Madam Vastra is no more; Strax and Jenny are captives. Who can save the day?

Matt Fitton has the job of tying up all the various strands that have been threaded through the Heritage box sets, to give us this 12th and final story, a grand finale that lives up to the hype – and also allows for some restating of the core principles of the series and those at its heart.

It’s convoluted, and starts quite some time after the end of the previous story (it is all explained eventually) but for those who’ve listened to the entire saga, it’s a very satisfying ending, bringing back elements from the past and incorporating things whose relevance wasn’t necessarily so apparent at the time. Producer David Richardson, director Ken Bentley and script editor Fitton (with Roy Gill stepping up for this story) can justifiably be proud of the entire series, and the way in which it has doled out sufficient information to keep the ongoing portion current yet created standalone episodes.

Kudos also to Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart and Dan Starkey, whose characterisations of the leads have built on their on-screen portrayals; McIntosh in particular gets plenty of challenges this time around. It’s good to hear some returning voices (they’re listed on the website but I won’t spoil them here) and to know that the world continues to expand.

This has been one of the most consistently enjoyable spin-offs that Big Finish has produced in recent times; long may the Paternoster Gang continue to entertain us.

Verdict: A satisfying conclusion both to the previous episode and the whole Heritage saga. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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