Spoilers

After forcing Koenig’s hand, Commissioner Simmonds diverts Alpha’s attention to trying to return to Earth…

Iain Meadows’ script is based on the first part of Anthony Terpiloff’s original script for the first season of the TV show, one of those episodes that fell through the cracks for a lot of fans who didn’t have access to recordings of the series in the early days. E.C. Tubb stated that Simmonds died in the breakaway in his novelisation of the pilot (interestingly, something that also happens in the Spazio:1999 Italian release), and so this story wasn’t novelised along with the rest of season 1. (Eventually, many years later, Tubb did novelise it, with some handwavium to explain the earlier error.) Accordingly, Roy Dotrice’s Commissioner wasn’t a major factor in the TV series.

He is in the Big Finish reconceptualising of the mythos, though, and has been an increasing pain in the side of Koenig and his team as the audios have progressed, so it’s appropriate that he’s dealt with in this latest box set (although whether it justifies over two hours’ story time remains to be seen). The debate that Simmonds triggers (after inciting a mutiny!) brings out impassioned speeches from Timothy Bentinck’s Simmonds and Maria Teresa Creasey’s Helena Russell – perhaps Creasey’s strongest performance to date – and while I can understand the desire to parallel this with the Brexit debate, it’s done quite heavy handedly. Certainly, I think there’s a strong case for “tell not show” on this occasion with the way in which the Earthbounders attack Sandra later in the episode.

We also get another death that isn’t really a death along the way – so soon after Paul Morrow’s resurrection to have Alan Carter survive against all odds feels manipulative – but things do look up once the alien ship has arrived. I may be imagining it but Barnaby Kay’s Captain Zantor feels like he has some cadences reminiscent of the originator of the role…

I won’t spoil Nicholas Briggs’ conclusion but suffice it to say it isn’t what you expect from the TV episode on which it’s based.

Verdict: Some heavy social commentary in the Alphans’ latest adventure. 6/10

Paul Simpson

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