1963: The Space Race (#179)

   Big Finish Main Range


What an excellent story! This is just amazing and the alien involved, that the Doctor finds towards the end of the story, is perfect for the story. Plus it makes sense. Some of the alien technology and/or monsters in Doctor Who stories can seem a bit contrived or thrown into the story. This one doesn’t. It fits with the circumstances and the storyline.

Peri and the Doctor land in Soviet Kazakhstan in November 1963. They see a crashed jeep, investigate, and get out just before the jeep explodes. They’re then taken to the aerodrome nearby posing as scientists who are really KGB operatives posing as scientists to ferret out the spy at the base. So the story progresses from there, with a cosmonaut missing and a talking dog showing up who has her own plans, ultimately. Why the dog is so pissed at the humans is understandable though a bit odd only because I thought they didn’t have good long term memories. The Doctor gets to go into space as a cosmonaut and Peri gets to be part of the “staff” at the aerodrome. What Luca the dog does is a bit hair-raising at times, too. I am glad Big Finish had the kindness to only have us experience it once during the story. ICK. Gross factor 10! But this was an amazingly well done story all around. Excellent stuff!


Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant

Writers: Jonathan Morris

Director: Nicholas Briggs

Release: October 2013

© Laura Vilensky 2019