I was so curious about this one, as an 8/Charley fan, and a fan of Alex Macqueen’s all-systems go version of The Master, but the studio version of this absolutely serviceable but by no means overly inspiring story is a strange experience. This could not be more clearly written to be performed live, with moments where you’re supposed to cheer or boo or gasp or applaud all very signposted, but without the actual response. I suppose I should’ve gone with the live version, had I known that was so much the reason for it existing at all, but even as a music fan I’m not really into live albums, I got my degree in audio production because I like everything you can do with a studio, live albums don’t always translate the actual experience of a song as well as a crafted studio version, for me.

The positives here are that McGann and India are do-it-in-their-sleep good in this pairing, still, they haven’t lost their charming double act and they really don’t sound much different than they did in Time Of The Daleks. Added to that, hearing the original 8 theme arrangement with that churning synth bass really put a smile on my face, that’s one of my all time favorite versions. And Alex Macqueen is deliciousness itself as The Master, he’s playing it for the back row even in this studio version, but then that’s just how he plays it even in Dark Eyes (and this story is intriguing in being maybe the earliest time 8 meets this Master, this is definitely Charley’s first meeting with any Master, or at least the first she will remember, referencing The Light At The End).

The one-off extra companion Emily Barnfather could’ve been a little stronger, the thing of having her narrate from the future with a very different voice made the character feel disjointed, and I’m not sure the folklore and legends element was actually used all that much. The Daleks were my real problem here. A pretty lazy inclusion of them to just juice up the anniversary vibe, and they sound terrible. Dunno what Nick was going for with this particular set of voices, he’s enough of a nerd about it that he’s probably trying to make them the specific squad of Daleks from Destiny or something, but they just sounded silly.

Seemed like there were several plot elements that just went nowhere, but I now see this would be much more fun with some cheering and hooting and hollering from an engaged crowd. Studio version is a bit strange! 3.25/5