"Oh, I’m much more than one man. I’m an eleven-man team, Doctors United!"

To paraphrase David Tennant’s incarnation of the Doctor, doesn’t that just sum a potent series up? You get through all of the presents, and at the bottom of the pile, there’s a Satsuma. In the case of Destiny of the Doctor, the aforementioned spherical orange fruit mentioned in The Christmas Invasion symbolises a decent yet ultimately underwhelming conclusion to a franchise of audio adventures which could have resulted in so much more with the correct denouement. There’ve been weaker instalments than The Time Machine, but boy, have there been stronger chapters in the saga by a considerable distance.

This isn’t a release that’s for want of an accomplished narrator, however. Quite why Jenna Coleman’s on-screen companion Clara hasn’t been included in proceedings this time around is beyond this reviewer, for the standalone assistant Amy Watson comes off as little more than a stand-in here. If anything, Watson seems to have been named as such primarily on the basis of the literary implications of her surname, which naturally serves as the source for more than one gag based around the Great Detective himself. All the same, Coleman’s dictation is constantly engaging and efficiently brings across the rapid, blockbuster-esque pace of the narrative, even in spite of its negating to include the Impossible Girl at the Doctor’s side for the ride.

Joining the piece’s leading lady are Nicholas Briggs and Michael Cochrane, the former portraying the drama’s antagonists, the Creevix, and the latter taking on the role of Doctor Chivers. It took some time for this reviewer to discern to which alien race from the revived series of Who Briggs’ Creevix bore an uncanny resemblance, but in the end, The Power of Three’s Shakri commander appears to have had a significant influence. This familiar vocal adaptation certainly doesn’t work in the piece’s favour in terms of innovation, and that Cochrane’s performance echoes past whimsical professors aplenty isn’t beneficial in the long run either. Perhaps the series’ producers had scarce choice for vocal contributors to this final instalment- either way; it’s a crying tragedy that their selections pale so immensely in comparison to their predecessors on the run.

As the Destiny run has developed over the course of 2013, it became evermore apparent that its resolution of the ongoing arc of the Eleventh Doctor’s visits to his past selves would be paramount to the series’ success in hindsight. The approach which writer Matt Fitton takes in creating both a standalone narrative and a satisfying conclusion for long-term fans is admirable; although overall the resolution in question feels rather rushed and haphazard. Partly, that’s due to the threat of the tale hardly being dangerous enough to warrant such a dangerous timeline-crossing excursion for the incumbent incarnation. Moreso, though, this plot arc connection is only re-established in the drama’s closing moments and is dealt with just as swiftly as the Eleventh’s cameos came and went in previous chapters.

In the scheme of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, it’s fair to argue that a great degree of threat is required so as to have a grand celebratory impact on the viewer, or in this case the listener. The Day of the Doctor has an evil, apparently lost incarnation of everyone’s favourite Time Lord and The Light at the End resumes the seemingly undying threat of the Master, yet The Time Machine’s antagonist is neither iconic nor particularly original. The Five Doctors’ Borusa may not have gone down in the history books, but at least that anniversary special had enough in the way of returning companions and foes to compensate. Devoid of classic adversaries or allies beyond a few references and throwbacks, this is a member of the 50th ensemble which is remarkably hollow when judged alongside its ambitious cohorts. AudioGo’s Destiny range hasn’t lacked ambition in the past, so this sudden subversion of followers’ expectations is a bitter shock, an inadvertent betrayal of our hopes for what could have been a truly noteworthy outing.

This is a disheartening end, then, to a range of audio dramas which showed so much promise throughout its run. Though there were most certainly sore notes, Vengeance of the Stones and Enemy Aliens among them, Destiny of the Doctor has had its fair share of highlights, Babblesphere and Death’s Deal the most noteworthy by far. The Time Machine lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, and while as a finale it’s a worthy listen for series veterans, as a standalone instalment of Doctor Who it stumbles and veers close to falling flat on its face. Coleman’s narration is superb, yet her supporting stars are steeped in the framework of what’s come before when it comes to their character performances, and Matt Fitton’s script struggles under the weight of the series’ convoluted plot arcs.

