Jamie Revell

This short collection takes Aquaman and puts him in a story of cosmic and psychological horror, rather than one of superheroics. It's an interesting change of pace, and one that works, using the inhospitable and lightless depths of the deep sea as a backdrop. It's told primarily from the point of view of the crew of an experimental submarine sent to recover what appears to be an alien artefact from the most remote part of the Pacific Ocean; that they view Arthur as as much of a mystery as the entity they are investigating suggests that this is intended as an alternate reality story.

Ram V's often introspective style works well here, using flashbacks to illuminate the fears and insecurities of the crew - and, to a lesser extent, of Aquaman - as they begin to crack under the strain and a dark secret is revealed. There is some action in here but it's far from a typical superhero story, with the art playing up the spooky atmosphere. It's not perfect, and Black Manta, for example, seems to be included only because somebody thought he should be, not because he really does all that much... but as a horror story that happens to feature Aquaman, it's making good use of the author's strengths.

A set of three stories that, following on from the end of volume 2, see the Meddling Monk reluctantly forced to travel around with Missy, participating in schemes that are deadlier than his preferred form of chaos.

Body and Soulless - The first story starts in media res on an alien planet being invaded by incorporeal aliens that possess the bodies of the dead. This makes it sound like a zombie story, but that's not really accurate, partly because the aliens are more intelligent than the typical zombie, but also because much of the conflict takes place off-screen, with the battle seen more from a tactical/strategic point of view. A lot depends on how far you can suspend your disbelief while listening to this - the plot is completely bonkers and much of what happens (especially to the Monk) doesn't make a lot of sense. Fortunately, it's carried along by a frenetic pace and Gomez's performance which is, if anything, even crazier than usual here. Any flaws rapidly disappear behind the sheer madness of it all and the plethora of one-liners. 4.5 stars.

War Seed - Next, we're off to contemporary New York, which of course, means English actors doing American accents with varying degrees of success. It's a more straightforward story than the previous one, involving a company that has mysteriously gained access to what appears to be Time Lord regeneration technology. Missy is primarily the driving force behind this one; despite early indications that he might get a bigger role, the Monk is largely reduced to watching from the sidelines. What's going on is revealed at an early stage, with the story mainly being more about how Missy reacts to it than about any implications it might have of itself. Nonetheless, it's another fun piece, the writing of which might well stand out in any other collection. 4 stars.

Two Monks, One Mistress - The final story is the historical one of the set, and both the strongest and the one that's most clearly a comedy. It's set in 16th-century Italy, with Missy trying to deal with one of the Borgias and double-crossing as many people as she can in the process. There are misunderstandings, women doing a bad job of pretending to be men, and characters self-consciously delivering pointless soliloquies (riffing off Shakespeare here), not to mention fun with psychic paper and a very heavy piece of valuable loot. As both title and cover art intimate, we are also introduced to a future incarnation of the Monk and both versions get plenty to do alongside the main title character. Yes, it's another daft plot, but that's rather the point, and the banter between the leads is once again gloriously fun. 5 stars.

This is a prequel to the second season TV story Adam, showing the memory-stealing alien's first encounter with the organisation and explaining how it ended up in the box that Jack recovers it from. In this respect, it's not a great mystery - we know roughly what's going to happen from the pre-title teaser, although the scale of it is much greater on this occasion, with the alien (played by the same actor as in the original) being far more successful. The strength, however, is in the characterisation and in the building dread of Adam being seemingly unstoppable.

It's set in the 1950s, and it's notable that the consequent lack of any of the regulars doesn't matter at all. Instead, our leads are Norton Fulgate, a familiar character on the audio series by this point, and his immediate superior Lizbeth Hayhoe, whom we've only seen briefly before. Here, she's very good (as one would expect from Dervla Kirwan), coming across as the stronger of the two even while the story explores her weaknesses and vulnerabilities alongside Norton's more obvious ones as a gay man in '50s London.

This is an ‘adult' story, with sexual encounters for Norton and references to various sexual positions in the dialogue. Plus, there is something undeniably disturbing about having memories stolen and the inability to remember for long that there's even anything there that you should recall. I might knock half a point off for retreading old ground, but no more, so w'ere still in five-star territory, in one of the more successful Torchwood audios not to feature the original team.

One suspects that the decision for the third release in this series to be based around Janet Frazier was more determined by the availability of the actors than for any other reason, but it does allow for a medical-based story that nonetheless fits with the broader Stargate ethos. Set during season 7 (and so not long before the character was killed off) it sees Janet kidnapped so that she can save the life of an injured boy. It's clear from early on that there's more to the story of the injury than at first appears, although I found the various ‘twists' to all be obvious in advance.

While battling a subdural haematoma can certainly be tense, it's not the focus of most adventure stories, so what this one relies on is the evolving relationship between Janet and her kidnapper. There are some nice touches here in terms of the setting, but the kidnapper is more annoying than anything else (he's big on sarcasm) making it hard to build the sympathy that the story is clearly going for.

Having said all that, Teryl Rothery does a good job of reprising her character - perhaps the most prominent recurring character on the show other than the leads - and also portrays Sam and Jack once they turn up. It's a decent story, and a change from the usual that still feels like it could have been a regular TV episode but perhaps not especially memorable unless you're a big fan of the central character... but if you are, this is very probably for you, as she does get to shine.

While other experiments with stories using historical versions of Torchwood have by and large not succeeded, it's a testament to Goss's vision of the '50s one that its return is as welcome as any that include the main characters from the TV series. Here, they are back for their second full-length (3-hour) story albeit with Andy Davidson as the main viewpoint character. Not, however, quite the only one, with Lizbeth getting a few viewpoint scenes, including an extended flashback alongside Norton. Gideon, on the other hand, while prominently featuring on the cover is barely in it - his presence is pivotal to the plot, but more as a damsel-in-distress than anything else.

