Not only my favourite Sixth Doctor story but one of my favourite stories period! I could listen to this one forever, I really could! I’d call this Rob Shearman’s best work but trust me it won’t hold that distinction for very long. This story is notable for being one of only two Big Finish audios to feature the comic book created companion Frobisher. A shapeshifting noir-style detective who predominantly takes on the appearance of a talking penguin! Ridiculous? Absolutely! Awesome? You better believe!!! I don’t know if it’s a rights issue but it’s criminal that Frobisher hasn’t appeared in Big Finish since 2002, I’d take him over 80% of Modern Who’s companions any day! Seriously, 20 years of working-class companions from modern day Earth. Would it kill the showrunners to try something bizarre just for once! A talking penguin who’s a private detective, go on don’t be shy Modern Who!

Of course, there’s a lot more to this story than just Frobisher, though he is the highlight, I don’t want to give away anything really as Shearman’s stories are best left going in completely blind and letting the story take you by surprise. But the world Shearman creates in this is incredible, the characters are bursting with personality, the dialogue is equal parts dark and hilarious, and the story itself is a great introspection on religion and traditions. It features a great villain and a twist in the second half that blew me away resulting in one of my all-time favourite cliff-hangers in part three.

Rob Shearman once said in an interview that his stories tend to start off as comedies but by the end they turn into bloodbaths, and you won’t find any better example than this one. So much of this story still makes me laugh today right from the opening scene but as we near the ending and things start to become clearer the story takes quite the dark turn without feeling like tonal whiplash.

This may seem like an odd thing to say for those who’ve not listened to it and again I refuse to give anything away but it’s very clear from the villain and the bloodbath towards the end that Steven Moffat took inspiration from this when he wrote The Empty Child in Series 1. Again, not giving away what the connection is but trust me, you’ll know when you listen to it. The ending especially is one of my all-time favourites, it never fails to bring a tear to my eye it's just such a powerful emotional climax and ends things on such a depressing note.

There’s not much more I can say really without getting into spoilers, you’ll just have to take my word on this one, don’t let the inclusion of a talking penguin put you off, this is one of the most enjoyable, flooring and emotional stories in Doctor Who I’ve ever experienced and I can listen to it once a year every year for the rest of my life without ever getting tired of it.