Big Finish and AudioGo’s first major collaboration has been something of a mixed bag, but for those fans still craving further 50th Anniversary homages and stories, the overall experience of hearing Destiny of the Doctor in full is accomplished enough to warrant an investment. Hunters of Earth kicks proceedings off with a bang, and the momentum of the overarching storyline rarely lapses from that point onwards. Each narrator does a fine job of representing their respective era of Doctor Who, as do each of the eleven intricate scripts. Just be warned, though, that its finale is undoubtedly the Satsuma of the pile.

How strange and fascinating it is that half a decade on from its inception, a single element of a new Doctor Who instalment can still change our perception of the show’s lore so significantly. Much like its inspired predecessor Starlight Robbery, the third and final release in the 2013 Seventh Doctor range builds upon an initially recognisable premise using innovative, intricate storytelling methods in order to bring across the scale and dramatic weight of its narrative in such a manner as a televised story could never convincingly achieve, packing some brilliant twists which shake up the status quo immensely.

That Daleks Among Us’ storyline bears such a seemingly uncanny resemblance to those of past on-screen Who episodes at first in fact contributes to the overall impact of this trilogy finale more than most fans would likely expect. Last month’s Sontaran-laden Seventh Doctor outing offered its listeners a teasing glimpse of events to come as Frontier In Space once did for Planet of the Daleks, which could have inevitably caused concerns for followers of the range that similar to Planet itself, this release’s plot would take its good time to gather momentum. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, with Alan Barnes’ creation appearing only to be spurred forward by the arc threads already set in place for it to build upon.

Whether it’s in Barnes’ cunning re-introduction of Skaro’s iconic inhabitants into the Doctor’s world or in his subtle yet crucial interweaving of a resolution to Elizabeth Klein’s parallel universe identity arc into proceedings, there’s precious little in this particular script that can be faulted on the whole. Admittedly, the latter plot element has always come off as a tad convoluted and cumbersome for the range, something which was doubly apparent in Persuasion and Starlight Robbery, and the complexity of comprehending its climax is one of the few moments of detrimental impact in the piece. Yet such detriment is negligible for the majority, its resounding effect on the quality of the release being minimal at worst.

The scribe’s consistent and finely-paced work here is backed up with exhilarating gusto by the notably accomplished cast assembled for the release. Naturally, Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor grows as a more empathetic and tangibly heroic character during every instance in which he receives new material, the continuing success of McCoy in this case coming as no surprise. Despite their characters holding primary roles within the narrative, Tracey Childs and Christian Edwards’ portrayals of Klein and Will respectively are debatably restrained by their limited dialogue and significant actions, the former character serving as little more than a Russell T. Davies-esque deus ex machina initiator come the tale’s climax.

Enter Terry Molloy, whose much-warranted return to the role of Davros does not dissatisfy even slightly. As if Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks weren’t enough to demonstrate the British thespian’s sheer ownership of the role of the Daleks’ creator in his classic series guise, the content Molloy performs here clearly reaffirms the fear and simultaneous pathos this tragic antagonist can evoke in his audience. Russell recently demonstrated the uncompromising, borderline self-destructive nature of Davros’ psyche in the aftermath of the Time War (The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End); however, more engaging by far is the opportunity Molloy enables for listeners to discover new truths surrounding a man whose existence is one of isolation and whose race no longer deems his existence a necessity.

Anyone approaching this latest encounter with Davros will no doubt recall that the exposure between McCoy’s Doctor and Molloy’s layered antagonist in Remembrance was slight to say the very least. Suitably, the two characters share further sequences in the same room this time around, and their tense dynamic maintains itself as one of the most compelling elements of the piece in its entirety. A sense pervades that (in the words of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight screenplay) these two warring geniuses “have a destiny together”, their fates eternally linked by one’s desire to fight evil and the other’s to survive and conquer. Perhaps the Great Healer of old was destroyed in the Crucible in Russell’s Series Four finale, yet judging by his confirmed resilience in classic televised and audio instalments alike, his survival to fight the Time Lord another day is the more probable assertion.

