The 8th Doctor has been blessed by some of Big Finish’s best output and by some of the BF’s best original companions. Starting with Charley and then followed by Lucie, two extremely strong and memorable TARDIS teams were created, to the point where both have returned recently with their own ‘flashback’ box sets to their time aboard the TARDIS.

The 8th Doctor’s third triumphant team up has been with Liv Chenka who, from rather inauspicious beginnings in a Robots of Death spin-off with the 7th Doctor, has emerged as one of the shining lights of the 8th Doctor range and has even gained her own spin-off which currently has more volumes than Charley’s much delayed two box-set spin-off.

Their Finest Hours opens the Ravenous arc of four box sets. Not having finished Doom Coalition – the series before Ravenous – I was a little concerned this story would confuse me with references back but, aside from vague references to their fellow companion Helen having been lost and being on her trail, this is what BF like to term a ‘jumping on point’.

The ‘story arc’ is parked at the beginning of the story when a phone call from WInston Churchill calls the Doctor and Liv to 1940 and a mystery of missing planes. The Nemonite Invasion gave us a story based around Dunkirk and this story takes us into the air and references the Battle of Britain. The Doctor and Liv team up with Polish pilots, yet to be deemed skilled enough by the RAF to join the war effort proper (despite the fact that the opinion of individuals is clearly that they are as good, if not better, than British pilots) to investigate the disappearing aircraft. Unsurprisingly, aliens are involved and Liv and her pilot are captured. The Doctor meanwhile is inventing things on the ground.

Plotwise it may seem a little thin, but the strength of this story is in its characters. The two Polish pilots, Wilhelm and Jan are hugely likeable and Liv’s rapport with Wilhelm is particularly lovely (made all the more touching by the closing reveal). Strangely, Churchill himself is somewhat on the sidelines and McNeice’s performance is more subdued than I’ve become used to in the Churchill Years stories (or indeed in the upcoming Victory of the Daleks). The amusing running gag that Liv has no idea who he is, is a great way of stripping the character of the hero worship which lingers around him and cleverly, I think McNeice reflects that in his performance. He really does behave as if the wind has been taken from his sails somewhat and the Doctor’s continued insistence that history must take its course continues to frustrate him when alien technology is at his fingertips and yet just out of reach.

The aliens are a little cliched to begin with but an original twist in their motivation gives the story a lift towards the end.

Historically, the prejudice that Polish pilots faced after ending up in Britain after Germany invaded their country, is well-documented but maybe not well-known. Placing the events in their hands rather than of RAF pilots adds an extra layer to an already interesting story and creates a poignancy at the close of the story which I think has more impact because of the prejudices they faced in their desire to fight back against the evil that had invaded their country and killed their friends and family.

The dialogue in the story had me smiling throughout, Liv continues to be one of the Doctor’s best companions and the WW2 setting was viewed from a new angle creating, overall, a strong audio and definitely a recommendation.