This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: The Firstborn

That was unfortunately dull. I'm not a big fan of these longer stories, they can really drag if the writers don't have a good enough story to tell and this was one of those situations. For a start, it's a bit of a rehash of Vengeance on Varos in it's commentary on TV viewing habits (although a bit more modernised, atleast with the constant talk about Audience Appreciation scores and viewing figures that I hear about supposedly signalling the end for the show meanwhile the show keeps running just fine).

I didn't really mind the "meta" stuff in this story. I don't mind the way it linked to real-world issues regarding Season 23 (something I normally dislike when stories do). I also have to admit, it was quite fun having all these villains show up in one story. Those were easily the best bits and the only thing that really made any of it worthwhile. Having 6, Peri and Mel was great and there's absolutely potential in that combination.

I think the issue is really down to it's length. If they made this story about an hour shorter and just really jampacked it full of fanservice and cameos it would have been a lot better. As it is, they're halfway in between trying to tell a genuine story and pure fanservice which leaves any fan who wants only one of those things disappointed. Overall, a disappointing way to end the celebrations of the 6th Doctor (although some would argue that's the only way to truly be faithful to his TV run) (not me).

Next Story: The Rotting Deep