Travis has a job to do – and it’s one that he enjoys.

It’s been some time since we’ve seen Gary Russell’s name on a script for Big Finish, and he returns with a strong piece of characterisation for Captain Travis – seeing Blake’s once and future nemesis at an earlier point in his career than we normally have, but very much as we’d imagine him to be then. In many ways this is a two-hander for Stephen Greif’s Travis and Cliff Chapman’s Madison, someone who doesn’t fit into the rigid system of the second calendar, and who has been targeted by Avalon.

Nigel Fairs’ clever sound design ensures that we’re always completely clear when we’re in the present day – in M6 with Travis, his assistant (Dawn Murphy’s Dag), and Madison – or flashing back within Madison’s memories as he relates them to his interrogators. Olivia Poulet’s Avalon isn’t as front and centre here as she is in the opener, but her influence extends throughout, and it feels like a game of chess between her and the Federation – with some moves that we as the audience understand rather better than she does.

Verdict: A tense and layered tale. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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And click here for our interview with producer John Ainsworth and star Olivia Poulet