The story concerns a “new town” being built on the Sussex coast - Welwyn Garden City and Basildon being real-world examples from the period. Here, it's the basis for a very '50s science fiction plot (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) albeit one that throws in plenty of British elements, rather than the original US ones. It's something that's been done many times before, but it works here, partly because of the way that the story is split into six half-hour segments that keep things fresh.

This allows for some social commentary on the '50s from a modern perspective, although this is perhaps less of a theme than it was in the previous release. Episode titles refer to the newly created NHS and Enoch Powell's infamous “rivers of blood” speech but they're only tangentially relevant to the story. Indeed, there is a distinct modern sensibility here, and not just because two of the leads are LGBT. There are some distinct horror elements, too, including the (off-screen) death of children so it certainly isn't light listening, especially as a sense of despair and hopelessness builds in the final segment. But it has strong performances, and good characterisation of all the leads and is another worthy outing in this series.

The only real connection to the rest of the series here is the one-line reference to the “Torchwood Archive” in the Doctor Whostory The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. This features Zachary, one of the survivors of that story, here summoned by the newly installed ruler of the Earth Empire to attend a ceremony on an inhospitable planet. This switching of the setting to somewhere else has had mixed success in previous instalments and, on this occasion, it doesn't really work.

The world-building behind it isn't bad. There's a sense of an Empire in decline, and most significantly, a follow-up to events of Planet of the Ood and to the society coped with the emancipation of its slave race - by, as it turns out, enslaving sentient robots instead. Unfortunately, this means that the robot character is the only sympathetic one here; I just couldn't care what happened to Zachary, and even less about what happened to the Emperor. Despite a story that involves them being pursued by hostile forces under the threat of a ticking time bomb, the whole thing manages to feel slow and pedestrian, and it's that lack of empathy for the characters that's the primary reason for it.

Is it terrible? Perhaps not, because the robot is well done, sorely put upon despite doing her best to help the humans. Indeed, maybe it would have worked better in a line other than Torchwood, where, despite a certain bleakness, its distance from the usual themes stands out, but as it is, it feels like an unsuccessful experiment.

Having recovered from the trauma that plagued her in volume 1, Ivy is more her usual self in this collection, which is much more upbeat than its predecessor. It's something of a connecting piece, three stories linking the events of the first volume with the following one, but not reaching any clear conclusion. But along the way, it's a rich portrayal of the character, mellowing Ivy's ecoterrorist tendencies with a more positive portrayal, but not pretending they aren't there.

The two longer stories feature greenwashing and a critique of wellness gurus (just because it's ‘natural' doesn't mean it's good for you...). Neither are particularly strong on their own merits, but both fit in with the theme and are peppered once again with some trippy sequences. Ivy's love of nature comes through in the way this is written, but it also remembers that she is a botanist, often looking at things from a scientist's perspective. In between, there's a one-issue guest appearance by Harley, giving Ivy a boost and setting things up for the next volume.

Despite some middling art in the first two issues, it's all neatly melded together, with themes and personal plot arcs running through what are otherwise episodic stories. Ivy's still more of an anti-hero than a regular one, but this makes it easy to root for her despite her flaws.

This set of four hour-long stories are apparently sequential, but each is individual, like most episodes of the modern Doctor Who TV series. For that matter, while it follows on from the end of the previous volume, the collection as a whole is largely standalone and could just as well be appreciated without having heard that first, should the listener choose to do so. Yes, there's the mystery of Jenny's companion, Noah, but that's not solved here, so arguably it's enough to know that his origins are a mystery and leave it at that.

Inside the Maldevarium – As the title hints, this story features Dorium Maldovar the blue-skinned information-broker first introduced in A Good Man Goes to War but here seen before the events of that story. Here, Jenny turns up at his bar for reasons that she hasn't told Noah, and that the listener is also initially unaware of. The result is relatively slight, but it moves along at a brisk pace with a well-realised setting and a feel that mirrors the modern TV series. It's arguably more about Maldovar's schemes than it is about Jenny, but the latter proves entertaining, trying to do what her “father” would do but without the experience to back up her sometimes cocksure attitude. And there's the question of just how much (if at all) Maldovar can be trusted at this stage of his life... 4 stars.

Altered Status – The second story is much closer to that of a typical Doctor Who episode as Jenny and Noah visit a planet that's supposed to be a utopia but (unsurprisingly) is anything but. Asa is clear even before the theme music starts up, this is the Cyberman story promised on the cover which, again, emphasises the ties to the parent show. There's a slight twist on the usual formula, however, in that the cyber-technology we see on display here is much more limited than we usually encounter – for reasons that become apparent as the plot unfolds. The real difference, however, is that Jenny is not the Doctor, once again showing off the mixture of sassy confidence and relative inexperience that's at the heart of her portrayal. There's also a great guest character in the form of a sword-wielding scholastic warrior queen who the Cybermen seem to have misjudged as badly as Jenny herself. 4 stars.

Calamity Jenny – As often in these anthologies of time travel stories, one of them has to be set in Earth's past, and here that's the Wild West. This is the most comedic of the four stories, as Jenny becomes the focus of a series of unfortunate coincidences and extreme bad luck. It turns out that there is a reason for this – although at least one of the coincidences is of a type that both Big Finish and the BBC have used before with a straight face. While the story itself is good, making use of time travel directly, the story suffers a little from the slapstick elements. Not because they're slapstick, since that fits with what's going on, but because it's often hard to figure out what they involve; too many sight gags in a story that has no visuals. Unusually, the story is also narrated but this is worked into the story in an effective way and enhances rather than feeling like a limitation. Furthermore, the American accents sounded (at least to me) more realistic than usual, probably because the narrator at least actually is from the US. 3.5 stars.

