of the United Kingdom).

The Sirens make a proper reappearance here – almost as if they know it’s 20 years since they first turned up – reminding us of their provenance as time vampires, and setting things up for the final story. Things seemed on a large scale on their debut, but that was when the universe (and particularly the Big Finish universe) was much less than half its present size, so to speak…

Verdict: The penultimate tale maintains the high standard of the set. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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