I think magnum opus is an apt description. This undoubtedly belongs in the top 5 Doctor Who stories ever written, in fact I’d go so far as to say this would’ve been my favourite Doctor Who story of all time if not for another story I’ll get to later. That being said though I should make it clear that this is a story that’s not ideal for an isolated listen as this is more a story that culminates several events Big Finish had built up until that point since the beginning of their Monthly Range and one that rewards listeners for their patience.

To set the scene here, the story picks up from the events of its predecessor where Hex learns the terrible secret the Doctor kept from him about his mother and her fate in the now destroyed Forge. But before anyone can even begin to recover from the events, something far worse is about happen as the Doctor is drawn into a rematch with his alternate reality counterpart Nobody No-One, a Word Lord from a reality of words who’s come to finish the job he started.

Looking at this and some other stories from this particular year, 2010 really was the peak for the Seventh Doctor. While you had Matt Smith bringing a fresh change to the show, Sylvester McCoy was spearheading Big Finish’s best work making 2010 one of the best years in the franchise’s history.

Our villain of the story is one of my favourites, Nobody No-One, a Word Lord who uses words and phrases involving his name to give him limitless power. He is quite arguably the deadliest villain in the entirety of Doctor Who and he’s played spectacularly in this by Ian Reddington (who previously played the head clown from The Greatest Show in the Galaxy). Part one alone is a 10/10 with the Doctor battling the Word Lord in an epic encounter that ends on a whopping cliff-hanger where the Doctor traps the Word Lord at the cost of his own life!!! What follows is the Seventh Doctor pulling off his greatest master plan ever, when a future version of Seven sends Ace and Hex to different places to carrying on living their lives without him before he fades away. Not revealing that he has deliberately set the wheels in motion for his resurrection which involves Hex becoming acquainted with previous companion Evelyn Smythe and her new life on the planet Pelichan, and Ace falling in love with and emotionally destroying a nice guy named Henry Noone. The vast majority of part four is basically one massive exposition as to how the future Seventh Doctor put his plan in place and how it leads to his resurrection. In any other story this would be a boring resolution but in this one it’s like listening to a perfect puzzle being solved. A plan that takes months if not years of Ace and Hex’s lives where the older Seventh Doctor seemingly gives them new lives to live as a final act of kindness and to make up for all his years of lies and manipulation, only to reveal that he put them exactly where he needed them to be with the right people and gave them all the clues needed to piece together how to bring him back to life. This is the kind of storyline Modern Who attempted in Series 6 a year later and failed on every level!

As if that wasn’t incredible enough, we get a final meeting between the Doctor and Evelyn whose years of poor health and a heart condition have finally caught up with her and she’s dying. But before going out she has a touching final scene with the Doctor while berating him for how he’s changed for the worse with his new persona. Finally, the Seventh Doctor pulls one more trick up his sleeve and traps the restored Word Lord inside Evelyn’s dying mind, killing him along with her.

I know it seems like I’ve spoiled the entirety of the story but trust me there’s so much I’ve left out and listening to how all the pieces come together is some of the most ingenious writing in Doctor Who history. This was the second and last story written by Steven Hall who also wrote The Word Lord. From an interview he previously gave the idea was for these two to form a trilogy written by him. The third story was going to be titled Fifty-Fifty and was originally planned for the 50th anniversary in 2013. It would’ve featured the Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex, the Eighth Doctor and his companion Lucie Miller in an “epic and brutal showdown” between the two Doctors with the companions being forced to choose sides! The setup would’ve been a bruised and battered Eighth Doctor hurtling from a cataclysm that apparently was caused by a future version of the Seventh Doctor who had lost control and the Eighth Doctor has come back in time to warn Ace and Hex about what their Doctor will eventually become if he doesn’t stop him. Unfortunately for whatever reason this story was abandoned and given that it’s been over a decade it’s unlikely this will ever be produced, which will go down as one of the biggest tragedies in Doctor Who history!

As far as prerequisites go, this requires the storyline between the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn when they met Hex’s mother Cassie (Project Twilight), her fate at the hands of the Forge (Project Lazarus), the fallout between Evelyn and the Doctor following Cassie’s death (Arrangements for War) and Evelyn’s decision to leave (Thicker Than Water). Then moving to the Seventh Doctor we have his meeting with Hex (The Harvest), their encounter with The Word Lord (The Word Lord), and a trio of interconnected stories leading straight into this one (Enemy of the Daleks, The Angel of Scutari and Project Destiny). This number of prerequisites are literally the only thing keeping this from being my favourite Doctor Who story ever written as my actual favourite has more of an advantage in that field. But that’s another story.

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

Previous Story: Project: Destiny

Ever since I started this one, this story was one of those big "milestone" stories for me. I'm glad to say I haven't been disappointed. In fact, after all the praise I heard about this story it STILL exceeded my expectations, that's how good it is.

Nobody No-one is back here and Ian Reddington gives one of the best villain performances in Doctor Who. Full stop. The entire cast are putting in 110% to be fair. In particular, Sophie Aldred who gives a fantastic performance and really gets to the star of the show for a while.

The idea of the Doctor literally dying, but having put a plan into motion that would mean his eventual resurrection is genuinely the chessmaster persona of this Doctor at his best. Hearing it all fall into place was an indescribable feeling. The sheer amount of twists and reveals that all fit satisfyingly together is frankly ridiculous.

I feel like this story balanced Ace and Hex really well - devoting seperate parts to each of them. Hex getting to meet Evelyn and finally learn about his mother is really sweet. I found the part with Ace and Henry Noone to be a bit boring though, and that's my only complaint with the entire story. I can even forgive it for being a bit boring because the way it's later recontextualised by a certain reveal makes it absolutely worth it.

Phenomenal story that everybody should listen to at some point (with the required context).

Next Story: Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge

What a story, I don't want to write too much so as not to spoil it for those who are yet to listen but this story is fully deserving of its reputation and will destroy you in many ways as you listen to it. Credit to Sophie Aldred for a fantastic performance as Ace and Ian Reddington as a delightfully evil performance as Nobody No One. All in all, probably the best main range story Big Finish has ever done