Alan Barnes is a great writer so manages to overcome some of the basic limitations of this animated children’s adventure. It originally aired in 12 parts, split into sub-4 minute episodes - which is a weird pressure to put on a story and means that plot is destined to be surface level. The Doctor and Martha chase after a macguffin in order to prevent major destruction. Little do they know they are being coerced into their action. All in all it’s a charming Saturday teatime cheese fest.

A handful ideas particularly stand out - the skulls hidden behind darkened space helmets, which are then revealed by the light, pre-dates the same concept seen in Silence in the Library. I also generally love the scale of the storytelling, less limited conceptually by budgetary constraints.

I am actually fond of the animation style as well. For the budget it’s working with, this shaggy dog story is well realised, though it’s fair to say that the team face are more limitations with rendering human faces than anything else.