The Doctor, Mel and Hebe take Professor Patricia McBride to a future Sheffield – with dire consequences.

Spoilers

And so the villain of the piece (indeed the whole four box-set arc) is revealed, and done in such a way that explains why they think their viewpoint makes sense, while never letting the audience have any reason to believe such ideas are anything other than morally repugnant. Robert Valentine and the whole production team – on either side of the microphone – walk a very fine line, making clear which side of the argument they agree with, while still presenting the opposing view without melodrama (there’s arguably enough of that with the alien presence in the story, making for an even stronger contrast).

Although, annoyingly, I’d been spoiled for the ending of the episode, I hadn’t been for the journey there, and the discussions between Imogen Stubbs’ Patricia and firstly Colin Baker’s Doctor and then with Ruth Madeley’s Hebe are incredibly powerful. Director Helen Goldwyn ensures that these feel extremely down to Earth – the science fiction elements are totally irrelevant to the points being made – and I’d put these scenes among the best in Big Finish’s output of 2022. We’re ahead of the Doctor and his friends in realising the meaning of certain events, even if we’re not aware yet of all the mechanics involved

The SF part of the story brings trouble to Sheffield once again, and I like the way in which producer Jac Rayner has created a small repertory company of characters that this TARDIS team interacts with – an element that’s usually thought of as part of the 21st century series, but which stretches back to the UNIT family days – who clearly have lives of their own when the Doctor’s not around. I’ve been somewhat critical of some of the balance in the mix in this set, but full marks to Andy Hardwick for some terrific effects and a well-attuned score for this finale.

Verdict: A strong finale with the hell of a cliffhanger. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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