Her Own Worst Enemy – The concluding story is slightly strange, mainly because it ends on a mid-story cliffhanger without any resolution. Moreover, it had been three years between the release of volume 1 and this and, three years on from that, there is no sign of a volume 3 that's likely to conclude the story. So that's disappointing. Otherwise, it's promising, starting in media res with Jenny being pursued by a killer cyborg and then figuring out how to use her vortex manipulator to travel back down her attacker's timeline to try and change its history. That's basically all before the title music, with the rest of the story being a clever jumping back and forth to try to disentangle what's happening and put a stop to it. Despite this, it's not as timey-wimey as one might expect, being more a set of flashbacks that elaborate on the guest character's backstories and, as a result, it's as much a character piece with shades of It's A Wonderful Life as it is a story about cyborgs and a dystopian future. But it needed an ending, or at least, a rapid follow-up. 3.5 stars.

This volume contains the first four episodes of a 16-episode “season” featuring the modern version of UNIT - and, if rumours about a 2025 UNIT mini-series from the BBC are true, it may be the last for a while, at least with this particular cast lineup. The plot concerns an alien artefact uncovered from Palaeocene deposits off the coast of Scotland which, for reasons as yet unclear, renegade Time Lord the Eleven is trying to get his hands on.

The second episode, “Fire and Ice” is something of a peculiarity. That's not because it's largely unconnected with the larger plot arc, concerning instead Ice Warriors in the Australian Outback - that helps break things up and works well. The oddity is that it features Harry Sullivan, apparently transported from the original UNIT era into the present day. We're told that this was due to an “incident” but no further information is forthcoming, as if we're expected to already know about it. I thought perhaps I'd skipped an earlier release, but nope... perhaps it's in a later one intended to come out before this one but delayed for some reason. This leaves Harry's companion, Naomi Cross, similarly unexplained, introduced as if she's a familiar character when she's entirely new and not receiving much in the way of development or anything in the way of background here.

That peculiarity aside (and, in contrast, The Eleven gets to explain who he is no fewer than three times for the benefit of listeners who haven't encountered him before) it's an action-packed storyline full of UNIT helicopters and soldiers dashing about across various parts of the UK. The Eleven is suitably menacing, Osgood is clever, Kate gets to be suitably noble, and there's a significant guest spot for the Curator. The last episode of the four is particularly inventive, building on Day of the Doctor and using both the National Gallery and Hampton Court Palace to good effect.

The set ends on a cliffhanger for one of the supporting characters, and with several questions left unanswered, but otherwise this collection of episodes forms a neat little arc of its own within the larger season.

The third volume in this plot arc sees the protagonists no longer stranded, with the TARDIS able to travel to alien planets again – albeit with its full functionality yet to be restored. The previous volume, however, set up more than enough plot to keep this one going as the Doctor and companions seek to avert the dystopian (and ultimately apocalyptic) future timeline that two of the prior episodes were built around. It's relatively slow, and one of the stories is a little weak, but overall, it continues what's been another great 8th Doctor series.

Patience – The first story sees the Doctor and companions hiding out on three different, apparently abandoned, planets. Their pursuers do eventually turn up, but until then it's mostly a story of the interactions between the two pairs of companions, interspersed with the Doctor recounting a fairy tale. By the point that there is somebody else for them to talk to, however, it's already clear that all is not as it seems with the three threads of the story having more in common than initially seemed to be the case. The result is an odd mystery that has something of the feel of a ghost story without actually being one – and that eventually involves Judoon. While arguably nothing much happens for much for it, it's nonetheless an interesting story that also provides some character development that hints at upcoming changes. 4.5 stars.

Twisted Folklore – The theme of fairy tales and folklore continues in the second story. Here, the TARDIS has arrived on a world on the fringes of the Earth Empire where the human rulers are subjugating the indigenous inhabitants. It all ties in to the altered history created by events in the second volume and it becomes apparent early on that the Empire is, in part, using indoctrination through children's stories to achieve its aims. With the companions separated as they help out various parts of the resistance, and the whole thing beginning in media res for no particular reason, it's harder to get to grips with than the previous story, and is quite confusing in places. The details of the Empire's scheme and how the Doctor plans to stop don't make too much sense either, although, on the bright side, there are some strong moments for Liv and the alien voices are done better than is often the case - having a subtle but distinctive sibilance rather than using some electronic distort. 3 stars.

Snow – This is, in large part, a story about grief and abandonment. Sure, there's a mysterious phenomenon that acts as a metaphor for what some of the characters are feeling, but it's not the core of the tale. In addition to this, and almost feeling like a subplot, there are further revelations about how the alternate timeline came about, as we see the origins of the fascist state that was a setting for one of the stories in the previous volume. Unless you count the proto-fascists, however, there are no monsters in this one, which is focussed more on character and emotion albeit with a conclusion that's less maudlin than one might expect. 4.5 stars.

What Just Happened – 5 stars. Speaking of which, it ends (or rather, begins) on a cliffhanger. We know how it ends, but the mystery is in how we got there, which isn't fully revealed until the beginning as well as reflecting the story's wider themes about cause and effect. Some listeners may well find that (like this review) pretentious and confusing but, for me, it's cleverly written, with twists and turns that work in the opposite way to those in a regular story. But what's significant about it is that it's told in reverse, even to the extent of starting with the closing credits and ending with the opening theme music. The basis of it is straightforward, as the Doctor tracks down his nemesis and tries to prevent the destruction of the human race. As previously in this series, the best story is saved for last.

