I'll admit it off the top: plotting wise this story is a 3/5 or a 3.5/5. It's not particularly gripping, probably a little too long, and plays very fast and loose with canon. However, that is not the primary way to judge this story. Because this story is a big anniversary tribute to the Sixth Doctor era, and on that respect it's a smashing success.

The Doctor is trapped within a web of tv shows inside tv shows in the 'Ludosphere', where actors are constantly getting killed and it's all being broadcast for entertainment purposes. It's essentially a mash-up of Vengeance on Varos and Bad Wolf. Here we encounter a who's who of villains: Androgums for our first course, the Cyber Leader played campy as ever by David Banks (seriously, the Cyber Leader sits in on a late night talk show of sorts and riles up the crowd with a knowing overuse of 'Excellent'. So funny), Davros (who tells the Doctor 'been a while', yep, a canned line of dialogue), a seriously surprising reveal of the Ainley Master, and then at the end: Daleks.

The whole thing is essentially satirizing Colin Baker's two seasons: the excessive violence that the show came under heavy criticism for, people complaining certain things are too boring. The villains, 'Muskoids', are literally disgusting blobs that engorge themselves on Audience Appreciation. Hell, even the actual Doctor Who theme song becomes in-universe as the opening to the Doctor's program Trials of a Time Lord. The Doctor (joined by Nicola Bryant as full on warrior queen Peri who is delightful as usual) is constantly threatened by cancellation, in which the lead actors get killed. Sound familiar? Hell, the final cliffhanger are Daleks saying 'DAVROS IN DISTRESS'. We weren't going to forget Hans Zimmer's best work!

The story ends as we have a rare three-way melee between the Daleks/Cybermen/Master, and how does it end? The Master discovers the 'producer' is simply an AI that has been synthesizing stories from throughout the universe to produce the Ludosphere. That doesn't remind me of anything at all! It turns out, in every single story: the Doctor wins. So it comes to pass! And Mel ends it by sending a signal to everyone watching tv to stop watching and go outside which is a bold message for a franchise based around a tv show.

Between The Quin Dilemma and this story, I think they did an excellent job of paying tribute to the Sixth Doctor. Ever since I started the Sixth Doctor's audio stories, I completely understood why Colin Baker is so beloved for his work with Big Finish. It's easily the biggest improvement between the tv show (where he's fine - it's really the production that screwed him over), and him showing us his true potential. He'll likely be passed by Paul McGann soon, but as I write this, Colin Baker per my estimation has put in more hours being the Doctor than anyone alive. Here's to another decade!