Home Again, Home Again is an unusual type of story, it’s not one that you will find in Big Finish’s search engine should you go looking, instead it’s part of their Subscriber Short Trips range. In regard to their Monthly Series, if you purchased a bundle of them in their subscription deals, they came with special bonus content that you wouldn’t otherwise receive if you buy the Monthly stories individually. These can include extended extras, deleted scenes, pdfs on the full scripts and bonus short stories such as this one. Of course, if you happen to have bought a particular group of Monthly Series stories already, having to learn that you can get extra stories should you buy them again in a bundle pack can feel like a kick in the teeth. Something I noticed though when Big Finish had their disastrous launch of their new website and app last summer was that the Subscriber Short Trips suddenly became available alongside their respective main stories absolutely free to download. It was certainly one of the literal couple good things I noted from new app and website, so it may be worth waiting for them to try again.

The Doctor has finally succeeded in returning Ian and Barbara back to Coal Hill School in 1963, the two schoolteachers couldn’t be happier to finally be home again. That is until they realise the catch for their return when they discover they’ve landed a whole five months before they left with the Doctor!

It honestly astounds me that this idea hasn’t been attempted before, and the fact that it’s only available as a subscription bonus is practically criminal. They do, once in a blue moon, release these individually but I really do mean once in a blue moon! I wouldn’t put much hope in ever seeing this get its own release in the near future. Which is a shame because this is a wonderfully heartfelt story that shows how much the first TARDIS team has grown in their relationship after being so distrustful of one another in the beginning. In just 40 minutes this one short story proves how much of a family these four have become more than two seasons of the Thirteenth Doctor calling her team “fam” ever could!

The story is narrated by the late great Stephen Critchlow and he gives my personal favourite impression of William Hartnell. We’ve had a lot of good takes on the First Doctor’s character both onscreen and audio, but Critchlow is the only one who does a perfect impression of Hartnell himself. The man was a gifted narrator and this one’s no exception.

For a first writing effort by Felicia Barker this was an impressive writing debut for her. If you happen to be interested and don't want to wait for Big Finish's next attempt to upgrade, you can get this if you buy and 6-12 month releases in the Monthly Range that include The Lovecraft Invasion, 2020 had some fairly good releases so you'd be getting your money's worth, along with one of the best First Doctor stories ever written

MADE ME CRY HOLY $€¥$ ITS GOOD

A great little reflective piece. The Doctor finally reaches 1963, but is too early. He forbids his companions, who can finally taste escape, their freedom.

This story has a sci-fi element with the party arriving too early in their own timeline, but the focus is on character conflict instead. It is done perfectly. It’s a great mid-point in the doctor's growth, and subtly gives us some background on him, his granddaughter and their drives for travel. It gets resolved with a good talk, but it doesn’t feel cheap. It is very clear that the Doctor cares about these people, but he has trouble just saying that out loud.