This is, in effect, a ghost story, albeit one clearly tied into the Torchwood mythos. It is set during WWII, down a coal mine where parts of the Torchwood Archive have been sent to protect them from the bombing in London. A young woman is sent to catalogue works from the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery stored down the same mine, and encounters Bilis Manger already there.

The story builds slowly, developing the protagonist's background, the mystery of Manger's presence, and the unpleasant nature of the army guards at the mine entrance. As things develop, it becomes clear that there is something else down the mine with them, hiding in the shadows just out of sight - something for which audio is well suited. Sexism and racism are themes in the background, leading to one disturbing scene that has nothing to do with the obvious ‘monster' and Manger himself is also a constant, unspoken threat.

It's another great Bilis Manger story, with a strong performance also coming from Rosie Baker as protagonist Jill Anderson, who grows as the story does. Given its nature, I'd recommend listening to it in the dark if you can...

The River Song audios started off with the titular character going backwards through the Doctor's timeline in each release, ending with Tom Baker as the oldest living actor. Now that they're confident enough with their replacement actors, Big Finish here continues that trend with a Third Doctor crossover – four stories in which River turns up at UNIT to act as Liz Shaw's assistant while the Doctor is away for an unknown reason.

The Blood Woods – The first story inevitably has to carry the burden of setting up the scene for the others, with River arriving and having to overcome Liz's suspicions and her understandable impression that the Brigadier doesn't trust her to work as scientific advisor on her own. This results in the central plot, about a man who died under circumstances that imply alien involvement, moving slowly at times, as the interaction between the leads has to take centre stage. Having said which, it's actually quite a good plot building in more elements in than one might expect under the circumstances, albeit never with the sort of folk horror feel that it's probably going for.

Liz gets quite a bit to do here, and the chance to show off some of her abilities – she is nominally River's boss in this, after all. But it remains River's story, keeping her as the main focus, playing off against both Liz and the Brigadier. The latter has a comparatively minor role, albeit a crucial one to the resolution, which, in all honesty is pretty straightforward and almost anticlimactic. But the characters make up for it, and the pairing works well, the two main characters both contrasting with and complementing each other. 4.5 stars

Terror of the Suburbs – This is a Stepford Wives pastiche, with a dash of The Prisoner. Unfortunately, it's somewhat weakened by the fact that Big Finish has used much the same premise twice before with Jack Harkness (and some German accents that even I can recognise as bad). The explanation for what's going on is different from those outings, but beyond the ‘70s setting and its accompanying digs at fondue parties and the music of Demis Roussos, the setup is essentially the same. I will say that the villain's identity is clear from early on, although their motives are not, and the sense of mystery is underplayed possibly because River (but not the audience) already knows what's going on.

Elements of physical danger through the story feel thrown in at random, and there seems surprisingly little urgency about dealing with them, even allowing for the fact that most of the characters are either brainwashed or complicit in what's happening. Furthermore, exactly how the villain is supposed to have set all this up in the first place is something that perhaps doesn't bear too close an examination. So its not the strongest story, and feels like it's been done before without too much change, although some will doubtless appreciate the almost entirely female cast even if the characters, by the nature of the setting, come across as rather bland. 3 stars.

Never Alone – The first story is, in some respects, a typical Third Doctor story, except for River and Liz taking the lead – and it's all the better for it. It begins with UNIT investigating an unusual death and then being drawn into the machinations of a mysterious tech company that, among other things, has invented a basic iPod a few decades early. What we get is a good investigatory story, giving Liz and River roughly equal roles that eventually takes a slightly surreal turn as the true nature of the threat becomes apparent.

Although they're mentioned, UNIT isn't really in this one, leaving the leads to solve the problems on their own and giving them an opponent that men with guns would be of even less use against than usual. True, the motivations of the monster aren't especially interesting, but there are some good supporting characters and some nice ideas that pull this distinctly above the average. 4 stars.

Rivers of Light – In the final story, it's revealed what River has really been doing on Earth, as the Doctor turns up and takes exception to what she's been up to in his absence. (Understandably so, in fairness to him). Almost immediately, UNIT receives a call about unusual events at a Yorkshire coal mine. River is trying to keep the Doctor out of it, and, while she isn't entirely successful and Liz and the Brigadier also have significant roles, it's once again primarily her story.

The explanation for what's happening – all tied in with River's presence in this time period – is bonkers but does fit in with the show's larger mythology. A scene at the end tying things further in to the Third Doctor era feels superfluous and was perhaps included only as a test run for something coming in later releases for this Doctor, rather than River. There's also a thread about the relationship between two of the guest characters that seems significant but is never followed up on.

However, the plot isn't really the point here; it's more about seeing River interact with the Third Doctor and having fun with UNIT dating. (For instance, the story is set during the miners' strike... but even some of the characters are actively unclear as to whether this is the big one from the '80s or one of the shorter ones from the preceding decade). Because of all that, it's a big and dramatic conclusion to the box set, even if the underlying plot isn't always the strongest. 4.5 stars.

And so here we are, after 275 releases over the course of more than two decades, at the very final story of Big Finish's flagship monthly range. From here on in, the individual Doctors will each have their own series, with less regular release schedules rather than being a slave to the calendar - or the two hour format. As the final release, it was inevitable that it, like the very first one back in 1999, would be a multi-Doctor story, featuring all of the incarnations that have appeared regularly elsewhere in this particular series.

It's a single story, but told in four distinct episodes and, to be honest, multiple Doctors aside it's good, but hardly exceptional; Day of the Doctor it isn't. The Fifth Doctor is up first, in a story set in 1911 in what is now Iraq (although this isn't clear until later). It concerns a chase against a villain trying to be the first to reach a ruined city with a fabulous treasure and has something of a Lawrence of Arabia vibe to it. It feels overly compressed, as if there was more that might have been explored, with what could have been an hour-long episode squeezed down into the 30-minute format. But, despite that, it's fun with a good sense of desert-themed adventure.

