I was quite excited going into this boxset as I always enjoy an outing with Eight and his team. I like Liv and Helen as much as anyone else, and I was pleased at the idea of getting to see more of them. However, I do feel that they, as a team, have not had any real new challenges or developments for a while, and I feel this story suffered for it.

The team show up on this spooky planet with two women who seem to be harbouring secrets and lies, while surrounded by sinister birds. The setting is very well realised, and the sound design of the people turning into birds was very horrible in the best kind of way. It was atmospheric and a little bit spooky. And that's about it.

I found myself zoning out in various places, and though overall I found it to be entertaining enough, it very much felt like a run of the mill, generic story. Nothing overly compelling happened. The monster is defeated. And it ends. It didn't really push the characters forward, and saw Liv and Helen stuck in this little loop of what they usually do which I would love them to break out of.

That said, I did enjoy the conversations about Helen's family - I always like when the 8DAs dig into that, and giving her a space to remember her mother gives her a dimension that she is often not afforded. But while Helen had some nice moments, nothing really happened for Liv. She used her medical skills, and helped save the day. I did like her mention of Tania, though - that, I feel, is a plot that was not used to its full potential. But that is a different review.

Overall, it was fine. But not something I'll be hankering to relisten to.