It’s only a shame that the note on which this particular audio drama crescendos is not as effective as the conclusions of its predecessors. In those instances, Jonathan Barnes and Matt Fitton held the benefit of their ability to implement a thrilling cliff-hanger in preparation for the next instalment, a trait which (the other) Barnes neither needs to nor can logistically fulfil at the trilogy’s end. The shortcoming comes more as a result of Big Finish’s production approach than anything, but it’s simply notable enough that the Doctor, Klein and Will readying themselves for a further impending dangerous excursion through time and space isn’t a particularly daring send-off in comparison to recent televised season finales or indeed other ‘seasons’ in the various audio ranges.

Judged either on its own merits or as a cog within the metaphorical machine of the trilogy, Daleks Among Us is an imperfect but immensely gratifying experience for the listener. McCoy and Molloy both shine marvellously in their performances in spite of the remainder of the main and supporting cast failing to match them, and in spite of the primary titular antagonists not having any particularly bold impact on the core narrative. This isn’t the splendid gem that Starlight Robbery emerged to be last month, that’s for sure. In many ways, though, it’s a hidden gem, its defining strengths counterbalancing its shortcomings by a notable margin. There’s an old saying which asserts that we never truly stop learning, and in this case, even in Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary year, it appears (incredibly) that writers like Barnes still have plenty of exhilarating lessons to teach yet.

The Monster Collection is a new series of DVDs that each focus on one of the Doctor's adversaries; unlike previous collective releases such as The Dalek Collection and Cybermen, however, this time around each of the six DVDs pair up both the modern and classic appearance of the subject in question.

There's obviously been an attempt to pair up 'origin' stories: for the Sontarans we have The Time Warrior with The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky, the Silurians have Doctor Who and the Silurians with The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, and with Dalek creator Davros it's Genesis of the Daleks alongside The Stolen Earth/Journey's End. Things start to go a little awry with The Master, where it's Terror of the Autons paired with The End of Time (though the latter story does explain why the Master is how he is so perhaps more relevant than Last of the Time Lords. The Cybermen are then represented by Rise Of The Cybermen/Age of Steel and The Tomb of The Cybermen (this being the first 'complete' story featuring them) - I'm guessing either the animated reconstructed version of The Tenth Planet wasn't ready for that set's preparation, or maybe it was actually a decision that having an animated episode is mis-representative and might detract newcomers from the show (I doubt it would have been through it's inclusion in the recent Regenerations boxed set, though, being The End of Time is included here!). However, I'm rather more mystified at Asylum of the Daleks's inclusion with The Daleks - I would have thought Dalek would have been a better choice - not to mention meaning that Christopher Eccleston's contribution to the series could also have then been represented!

Speaking of incarnations, only the first four 'classic' Doctors are represented, though with all of the adversaries in the set introduced during the first twelve years of the show that's inevitable. For those that are, we have one Hartnell, one Troughton, three Pertwee and one Tom Baker story (though Troughton only makes it in through The Tenth Planet not being used). Perhaps if the Terileptils, Bandils and Tetraps return then the others could get a look-in (grin).

If future collections were to be considered, then candidates might be - assuming animations remain off the menu - the Ice Warriors represented by The Seeds of Death alongside Cold War, and the Zygons through Terror of the Zygons and the still-be-broadcast The Day of the Doctor. The Autons are another notable absentee, though with Terror already in The Master collection and Spearhead from Space only just been re-released on Blu-ray that set is probably unviable (though it would have given Eccleston another chance with a pairing with Rose!).

However, I suspect that sets such as The Macra (The Macra Terror and Gridlock) and The Great Intelligence (The Abominable Snowmen and The Snowmen) are rather less likely ...