The next story is set during the 51st century, with a space colony (Titan, apparently, although it must be heavily terraformed by then, because nobody's living under domes) threatened by robotic pirates. It brings back a character from an earlier 6th Doctor audio, albeit mainly as a taxi service to get the Doctor to where he needs to be. We get Constance on her own as the companion, presumably because of the need to cut the cast list down, and she works well here - with a running gag about her not noticing when the main guest character tries to chat her up.

We then skip an incarnation to the 8th Doctor visiting London in 1999, when his only TV story was set. It's a fairly straight monster story, and with a monster that isn't original, either, but like the 6th Doctor's offering, it does feel the right length for its slot. To keep the link with Eight's audios in this series, rather than his own, we get Charlie back as the companion, but India Fisher is doing her voice so differently that it honestly took me a little while to work that out.

Everything comes together in the final episode, where the links we have seen up to this point bring the three Doctors together to face down the real villain. There are a few good twists in here, but the real strength is in seeing the characters meeting up and interacting with one another; taken on its own, the story is unremarkable. Yes, the universe gets threatened, because that's probably the sort of thing they felt they should do in a series finale, but it's been threatened a lot down the years, and it takes more than that these days to make something special. That the 7th Doctor makes only a brief cameo appearance feels like another missed opportunity, too, but I guess they only had so much time.

This all sounds pretty negative, and it probably shouldn't, because this is a decent celebration of what this particular run of 275 stories has covered, with four Doctors and stories set in the past, future, and present(ish). Plus two companions first introduced in the monthly series, reminding us of how it developed things for the Expanded Universe. If it's not quite the five-star celebration it could have been, it's still enjoyable and there's plenty more to come as the various Doctors spin off into their own audio lines.

Two more stories featuring the original TARDIS crew, one set in the future, and one a pure historical.

For the Glory of Urth – The TARDIS lands in what appears to be Earth in the far future, to discover it is ruled by a brutal dictatorship hostile to all aliens and constantly on the brink of a war that never comes. It's primarily a story of survival, with the characters split up early on and then spending most of the story imprisoned in one way or another and trying to get back together so that they can escape.

Which isn't such a bad idea in itself. While we may expect futuristic fascist states to be overthrown in this series (as, for example, in The Sun Makers or Enemy of the World) realistically, that won't always be an option. The Doctor being unable to change the world of The Aztecs or The Massacre is something we expect, and it's a good fit for his era even here. Unfortunately, the story just isn't very good. That's largely because almost everyone in the story other than the regulars is either an idiot or insane (or possibly both) and the whole thing is just completely implausible. It could be that it's intended as a comedic farce, and for some reason, I kept thinking of one villain as being played by Hattie Jaques, which wasn't helping. But, if it is intended as a comedy, it's sorely lacking in laughs, unless you find stupidity funny in itself.

There are some positives in amongst the dross. There are a few clever ideas, including one alien character and, arguably, the eventual explanation for the setup. Susan gets a decent chunk of the plot, although Barbara is rather less well-used. But, while there I also have some minor gripes about the science (such as a confusion between bacteria and viruses) it's the characters and the disjointed and unfocussed plot that really let this one down. 2 stars.

The Hollow Crown – The second story, fortunately, is much better. This sees the Doctor arriving in London on the eve of the spectacular failure that was the Essex Rebellion of 1601. This probably isn't a well-known event in English history but no prior knowledge of it is required from the listener beyond the fact that it obviously didn't end with Queen Elizabeth I being deposed. Here, Essex is portrayed as noble and decent, while the real villains of the piece are his sister Lady Rich and, to a lesser extent, Essex's real-world nemesis Lord Cecil.

Into this recounting of a minor piece of English history the story also throws William Shakespeare, in a far more central role than he played historically. The story doesn't ignore the fact that both he and the Queen have previously met the Doctor, although only one of the prior encounters has an effect on the plot. A downside is that Barbara is underused here; she gets to deliver a few bits of historical exposition, but most of those are provided organically through the characters involved. Susan, Ian, and the Doctor all have rather more to do, with Ian putting himself in danger, Susan generally getting into trouble, and the Doctor trying to sort it all out.

There are naturally some adjustments to real-world events to accommodate the story, which pushes the regular characters right into the middle of the rebellion. But, on the whole, it fits well enough with history as we know it, and the fact that it's a relatively obscure incident to modern people makes it easier for the events to carry the story. Some of the tension comes from whether or not history can be changed enough to ensure an at least partially happy ending – reference is made here to a story in the previous collection where the failure of the characters to alter events left an emotional scar on them, as well as to obvious comparison point The Aztecs. (There's a red herring here about the existence of a particular character implying a different history track, but the explanation is obvious from pretty much the first time they open their mouth). With plenty of Shakespearean quotes dotted through the dialogue, this is a good historical story, lacking in aliens but still very much connected to the Doctor Who universe.

Ends on a cliffhanger that (as of August 2023) there seem to be no plans to resolve. 4 stars.

The Doctor travels to Dorset in 1830 to meet Mary Anning, the famous fossil collector. Of course, he manages to turn up just after a man is killed by a mysterious “monster” and sets about tracking it down in a story complete with whisky smugglers, wandering crocodiles, and plenty of fossils. The aliens involved in it all don't turn up until the halfway mark, but there's plenty going on before then, with Anning making a strong supporting character of the sort that, were she not a real historical person, would make a good companion.

Unfortunately, the first half is stronger than the second. Up until then, there's a good sense of 1830s society, something that kept Anning out of the scientific discourse at the time despite her obvious ability and knowledge. Since that's such an important part of her real-life story it feels entirely appropriate to deal with it here (through, for example, people's reactions to Leela) in a way that many Doctor Who historical stories tend to gloss over. Plus, there's all the whisky and the crocodiles to keep things busy, even if the villain is hamming it up a bit much.

