Now THIS is what I was expecting this season to be! Sci-fi thrills, a more serious tone, a creepy base-under-siege vibe, and a really fascinating concept turning into a much bigger threat than first expected!

I would not want to mess with the Fourth Doctor in this story! Aggressive, dark and solemn - This is a version of the Doctor that doesn't come out often, and I'm expecting a bit more of this as we move further into the televised Season 18. There's elements of his more childish nature when he meets Dethras, but then once his dark truth comes out, he's back to his more serious self. Romana is thrown in at the deep end, when she's captured by the enemy - but unlike other companions, she's handled really well and can confront her opponent on her own! Also, was there a little rude joke between the two at the start, as the Doctor says he "likes it" when she disagrees with him? Hmmm...

The cliffhanger for this story has to be one of the weirdest in the entire show - and that's including the weird cliffhangers for Season 22. "My name... is Dethras." Wow! But who's Dethras? There's been no mention of Dethras in the entire first episode, but it warrants a cliffhanger. Bizarre. There's quite a few threats throughout the tory - the strange creatures besieging the submarine, the man who created them (Dethras) and the woman who wants to employ the creatures for a super army. It creates a lot of tension and incredibly threatening, as well as displaying themes of advanced evolution.

An abandoned submarine floating through space is a great location for a base-under-siege - It's tense and creepy, with a real JNT feel to it. It adds to the dark tone of the story, and sets up for a really interesting story - why has this submarine been extracted for its time zone, and what is it needed for? The answers to these questions do not disappoint, and it feels very grounded and real - For a WW2 submarine in space, anyway. The final scene where a great mystery in the universe has been revealed is a nice twist, too.

The most annoying thing about this story - and it's incredibly annoying - is the chimpanzee on the submarine. It's "Oo oo aa aa" every three seconds is unbearable, I hate it so much, and I was so tempted to just turn it off. The other navy soldiers are alright, nothing special - but I wasn't focusing on them because the chimpanzee was SO LOUD AND ANNOYING. I HATE IT. Helped to showcase the advanced evolution, but for the love of god, shut up!!!!

A really great tale, showcasing the best of the JNT years, and I can't wait to start his TV run if his stories match this kind of standard. I'm surprised that Adrian Poynton hasn't done more for Big Finish - this was absolutely fantastic. The only other story he's done is in the Jenny boxset, and I'm not exactly thrilled about that...
But seriously, shut up, Franklyn the Monkey.