The Discs

The Cybermen and The Sontarans are presented on one disc, with the others across two. As these are a collection, all the discs use the same basic "rainy" montage with spinning TARDIS in the background, with the main protagonist taking centre stage (see the screenshots below). Unfortunately this doesn't extend to the stories themselves, so the 'classic' story has the same graphic as the 'modern' - this is most noticeable with The Master, where John Simm graces Terror of the Autons where I would have really liked an imposing Roger Delgado!


Other than that, these are vanilla releases with only subtitles as an option, and the story-specific sub-menus only give the option to choose a specific episode. There is no restoration work undertaken on these discs either, retaining any rendering issues encountered on their previous dedicated DVD release (for example, David Daker and John Carney credits are still missing from The Time Monster); however, The Tomb Of The Cybermen is the re-released, VidFIREd version from Revisitations 3.

Conclusion

The pairing of a classic era adversary with its modern interpretation is an interesting way to bring those creatures' earlier exploits to the attention of those solely versed in the 21st Century version (not to mention a 'fresh' Doctor, too!) As the publicity says, "These collections are perfect for younger viewers just discovering the scary delights of fifty years of Doctor Who." This is quite a canny move on the part of BBC Worldwide in order to engender an interest in the older stories (and the back catalogue of hundreds of adventures to purcha- enjoy, as well...).

However, there is nothing new of interest to those who already owns previous releases - and the chances are you have, of course - for example with something like Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel this is its fourth outing, having been previously released as part of Series 2 Vol 3, The Cybermen (2009) and Doctor Who: DVD Files Vol #10 (not to mention complete series and era boxed sets!). But then, these DVDs are not really aimed at you!

On the other hand, if you are thinking of treating a younger cousin etc. to a Doctor Who DVD in order to introduce them to larger history of the show then these are perhaps a relatively cheap way to do so.

(It's just a shame that the Jagaroth didn't make a re-appearance in order to have City of Death, so you'll just have to buy them the classic release instead!)

You have to envy Nicholas Briggs. Aside from living every young (and old) fan’s dream as a voice artist on the modern Doctor Who TV series – as the embodiment of the Daleks – he has also established himself as a prolific storyteller. Since the inception of Big Finish’s Doctor Who audio range, he has contributed countless serials for the medium, including numerous confrontations with Skaro’s infamous pepperpots (whom he has also voiced), as well as four seasons of the excellent spin-off Dalek Empire.

Given that he has spent over a decade virtually living and breathing Daleks, it’s a wonder Briggs did not exhaust every ounce of his creativity on the creatures long ago. His enthusiasm for the monsters has never waned and he has still been able to develop fresh angles for the Daleks in his stories, emphasising them as astute, rational and devious villains. The Dalek Generation, Briggs’ first official work of Doctor Who prose for BBC Books and AudioGO, also offers an unconventional take on the metal meanies. However, whereas Briggs’ Dalek tales are regularly epic, ambitious, action-packed and cleverly structured, The Dalek Generation is a mishmash of competitive elements and styles. The story is part urban noir, part urban thriller, part ancient mystery and part children’s drama. It is also more intimate and introspective, emphasising characterisation over action. Unfortunately, the presence of so many competing elements means it is hard to envisage exactly what kind of story Briggs is trying to tell as you listen to it.