Once the aliens make their appearance, however, the story becomes more focused on action and this, as so often on audio, doesn't work so well. It's often difficult to work out what's happening from bystander's descriptions or sound effects alone, and this applies to scenes of people trapped by the tide as much as the fight scenes with the monsters. Plus, the young lovers who find themselves caught up in it all turn out to be really quite annoying, constantly whimpering about how useless they are - which, may, perhaps, be intended to showcase Leela's heroism (and she is pretty good in this) but does wear thin after a while.

A minor point that I suspect most others won't have noticed is the use of words that didn't actually exist at the time - “dinosaur” is an example, having been coined in 1841. On the other hand, one could argue that it makes it easier for modern audiences to understand, in much the same way that we don't expect 16th-century stories to be written entirely in Shakespearean English. But there are surely ways around that.

The twist in this story, if you can call it that, is that it's mostly told from the perspective of a taxi driver ferrying Tosh around Cardiff. Which has the potential to be one of those Torchwood stories that's about the effect that the organisation has on the regular residents of the area and somewhat is, although the chase she's being led on across the city is at least as important. However, unlike some other stories with that premise, this one feels rather slight.

It's not bad by any means. Nice touches include the driver trying to deal with her family over the phone between the sci-fi elements, and, in particular, how her detailed knowledge of the city and its inhabitants is key to saving the day. It may well be that those more familiar with Cardiff than I will get a lot out of this that I didn't. Numerous real-world locations are mentioned and the story makes good use of the geography, in a way that I'm sure I'd appreciate were I a local.

But I'm not and, while this story certainly works and has some good acting, there wasn't much else in it that stood out. For instance, there's no particular reason that Tosh is the Torchwood character here, beyond the fact that any of the others might have overshadowed the taxi driver's side of the narrative. It's a decent, middling story, not bad but not remarkable either.

The low-key story of the Doctor being stranded on Earth continues in this collection. More pieces of the plot arc come together here, but the main distinguishing feature from Stranded 1 is that the TARDIS is once again capable of time travel – but not yet of travelling through space. Still stuck in London, this allows for a heavier emphasis on time travel as a plot device (rather than, say, alien planets), and makes good use of the cast of characters set up in the previous volume.

Dead Time – Starting directly where volume 1 left off, this soon sees the Doctor taking an unusually large number of travelling companions off in the TARDIS, only to arrive on an uninhabited Earth six million years in the future. It's clear that part of the purpose of this is to lay seeds for future episodes; we see the eventual outcome of some major event that has yet to happen. Aside from that, though, the story sees the travellers wandering about in an empty desert, giving them plenty of time to interact with one another and for the show to develop their characters – Tania, especially, being built up as potential companion material. Despite the eventual danger of the setting, it's almost a downtime episode, taking time to show how the different characters react to their predicament. 4 stars.

UNIT Dating – The cheeky title of this episode doesn't refer to what you might think it does (although there are nods to that, too). It sees the Doctor travelling back to the UNIT of his third incarnation's days and ending up causing a temporal anomaly that not only affects him and Andy in the past, but Liv and Helen in the present day. It's a good time travel story, further enlivened by being wound around a couple of UNIT soldiers starting a romantic relationship whose outcome is changed by the shifting events. Plus, of course, we have Jon Culshaw as the Brigadier getting some good scenes with Eight that address issues that the ‘70s show never did. 4.5 stars.

Baker Street Irregulars – With time travel available again, a story set in the past was inevitable, and it feels appropriate that this one is mostly a straight historical. That element of the plot sees the Doctor taking two of his tenants back to 1941 to learn more about their grandmother's work for the SOE. Naturally enough, that soon leads to adventure – albeit with Nazis less directly involved than one might expect – but it is accompanied by an SF side-plot concerning an unexploded bomb that turns out to be anything but. The historical elements, borrowing on a nickname for the SOE when it was, indeed, based on Baker Street, are loosely reminiscent of the real-world story of Noor Inayat Khan... one of those little bits of history that our white-male-dominated vision of WWII era Britain tends to overlook. 4 stars.

The Long Way Round – The concluding story alternates between scenes of the time travellers being interrogated by a mysterious woman holding them captive and The Curator having a friendly chat with a child on a park bench. It's the sort of thing that's ideally suited for audio, since it wouldn't have much in the way of visuals if it were made for TV. Instead, it relies on the personalities of the various characters as each is interviewed one by one and the story, and how it connects to the larger plot, slowly unfolds. I worked out the ‘surprise' reveals early on, but they aren't the beauty of the story, which come from the top-notch acting and dialogue. 5 stars.

While I liked Adams' previous volume, this one falls short of that. It's not really his fault; the problem is the disjointed nature of the narrative due to the number of crossovers this has to fit in with. So we start off with a story that doesn't go anywhere, because it's followed up in another comic, and then we have stories that tie in with the major DC arc for the year, seeing sections of a bigger story only parts of which are collected here. We do finally return to the main plot towards the end (which may explain why this collects a full ten issues) but the sliced-up route to getting there just doesn't help.

Having said which, there are some good bits here. As before, Adams does a good job of tying Wally's superheroics in with his everyday life, and at least Linda gets more to do this time around. There is, however, some overuse of Wally's children - having young kids be involved in the superhero action without facing any real danger (because, obviously, there's a limit to what you can do to kids in a regular comic) makes what the adults are facing less of a threat. The titular section of the collection sees the Flash Family visiting three alternate universes to find Barry; one is clever, one works well enough, and the other (a Mad Max pastiche) is a bit dull.

