Behold America! With an exclamation mark!

In their quest to discover what has happened to Hebe, the Sixth Doctor and Mel find themselves in New York, which seems to be as it should, in terms of recorded history (even if there are elements to it that come as a shock to Mel)… but a certain new show stars one Melanie Bush. Who really doesn’t feel she has it in her to be an all-singing, all-dancing lead of a Broadway musical.

Matthew Sweet’s opener for this set is, as producer Jacqueline Rayner notes in the extras, something of a sidestep, and the production team walk another fine line in not losing the tension created by the cliffhanger of the previous season while still giving this story its due. One of the many clever things about it (and it is one of the cleverest productions we’ve had from Big Finish in some time) is ensuring that to preserve the Doctor’s precious web of time, Mel and the Doctor have to get involved with the stage show, even if it is against everything that they both stand for.

High praise up front to Sweet and composer Howard Carter for the song(s) that permeate the story (as well as some well-judged musical stings). Just as Lin-Manuel Miranda somehow manages to make a cabinet battle over budget into a hummable number in Hamilton, so a discussion about abstruse historical financial matters and their involvement – or otherwise – in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln becomes a nifty song here, and the main duet by Bonnie Langford and Rosalie Craig has stuck in my brain for the days since I heard it.

The nature of the threat also sets it apart from the usual Doctor Who story, although there are some thematic links with the rest of the box set arc, and director Helen Goldwyn balances the varying different tonal requirements of the story extremely well.

Verdict: A strong cast, a clever script, deft direction, tuneful music and very appropriate sound design – what more do you need?  9/10

Paul Simpson

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