Big Finish Main Range
The Doctor and his companions land where they intend to go for once, at a place for study in the human universe – Gallius Ultima. Just before trouble arrives in the form of the Star Men, naturally. “Men” who take the shape of men but are filled with red coral instead features. Nyssa and Tegan go off together, eventually, while Adric has his own heroics to perform with the Doctor. And the Doctor doesn’t actually solve the problem for once, but his companions, as they escape the LMC (Large Megellanic Cloud).
I’m not sure how I feel about this story. I really enjoyed it when I was listening and frequently lost track of what episode (1-4) was in. I usually am trying to figure it out so I can see how far from the resolution I am and try to figure out how the Doctor will pull it off this time. But this one broke the mold on that sort of thing. One the one hand, the companions were much more integral to figuring out how to solve the problem and actually carrying it out. They did it, not the Doctor. But it was also almost a 4-companion story, with no “lead” in the Doctor. He was basically a distraction for the Star Men so his friends could get on with getting things done. So it was very well done and not of the normal formula for Dr Who, that’s for sure. So I liked it a lot but didn’t love it.
Peter Davison (The Doctor), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sue Holderness (Kala Tace), Sophie Wu (Autumn Tace), Peter Guinness (Rovus), Damian Lynch (Fell/Lom), Kris Dyer (Nomar/Vedrin / Surgical Robot/ Pilot), Barnaby Edwards (Computer). Other parts played by members of the cast.
Writer: Andrew Smith
Director: Barnaby Edwards
Release: January 2017