Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! 

“FAST TIMES – A THRILLING FUGITIVE RUN WITH A FEW BUMPS ALONG THE WAY”

Most Wanted marks Big Finish’s first dedicated box set for Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor, a character shrouded in mystery ever since her brief appearances in Flux and The Power of the Doctor. With her past still largely unexplored, Fast Times kicks things off with an action-packed, high-energy chase, firmly establishing the core of this incarnation—constantly on the run from the Division, the organisation she once served.

The setup is simple but effective: the Doctor is captured and thrown onto a prison spaceship, where she quickly finds herself standing up for a bullied inmate while clashing with a brutish warden. It’s a perfect showcase for Jo Martin’s Doctor—tough, no-nonsense, but still possessing that classic sense of compassion and responsibility. She doesn’t pick fights needlessly, but when forced into action, she’s commanding and unyielding. This version of the Doctor thrives in tense, high-stakes environments, and the prison break scenario allows her to shine.

FADE, THE DALEKS, AND A MYSTERY IN THE TIMELINE

One of the most intriguing aspects of Fast Times is its introduction of Leah Harvey as Fade, an inmate who starts off as a frightened prisoner and gradually evolves into something of a companion figure. Her backstory is compelling—she’s on the run from the Daleks, who wiped out her family, making her wary of trusting anyone.

The most fascinating twist? The Fugitive Doctor has never encountered the Daleks before. This raises immediate questions: is this Doctor truly pre-Hartnell, experiencing her first brush with the Doctor’s greatest foes? Or is something else at play, such as memory loss? This uncertainty adds a fresh dynamic to the Doctor’s interactions with the Daleks, who, for once, are more terrifying to the companion than to the Doctor herself. Instead of engaging them immediately, the Doctor initially chooses to escape and leave Fade to fend for herself—an unexpected moment that underscores how this incarnation is still developing her moral compass.

While the chase format works well for the most part, the inclusion of the Daleks feels somewhat unnecessary. The second half of the story essentially turns into a The Chase-style pursuit, with the Doctor and Fade hopping through time—from the late Cretaceous period to the Manhattan Project—to evade the Daleks. While these settings add variety, they don’t contribute much beyond spectacle. That said, the Doctor using a nuclear bomb test to eliminate the Daleks is a strikingly bold move, excessive yet oddly satisfying.

COSMOGON—A NEW DIVISION THREAT

Adding another layer of tension is Cosmogon, a Time Lord agent tasked with capturing the Doctor. Her pursuit of the Fugitive Doctor adds to the sense of urgency, and their interactions suggest a long history yet to be uncovered. The fact that the Doctor’s new friends actively work to hold off Cosmogon so the Doctor can escape is a satisfying moment, reinforcing how quickly she inspires loyalty even when she tries to keep others at arm’s length.

VERDICT: A SOLID START WITH ROOM FOR MORE

Fast Times is essentially one long chase sequence, but it does a great job of establishing Jo Martin’s Doctor and setting up intriguing mysteries for future stories. While the Daleks’ inclusion feels somewhat unnecessary, the dynamic between the Doctor and Fade, as well as the looming threat of Cosmogon, keeps things engaging. This Doctor is still figuring herself out, and that makes her journey all the more exciting to follow.

📝81/100