The TARDIS has been brought to perhaps its strangest destination yet, a beautiful planet called Rift in the realm of Morning. It's where everything in civilization and the stars supposedly came into being, and this legendary status makes it older and grander than almost anywhere else in the universe. But a visit to a local museum brings trouble as a mystical light from a rusty old lantern echoes in the minds of the Doctor and his friends. A lamp that must never be lit full of a destructive temporal element is about to send the TARDIS team on their biggest adventure yet .....

"Hooklight 1" is an ambitious Fifth Doctor release that's the first half of a massive epic that's unlike almost anything we've heard before. It starts interestingly quietly, as it initially seems like business as usual for the TARDIS team. But the more Tim Foley's script unfolds, the more things feel truly different. The writing feels like Doctor Who does "The Lord of the Rings" with a wonderful blend of sci-fi and fantasy, with the Hooklight itself as our central MacGuffin and the ghoulish Nigh Guard as our Nazgul. It's a bit overlong in places, true, but with plenty of fantastic lore full of political intrigue, philosophy, and big plot points, the narrative is denser than one would expect, backed by an appropriately mysterious soundscape and a great musical score.

Predictably, Davison and Sutton get the biggest developments overall as the Doctor and Nyssa have the biggest visceral reaction to what's going on. But Waterhouse and Fielding get plenty to do as they bear witness to past and future events to shocking effect; emphasis on the shocking part, as there are some big moments here that knock the wind out from under you more than once.

"Hooklight 1" then is a refreshing change of pace for your Doctor Who audio listening, grand and vibrant with a lot to enjoy if you can manage to keep up. Not to a usual Whovian's tastes, but well worth a listen, provided Part 2 sticks the landing.

-- 8.5 / 10