I had a good time with this slow-moving story. If I’m honest, I think we got the better story with The Three Doctors, with its bigger cast and a greater sense of jeopardy. Although, as jeopardy goes, the first three Doctor’s waiting in Death’s Waiting Room maintains the stakes are pretty high. Deathworld is a chattier piece, and surprisingly well-suited for audio. Having said that, I have no idea how much work John Dorney put in.

“That Death chap brought us here for a reason!”

The Doctors are all beautifully played, and their scenes together are a real high point. “Fancy Pants got himself a thesaurus for Christmas,” is a particular favourite. The First Doctor suffers a few trademark minor line stumbles, and the Third is deliciously outraged at every attack on his ego. There are even a few variations on the double entendres enjoyed by Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton. Some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments here.

With a story that has only a few moments of real tension, I do think the direction could be stronger. Some moments could have done with a bit more ‘oomph’. As it is, they are too reliant on the actors to carry the sense of jeopardy, and this comes across as a little pantomime-like. Perhaps that was the intention, but Tim Steemson’s score is very much pushed backwards in the mix and doesn’t have much chance to make an impact or build up the drama.

A thin story filled with good intentions is how I would sum this up.