The premise of The Dalek Generation is more implied than spelled out. The prosperous and harmonious Sunlight colony worlds are convinced the Daleks are saviours and philanthropists, not conquerors and devastators. The excellent prologue hints at a Dalek snake in an all too perfect Eden where people are happy and wealthy and (in typical fascist style) the bullet trains run on time! Like the classic Who serial The Happiness Patrol, doubters and dissidents are sought out and reconditioned – or “rehabilitated” - and the general populace are distracted by the joys of consumerism and reality television, oblivious to the true nature of their overlords. But as fascinating as this premise is - it certainly shows us another facet of the Daleks’ ingenuity and cunning - it is not as well developed as it ought to be and it is covered much too late in the story. Indeed, you are led to believe from the prologue that the book will focus strongly on the Doctor (as he so often does) arriving to “turn this mad upside down world up the right way again”. The book defies that expectation. Briggs at least convincingly portrays the Doctor’s failure to show the Sunlight colonists the deceit of their Dalek saviours. However, the underbelly of this so-called perfect world could have been so much more chilling, horrific and graphic. Past Dalek tales like Revelation of the Daleks and Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways have taken no prisoners when unveiling the horrors (both graphic and implied) that the Daleks hide behind a façade of civility.

The major strengths of this novel are actually in the characterisations of the story’s core juvenile characters which I suspect Briggs has based closely on his own young children. Like many fans, if you despised the presence of Clara’s “brat pack” Artie and Angie in the recent episode Nightmare in Silver, then brace yourself. In The Dalek Generation the Doctor, in the absence of a regular companion, befriends three orphans he rescues in the opening chapters. While the three children – Sabel, Jenibeth and Ollus Blakely – could have been extremely irritating, they are, through strong writing, sympathetic and endearing. Their innocence and straightforward attitudes, completely devoid of the pretentiousness of adults, also ably complement the madcap Eleventh Doctor, a man who is extremely hyperactive and who is (despite his great age) child-like and childish in equal measure!

Other themes in this story also resonate with the reader but again seem disjointed in the overall narrative. Not so long after the tragic conclusion of The Angels Take Manhattan, the ugliness of time travel rears its head again. We are reminded why, for all the good he does, the Doctor’s propensity for meddling, coupled with the Daleks’ machinations, can have an unintentionally tragic impact on the course of people’s lives. Briggs definitely knows how to tug at the heartstrings and convey the Time Lord’s anguish when the Doctor must explain to the Blakely orphans why he cannot go back in time and rescue their parents:

The Doctor could still hear Sabel’s crying and when a big sister cries, he thought, so would her little brother and sister. He was right. He could hear Ollus and Jenibeth start to sob. Here he was, thought the Doctor, the man who could bring empires to their knees, stand up to and defeat the most terrible creatures the universe had to offer, and when it came to children crying, his arsenal of rhetoric, ingenuity and witty ripostes was utterly bare. For a moment, all he wanted to do was run away. How could he tell the children he couldn’t go back and save their parents?

Indeed, the Blakely children’s full life story is very affecting and the book’s conclusion is bittersweet. The conclusion, however, would be more powerful if it is not so rushed. Briggs ties together all the distinct elements that make up the book so that you finally understand the scale and depth of the Daleks’ nefarious (and rather over-complex) plan. However, I feel the book’s deus ex machina – the so-called Cradle of Life – is both an unnecessary and clichéd SF staple. It fits in with Briggs’ penchant for giving the Daleks extremely overcomplicated, long term schemes of conquest but clashes with the more personal, intimate story that he has also been striving to write.

Briggs ably performs this audio reading of his own work. Naturally he brings out the voice modulator for the Daleks but he also performs the other voices for his characters, from the naive, bolshie Blakely children to the Peter Miles-like delivery of a colonial judge on the Sunlight world Carthedia (an unashamed nod to Miles’ classic performance as Nyder in Genesis of the Daleks). Briggs also reasonably apes Matt Smith’s performance as the Doctor. Smith’s Doctor has been described by many fans as the “shouty” Doctor and Briggs definitely conveys this trait in his portrayal of the Time Lord. You can literally visualise the exclamation marks whenever Briggs delivers some of the Doctor’s more excitable lines and his rants are a contrast to the Daleks’ calmer, rational, calculating and emotionless tones. This is particularly noticeable given the pepperpots are uncharacteristically on their best behaviour and at their most reasonable!

