The Doctor arrives on Titan and joins an undersea exploration…

The third set of adventures in Christopher Eccleston’s second season for Big Finish begins with this subaquatic tale from Lizbeth Myles that’s taken on a certain extra potential horror in light of events over the Titanic in recent times (the arrival of the TARDIS in a small sub, adding rather a lot to its weight, is glossed over a little more than perhaps it would be now). It marks the return of the Sea-Devils, tying in to the idea of the Silurian arks that were established in the Matt Smith era, with a clever blend of tropes from the Pertwee era serials that take some unusual turns.

It’s one of those stories where a great deal has to be accomplished in a very short time, and I wonder if it could have benefitted from being told over two episodes – a certain character shift is borderline credible in the time, and the Doctor is able to stop a riot that’s mid swing even quicker than usual. Nick Briggs’ Mirtar is a voice of reason, with Yasmin Mwanza taking on double duty as an antagonist to both him and Sasha Behar’s Diana while Ferdy Roberts’ Soloman Read allows Eccleston to indulge the Ninth Doctor’s disdain (or worse than that) for some of humanity.

Iain Meadows’ sound design adds little touches that sell the different environments quickly, and Ken Bentley keeps things moving so you don’t question things as they’re going along.

Verdict: Like some of the TV episodes of the period there’s a little too much crammed into one episode. 7/10

Paul Simpson

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