Un-made Doctor Who stories are always interesting - a lot of the time you can tell why they might not have been produced (and sometimes that it was a good thing they weren't!); but sometimes you get something incredibly special. Both stories in the first Lost Stories First Doctor Boxset are special; but Farewell, Great Macedon is really quite remarkable. The production by Big Finish is also good - especially considering that its one of their longer stories at over four hours.

This is a true historical that fits well with the others from the first season of Doctor Who. It is based around the last days of Alexander the Great; around a plot from a number of people in his court to kill him and his heirs in order to take power in the Macedonian Empire for themselves; and is excellently paced throughout with some very good cliffhangers. It manages to stand out narratively speaking from the other true historicals at that time - one example of this is that unlike the other stories the TARDIS crew aren't prisoners forced to stay in the time they are in: other than a brief period where they are accused of Hephisteon's death (where Alexander never truly believes them to be the culprits) they are theoretically free to go but want to spend time with Alexander.

John Dorney's portrayal of Alexander is very good: he gets him across as someone that can inspire loyalty and emotion; while also being difficult at times. Considering the small size of the cast (this being the period where First doctor Big Finish stories weren't full cast - unfortunate as a full cast version of this could have been excellent) this is key - William Russell does a good job as Ian (and his First Doctor works as well - although not as good as others); and Carole-Ann Ford as Susan and Barbara also works. The sound design is brilliant - I listened while watching the TV series and while it's clearly a modern production it doesn't feel that out there relative to the TV shows. The end of the story is very emotional - Alexander going to his own death and refusing the help of the Doctor and Ian; the immediate collapse of the Empire that he built and the death of a dream of world unity worked very well.

There are a few points that might be negatives - I think there's a risk that stories like this may white-wash some not great periods in history (but then again; this is remarkably accurate for a Doctor Who historical); and this story had religious overtones at times that felt out of place for even 60s Doctor Who (and I understand there were even more removed from the draft script) and the format of three actors + narration might not click for everyone - but if it does and you like your early Doctor Who this is a must listen.