Hopefully, things will be able to settle down for the next volume because I rather like what Adams is doing if he doesn't have to fit other comics in around his story.

Children of Ruin is good, but it's not quite as good as the first book in the trilogy.

To begin with, it looks as if it is going to follow a similar plotline to that, but with octopuses instead of spiders (this much is obvious from the opening paragraphs). However, it soon heads off in a different direction. We get the background of how the octopus civilisation got its start, but far less of its history, with the focus on the inhabitants of the human ship that originally explored the system they end up in. Partly, that's due to the fact that the octopuses are even more alien than the Portiids, so their history has less resemblance to a human one. But it's also, one assumes, to avoid repetition.

This is initially intercut with a story about a human/Portiid ship discovering the system and seeing the outcome of events unfolding in the other parts; this is deftly done to keep things mysterious even though we know that octopuses have to be involved somehow. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that there is something else at work as well, and this becomes the main antagonist, with some moments of horror as the seemingly unstoppable threat advances. It's all part of this series' exploration of non-human intelligence and it manages to keep this story feeling different from its predecessor even though it's dealing with the same general topics.

Still, the characters are once again not as memorable as the concepts and, without quite the same sweep as the first volume, it doesn't come up to the same mark. But it's a good read, nonetheless, and it looks like the third book will be off somewhere different again, keeping this more varied than the basic premise might suggest.

There seems to be something of a trend in comics these days to turn female villains into something more positive and heroic - Catwoman and Harley Quinn being obvious examples. Poison Ivy has by no means been immune to that trend, but this volume pulls few punches and makes her into a much darker character. The plot essentially sees her on a mission to wipe out humanity, emotionally scarred by the trauma she suffered in other comics and taking her ecoterrorist leanings to the extreme.

And yet, the writing is more subtle than that; she's not some mad villain, but somebody dealing badly with her recent experiences. (Really badly; there's a high body count and themes of suicide). Alongside the despair, though, her underlying humanity shows through in brief glimpses until we reach the denouement and face somebody much worse. The story is well written, much of it in the form of letters in which Ivy tries to explain her actions and square what she's doing with her love for Harley. There are plenty of psychedelic sequences as Ivy (and others) trips on hallucinogenic fungi, making things both visually and narratively weird. It all adds to the flavour of a strong story that's more about Ivy's emotional journey than superhero action.

Unlike the first, this second season consists of three stories, rather than four, two of which are closely linked. Otherwise, it's similar, with the eponymous character encountering alien goings-on in exotic locations and dealing with her disreputable - if very rich - family. Although it has matured from the first season, with greater depth to some of the characters, this is still a set of stories about a glamorous aristocratic cat burglar with a flying bus, so you know you're not getting The Godfather.

The Wreck - We start in the coral reefs off Zanzibar, where Lady Christina drops in on her father and his latest, much younger, girlfriend. A hunt for buried treasure from a pirate shipwreck soon brings in the science-fiction elements although the aliens responsible remain a distant, mysterious force throughout. Instead, the story is about the effect that the encounter has on the characters and on the relationship between Christina and her father. The sunny setting and PG rating keep this from being as creepy as it would be were it being written for Torchwood but otherwise it would fit right in. There's some good characterisation not only for Lord Alfred but also for the ‘gold-digger' he is partnered with (played by Camile Coduri's daughter, Rosa), who becomes more sympathetic as the story unfolds. And the detailed nature of the threat also seems very appropriate for this particular series.

Outback - The second story is not directly connected to the other two, although it clearly takes place between them and makes reference to the first. Thematically, however, there is a strong resemblance, with Lady Christina dropping in another larcenous relative who has supposedly retired to the Outback of Western Australia. There's a mystery about possible alien abductions and something strange going on in an old meteor crater and it's not really as serious as the previous story, with one character coming across as a “comedy Australian” (the actor is of that nationality, although I suspect he's putting on a stronger accent than usual). UNIT get involved and it's all quite daft, but it fits in with the fun mood of the series.

Long Shot - It's arguably the final story that leans most into the wider premise of the series, since it's structured, and feels, a lot like a heist movie. True, the incident at the heart of it isn't a robbery but there are a lot of parallels to crime caper stories more generally. That central incident is set at Royal Ascot (albeit under another name) but most of the story consists of a series of interwoven flashback sequences explaining how we got there from the perspective of the different characters involved - Christina herself, Sam Bishop and Jacqui from UNIT, and the gormless Interpol agent from the first season. It's cleverly done and helped by the fact that it's quite a while before it's clear what Christina is even trying to do beyond the most general terms. Once again, themes of family rear their head as she struggles with the fallout from the previous two stories and tries to balance the fact that Lord Alfred has behaved quite appallingly with the fact that, at the end of the day, he is still her father.

This novella is set in a steampunk alternate world where djinn interact with humans and (among other things) helped to ensure Egyptian independence fifty years early and make Cairo one of the world's greatest and most influential cities. The main story concerns a pair of investigators looking into an apparently haunted tram car and trying to exorcise the spirit concerned. This provides the fantasy elements and, in fairness, the plot is pretty straightforward - the real strength being the realisation of the setting.

Middle Eastern settings are not unusual in fantasy, but it's rare to see one quite as well-developed as this, with the mix of early 20th-century modernity and Islamic myth. Indeed, this expands on the first novella in the series by extending the supernatural elements beyond the Islamic world - although still featuring something that isn't Western European. It gives the impression of setting things up for a bigger story later (and a novel did follow) with several threads left hanging even though the core plot is neatly resolved.