The Dalek Generation is an oddity from Nicholas Briggs. Its premise is interesting but underdeveloped and has also been recently bettered by Malorie Blackman’s Doctor Who e-short The Ripple Effect which offers its own superior vision of a benevolent Dalek society. The story is also teeming with too many other complex, interconnected ideas and themes for the reader to absorb in one sitting. Nevertheless, Briggs’ attempt to write a more personalised, intimate tale between the Doctor and the Blakely children is the highlight of the book and does show that the author is, despite his inner Dalek, capable of subtlety and empathy.

A more apt title for the second instalment in Big Finish’s latest trilogy of Seventh Doctor adventures would perhaps be Starlight Treasury. For within this follow-up to Persuasion, the listener is offered a metaphorical vault of contributory delights which combine to form one of the production team’s strongest efforts yet. It’s rare that a reviewer can so fully complement an audio drama as to assert its shortcomings as purely negligible, yet in this particular case that’s precisely the situation which has presented itself.

What remains a surprise throughout the duration of the story is the effectiveness with which its scribe Matt Fitton develops upon what is a fairly traditional premise. The action picks up moments after the conclusion of Persuasion, with Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor, Tracey Child’s Klein and Christian Edwards’ Will all intent on discovering the whereabouts of the lost Persuasion device and its creator Kurt Schulk. Their search leads them to an intergalactic auction featuring a plethora of galaxy-threatening weaponry, forcing the TARDIS crew to engineer a devious heist in order to gain access to the ultimate prize.

Unless listeners manage to somehow experience Starlight Robbery without glancing at its cover art, they’ll already have noticed that the Sontarans are due a comeback in this piece. Sure enough, faster than you can yell ‘Atmos’, the classic adversaries make their entrance heard in the midst of the auction and pose an additionally dangerous dilemma for the Time Lord at its heart. Dan Starkey is rightly offered full vocal control over the various soldiers of this particular Legion and he manages to intelligently differentiate between the dialects and colloquialisms of each of the different soldier roles he inhabits. Naturally, there are instances where Starkey’s recent regular work as Strax on the show has an influence on his portrayal, yet this only serves to enhance his contribution to proceedings rather than acting in any detrimental manner.

Before the Rutans’ most notorious foes even take to the stage, though, this release’s finest asset is introduced in subtle but sublime fashion. Jo Woodcock takes on the role of the flirty and rather vivacious entrepreneur Ziv with a zestful and enriching energy that allows her to dominate each and every sequence she appears in, regardless of the extent to which she appears or indeed the level of challenge the dialogue places before her. Refreshing as it is to see McCoy in particular on such strong and consistent form as his incarnation of the Doctor, always the prospect of discovering fresh and invigorating new blood on-screen or in these audio releases is just as thrilling, doubly so in the case of the supremely talented Woodcock here.

Similarly unexpected and yet beneficial is Fitton’s capability to relax the arc stands of the 2013 Seventh Doctor trilogy so as to allow himself to convey a standalone, layered tale without the restraints of specific narrative elements holding back his own creative vision. Whereas Persuasion occasionally seemed confined by the expectations of the events it had to fulfil and pre-empt, Starlight Robbery serves as a great interlude before a presumably climactic confrontation of wits in the upcoming finale. Despite the return of Black And White’s elusive conman Garundel (played marvellously by Stuart Milligan once again) and the continuation of the search for Schultz’s masterpiece, there’s plenty of standalone content here that won’t likely leave newcomers to the range too confused as to exactly ‘what’s occurring’, in the elegant words of Gavin & Stacey’s Nessa.

Undoubtedly, the metaphorical glue which holds it all together is the intelligent structure that Fitton engineers as the backbone of his drama. At no stage in the four ‘episodes’ of the piece does any notable lapse in momentum occur, even in the more intricate and reserved exchanges between main and supporting characters aboard spaceships, storage crates and the various other modes of transportation which they hop aboard. Plot twists are dispensed equally in such a manner that listeners will frequently find themselves lulled into a false sense of security or foreknowledge, only to eventually discover that their understanding of events to come is minimal and inaccurate at the best of times.

