The Doctor and Leela act as UNIT observers on an expedition into the Amazon…

This Lost Story was originally intended to appear at some point early in Season 15, and slots in quite neatly between Horror of Fang Rock and The Invisible Enemy. It’s a real mix, starting off as a pastiche of The Lost World and the other Professor Challenger stories before jumping forward to riff off Big Finish’s own Frozen Time on its way to The Road to El Dorado, V (and if that element was part of Philip Hinchcliffe’s original synopsis, then remember it predated the Kenneth Johnson series by seven years) before becoming reminiscent of Aliens of London and The Android Invasion… If The Disc-continuity Guide was still being updated, they’d have a field day with this one!

Despite the fact that it does sometimes feel as if it’s lurching from one familiar situation to another, it’s still an enjoyable adventure, although I do wonder if the novelty of Tom Baker recreating his role as the Doctor accounts for a lot of that. He’s supported by a good cast, although Nigel Carrington occasionally goes a little too far over the top, and Louise Jameson is given some excellent lines as Leela which she makes the most of.

Verdict: The weakest of the three Baker stories released this month, it still will provide pleasure.  6/10

Paul Simpson

The Valley of Death can only be ordered as part of The Fourth Doctor: The Lost Stories collection. Click here to order that from Big Finish.

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