This six-part (3½ hour) story sees the Doctor and Leela arriving on an isolated colony world that has devolved back to roughly 18th-century technology. Once there, they face a whole slew of problems - ghosts of the recently departed keep showing up, an invading army from another part of the colony threatens to destroy the featured town, an inventor has access to anachronistic technology, a third group of colonists hides out in the woods living a neolithic lifestyle, the Doctor keeps fainting and experiencing dreams about anvils... and, well that's not even the whole of it.

This complexity allows the story to keep going for its entire length without some of the padding that affects the longer TV stories of the era and also permits a larger cast than usual - by my count, there are eleven significant guest characters. But, on the other hand, the length is also something of a weakness, throwing too many things into the mix when a tighter story might have been more effective. For instance, an offworld colony that doesn't just consist of a single town is a plus, and there's a real feel that the world has complexity and depth to it, but the invading army is a cypher, an important threat but one that distracts from the main plot and is never fully explained.

The villain, once it becomes clear who he is, also isn't terribly interesting. Fortunately, many of the supporting characters are much better, even if the gender balance isn't great (which, I suppose, could at least be taken as accurate for the era of the TV show it's trying to emulate). There isn't much fun or humour in it either, leaving us with a sober and serious version of the Fourth Doctor more in line with his final season than with the Hinchcliffe era. Leela is good and gets to do a range of things, leading the action at several points.

This wasn't, for me, as epic as it was doubtless intended to be. It has a large scope, to be sure, and there are plenty of ideas in it but it goes on a bit too long and overstays its welcome. I'm torn between three and four stars, but I'll round up to save myself the hassle of deciding between them.

The third in the series of novellas is essentially a continuation of the second story, as Murderbot continues to dig into his past. In that respect, it could have been the second part of a longer novel, but the fact that all the characters, other than the protagonist, are new here means that would have felt rather odd. There is, nonetheless, more of a sense of the ongoing plot arc than before, and this story relies more on having read the previous ones than either of those did.

Here, Murderbot's quest leads him to an abandoned planetary research station with a human investigatory crew and a cheerful robot. The latter serves as another look into the complexities of human/AI interaction in this universe, with its relationship with its owners being quite different from what we've seen before - which also provides a glimpse into a broader cultural background. The bulk of the story consists of Murderbot trying to save the humans from the danger they find on the station, a set of fast-paced action scenes that nonetheless do a good job of exploring the various characters. Which, considering that the narrator doesn't fully understand (let alone like) humans is quite an achievement.

This follows the usual format of two 2-hour stories, with one set in the UNIT era, and one in space. The difference here is that these stories feature Liz Shaw and Sarah rather than Jo Grant, with both characters played by the daughters of the original actors. Thus, for the first time, we have a story in this series that features nobody from the original show – but, honestly, if you're put off by that, you'll probably have been deterred by the earlier releases and won't have gotten this far.

The Unzal Incursion – Liz Shaw, obviously, gets the UNIT-era story in this one. As the uninspiring title indicates, it's an alien invasion plot, but it rings a few changes on the regular format. For one, the aliens don't appear in person until nearly the end, making this almost an invasion by Zoom call – but their Earthbound agents are sufficiently active up until that point that you barely notice. The story also isolates the Doctor, Liz, and the Brigadier from their usual UNIT resources and still finds plenty of time for action shoot-outs that fans of season 7 will probably love.

There are a few flaws here and there, with the Brigadier turning out to be a qualified aeroplane pilot being one of the harder ones to swallow. The presence of a female army sergeant on active combat duties, while welcome from a modern perspective, also feels out-of-place in a story that's set no later than the early ‘80s and some listeners might feel the lack of Sgt Benton in her stead. (She's also Black, but it's the TV series' all-white casting that's the discrepancy here, if you really want to go down that route). These are, however, minor points in what's generally a strong evocation of the era, helped by the ‘70s style incidental music.

By this point, Treloar and Culshaw are familiar enough to forget they aren't the original actors, and Daisy Ashford does a good job as Liz Shaw; she's not really doing an impression of her mother, but it's good that she properly gets to play the hero this time – unlike her previous appearance. There's also some subtle foreshadowing of Liz's departure, and some rather less subtle hints fitting the story in with a larger arc – all explained in a short segment after the closing music. 4.5 stars.

The Gulf – Sadie Miller had previously played Sarah Jane Smith in Big Finish's remake of Revenge of the Cybermen but this marks her debut playing the character in a fully original story. She does not, of course, sound exactly like her mother, but, at least for me, she's close enough that I soon became used to it – which is more quickly than I did to Treloar, in fact. Although Sarah Jane is better known for her partnership with the Fourth Doctor, she was arguably written as a stronger and more independent character during her initial season with the Third Doctor and, naturally, that's what we get here. (Not that one would expect otherwise in a modern story set during, say, season 13, but it's perhaps less noticeable here).

The story is a base-under-siege set on what's essentially an oil rig on a waterworld during the waning years of the Earth Empire. A small group of artists have set up a facility on the abandoned rig, giving a different dynamic to the ‘base' format than we see in most such stories. It's notable that they all happen to be women, leaving the Doctor as the only male character (indeed, almost the only man even mentioned). It's not something we're likely to have seen in the TV series but here it's not even commented on – as it should be, really.

The base-under-siege format is well-played here. We get some good worldbuilding about the base and the universe around it, which plays directly into the plot and fits in with themes often seen during the Third Doctor's run. Everyone in the tiny artist colony is hiding a secret of some kind, creating a ‘whodunnit' feel, especially given that the story opens with a mysterious death. This subplot is largely resolved by around the halfway mark as we move into something that's more about trying to escape the monster. Speaking of which, while the basic concept of the monster is nothing new, it's well done, giving us an emotional insight into all of the characters it's facing, regulars and guest stars alike. This is a strong and well-constructed story of its type that manages to fit in nicely with the Third Doctor's era despite having a theme more associated with the Second. 4.5 stars.