Big Finish, The Early Adventures
This story does seem like it could be a Companion Chronicle, except for the extra actors involved. It’s a very action-packed adventure for Ian, Barbara, Susan, and the Doctor! They land on a ship at sea on a planet called Hydra, where the Voord have invaded and driven the population out to sea. There is one landmass and the rest of the planet is ocean. The denizens have laser guns and wooden ships, oddly enough. The Doctor and Barbara are on a sinking ship, Ian fights a Voord for his life, and Susan is safe with the remaining crew of the sinking ship. Apparently the humans on Hydra are being harvested, which turns out to be a rather different type of harvest than you would expect.
I really enjoyed the twists to this story, which are both very indicative of a 1st Doctor story and yet even more convoluted than usual. Perhaps having more actors involved adds that extra intensity to the story. The Voord aren’t the brightest of alien invaders, though. They can’t seem to understand the way humans think despite the harvest. It’s a bit strange that. It doesn’t take away from the story just made me scratch my head a bit. Perhaps it’s just that the leader isn’t a very good tactician. And once again, the Doctor defeats the Voord, as on Minerva.
William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Daisy Ashford (Amyra), Andrew Dickens (Jonas Kaan/Tarlak), Andrew Bone (Pan Vexel/Nebrin)
Writer: Andrew Smith
Director: Ken Bentley
Release: September 2014