Strax learns new skills as Madame Vastra hosts a peace conference and Jenny heads down the docks…

Dan Starkey’s tale opens this second box set with a strong blend of humour and drama, with his knowledge of not just his own character, but those of the rest of the trio allowing him to turn the tone from one to the other as required. There’s the requisite love from Strax for high explosives and offers of self-destruction – but when his nursing skills are required, it’s almost as if a switch has been flipped, and a very different Sontaran can be seen. He also gives both Vastra and Jenny comments – or in the former case, a speech – that picks up on core elements of the characters, which could easily become lost in the ‘three investigators’ side of their new adventures.

There’s a lovely sequence towards the end that reminds me a great deal of the underrated Young Sherlock Holmes movie from the mid-80s (although in that case it was more of a hallucination than an actual attack), and the tone of the diplomatic negotiations feels all too realistic (albeit usually with purely human participants).

Verdict: With deft direction from Ken Bentley, and some enjoyably weird soundscape from Joe Kramer and Josh Arakelian, this is a strong start to the set. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order Heritage 2 from Big Finish