Colony in Space has all the makings of a stellar classic who story but alas it suffers from that all too common ailment Didn't-need-to-be-six-parts-itis. The initial conspiracy with IMC trying to scare the miners away is interesting, the Master playing adjudicator is fun, I really liked the stuff about the doomsday weapon, but the pace just isn't right.

It's far from the worst case of a classic who story being too long for it's own good but that is unavoidably the problem. 4 episodes would have been more than enough, one for the IMC conspiracy, one for the Master adjudication, and the final two could remain largely the same I feel.

I did overall like this story, as I say it has all the right building blocks, and as 3’s first off World adventure after nearly two series it fits in with the unit era remarkably well. Certainly worth a go if you're up for a six parter.