The Doctor and Mel return to Sheffield – but a town on the brink of unexpected disaster…

Ian Potter wraps up the third set of the Purity arc with a story that draws from Sheffield’s own history and a tragedy that is very much part of the web of time, as far as the sixth Doctor is concerned. It doesn’t help that he’s being pulled between two time zones as he tries to discover what Patricia McBride’s plans are, and quite a bit is left in Mel’s capable hands.

By chance I watched the new edit of Mel’s debut story, Terror of the Vervoids, earlier this week, and it’s fascinating seeing just how much both Doctor and companion have moved on from that less-than-stellar opening – apart from the obvious point of both actors’ voices being pitched rather lower in the 202s, there’s a quality of trust and bond here now that is essential to the storytelling. Potter separates the two for quite a bit of the tale, but both feel like equal and necessary parts of the equation, rather than a preparation for screaming in the right key!

Another hallmark of this arc has been allowing us to spend time with the guest characters, and we get to know Luke R. Francis’ Patrick and Billie Fulford-Brown’s Mary enough that we’re invested in whether they survive the flood (although not so much that we necessarily anticipate everything we learn as the story unfolds). Imogen Stubbs’ Patricia is gradually getting more and more unhinged and we share the Doctor and Mel’s relief at the way things play out.

But, as producer Jac Rayner notes in the extras, each of these box sets ends on a cliffhanger… Roll on the finale!

Verdict: A strong blend of historical drama and time travelling melodrama. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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