If a minor inferior element of this second instalment must be uncovered, then it is arguable that a singular flaw lies in its climax. Fans of the Doctor Who stories broadcast in the show’s first decade may find themselves experiencing déjà vu as Starlight Robbery draws to a close, with a familiar spaceship cruiser’s interior sound effect employed in the final scene as a teaser of what’s to come next time. For this reviewer, the conclusion of Frontier In Space came to mind, although on the whole the effect of this supposed shortcoming is minimal, with the scene in question handled in such a manner that its dramatic impact is intense enough to justify its relative familiarity.

When Daleks Among Us does arrive in stores later this month, then, it faces a battle on dual fronts. On the one hand, writer Alan Barnes must engineer resolutions to narrative arcs such as the Klein mystery, the manipulation of the Persuasion machine and the foreboding trap which the titular antagonists and their creator have set for the Doctor. On the other hand, in following on from Starlight Robbery, Barnes acquires the unenviable task of matching or bettering what is to this reviewer’s mind one of the greatest single releases that Big Finish have produced since their inception. Starlight Robbery represents everything that makes the programme a success fifty years on- the intricate narratives, the accomplished performers, the supreme dramatic impact of it all- and without a doubt Fitton’s finest hour writing for the range. If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s stellar in every sense of the word, and for this reviewer Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Special has truly come early.

If Big Finish’s UNIT Dominion presented its listeners with a renewed definition of the scale and potential of the Seventh Doctor audio range, then Persuasion can be perceived as serving an altogether different purpose. The first instalment in a trilogy of intergalactic adventures featuring Sylvester McCoy’s Time Lord, Tracey Child’s Klein and Christian Edwards’ new UNIT recruit Will Arrowsmith, writer Jonathan Barnes’ latest contribution to the Doctor Who universe does not find itself in want of narrative ambition. That said, a number of elements in this initial chapter restrain it notably enough to affect its overall quality.

The premise Barnes sets upon his listeners in the drama’s opening stages is simple, yet provides an effective and somewhat audacious opening to proceedings akin to that of a pre-titles sequence in a modern episode of Who. Now fully integrated into her role as UNIT’s scientific advisor, Klein is faced with training a relative newcomer to the organisation in Will. Before either of them can so much as utter the word “Kandyman”, however, the TARDIS appears on their proverbial doorstep, as the Doctor whisks the pair of them to Nazi Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War to hunt down a dangerous secret.

Of course, for more than one particular member of the TARDIS crew, the prospect of a trip to the Reichland is arguably threatening enough without a devastating piece of alien technology on the loose. Barnes rightly doesn’t ignore the significance this time period holds for the Doctor’s first German companion, instead seeding in a variety of whispers and hints from Nazi officials and others as to the nature of the information that the seventh incarnation of the Time Lord is holding from his ally at this stage. UNIT Dominion began to tease out inklings of Klein’s forgotten past, and thus to hear these murmurings developed on an explicit level here is enthralling for keen followers of the range.

What’s perhaps less effective in this case, then, is that Barnes appears to have been constrained by the overarching narrative structure set in place for this new trilogy of adventures. Certainly, fans who wanted to bear aural witness to new developments in the saga of Klein’s trip between parallel universes and our own won’t be outright disappointed by this release, but there remains an ever-present sense that certain revelations and events have been collated and stored for future instalments rather than placed here to serve a narrative which alludes to them. It’s one of the only arguable caveats of a trilogy such as this, in that there must always inevitably be loose ends which the opening instalment leaves for its successors to deal with, yet here that truth proves detrimental to Barnes’ narrative vision.

