As UNIT prepares to mount a rescue attempt while battling off the Vulpreen, Kate Stewart realises that ten minutes can be an eternity…

The conclusion to this box set – marking the halfway point of the Nemesis saga – comes from John Dorney, who uses the different way in which time elapses on different sides of the arch in clever ways, allowing fresh insight into Kate Stewart’s personality while maintaining the action quotient courtesy of her colleagues.

There’s a sort of Groundhog Day element to Kate’s predicament – something which we as listeners cotton on to a lot quicker than she does, in part because of the way in which the story is structured. (That’s not to say that we couldn’t have had two very different parallel paths taking place, but it becomes clear quite early that that’s not the case.) The way in which Kate builds first a friendship, and finally – although not in the way that she would have liked – foments a rebellion is credible simply because of the amount of time that elapses for her.

Osgood and Josh are perhaps slightly less credible in what they’re able to achieve during the rescue, but there are times to simply believe six impossible things… As for the Eleven, he’s still working on his plans, and there’s a horrible irony that becomes increasingly obvious as the story goes on – which forms a very effective cliffhanger into set three.

Ken Bentley carries out a nice balancing act between the requirements of the two very different plot threads, once again assisted by effective storytelling from Howard Carter’s sound design.

Verdict: A strong character thread at the heart of a good set ender. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order from Big Finish