Thankfully, another element of Big Finish’s audio dramas which often has a great effect has not been restrained in this sense. Despite inhabiting a narrative that often falls plague to restricted progression due to its arc functions, the central cast of this release maintain a consistent benchmark of accomplished performances throughout. Sylvester McCoy is on just as fine form as he was in last October’s Dominion, an increasingly deceptive and omniscient presence within the lives of his companions, while Tracey Child maintains that impressive cold and hardened exterior of her oft-vulnerable UNIT advisor. Christian Edwards, a relative newcomer to the scene, must also be awarded great credit too for his stellar initial portrayal of Will, an instantly recognisable and empathetic construct who the audience can grow and bond with over the course of his coming travels aboard that oh-so-familiar time machine.

Elsewhere, the supporting cast of the piece are all served strongly with contemplative and emotive dialogue that rarely fails to hit the mark. Jonathan Forbes seems to revel in the layered depth of portraying a degraded Nazi officer such as Hinterberger in a post-war state, David Sibley’s Kurt Schalk comes across as a constantly elusive and wily rogue whose wider implications in the trilogy have yet to be seen, and Gemma Whelan’s hilarious intercom sequences as the artificial intelligence representing the Khlect foundation truly have to be heard to be believed. It’s testament to the diversity and uniqueness of the range that even now, a performance such as the latter actress’ can still inspire such profound, unforeseen hilarity and compelling listening fifteen years on from Big Finish’s inception.

Once again, though, by analysing and highlighting each of the elements which aid in providing the listener with a ceaselessly compelling and invigorating experience, inevitably the shortcomings which restrain the piece’s potential only become more prominent. Indeed, as with several other releases in the Doctor Who audio range, the notion occurred to this reviewer as to whether perhaps Barnes’ storyline would have been better served in a standalone context rather than that of a trilogy. It’s naturally clear that plot devices including the titular Persuasion machine, Schalk and the mystery of Klein will have roles to play in Starlight Robbery and Daleks Among Us over the next two months, yet this arc has seemingly forced Barnes to limit his line of investigation into the moral state of the Nazis after their defeat and indeed the Doctor’s own growing realisations that his next death and subsequent regeneration seem closer than ever before.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the latter contemplation from McCoy’s incarnation remains one of the most effectively underplayed moments of the entire production. The Doctor suggests to Klein in one way or another that his darker, enigmatic schemes which come into play here are simply his own way of dealing with his seemingly impending demise, his current incarnation making the worst of decisions in order to relinquish the universe of its darkest threats, allowing his next persona a degree of relief. This is a truly intriguing perspective for Barnes to take on a version of the Time Lord who has often been criticised for his eschewed sense of violence and justice, especially if the implications that this version’s transformation into the Eighth Doctor is near. When it comes to penning future instalments of televised Who, showrunner Steven Moffat could do far worse than to use Barnes’ contemplations of the Doctor’s darkest actions as an influence, even if it’s too late for such contemplations to have a direct influence on the portrayal of John Hurt’s new Doctor in the 50th Anniversary Special.

In fact, a recent statement by Moffat regarding the impending celebratory event can help to epitomise the effect of this latest Seventh Doctor release: “One of the things that I’m concerned about this year is that the show must be seen to be going forward. It’s all about the next fifty years, not the last fifty years.” Similarly, here Barnes appears to have adopted a mantra of moving the tales of this incarnation forward in an innovative manner rather than simply revelling in the nostalgia which ultimately killed Who in 1989. For the most part, it’s a supremely effective approach, and one that this reviewer hopes will not be forgotten as we move into escapades involving old foes like the Sontarans and the Daleks next time around.

Persuasion is a challenging audio drama to rate, simply because for every glowing strength it presents in the course of its two-hour running time, there’s a narrative or structural shortcoming which acts as a counterbalance to restrain it from greatness. However, what’s clear is that if the team behind UNIT Dominion were intent on redefining the Seventh Doctor audio range, then the team working on this production were equally intent on kick-starting a rapid chain of exhilarating events which no self-respecting listener is going to want to miss. In spite of its blemishes, Persuasion’s argument is aptly far too compelling for fans of McCoy and Big Finish to ignore, continuing a bold new lease of life for this particular range.