Pursuit of the Nightjar

Pursuit of the Nightjar is written by Tim Foley, a name I could not have been more eager to see if I tried as he was previously responsible for The Auton Infinity, a story I have made no attempt to hide as my favourite Big Finish adventure, as well as Break the Ice which is one of the best from the Ninth Doctor Adventures range. Such a thing is a double edged sword, it comes with some really high expectations but I'm happy to report that those were absolutely met.

This story has the TARDIS team arrive on a spaceship known as the Nightjar, nearing the end of a historic three year voyage to bring a massive store of medical supplies to save a planet in need, an act of selflessness that will cost the one-man crew Captain Goben his life just weeks after his arrival, but will inspire a new age of universal peace. Throughout the journey, the Nightjar has been tailed by another ship known as the Nemesis, just one step behind, and with such high stakes our protagonists have to make sure history runs its course.

Alien to Tegan, Nyssa and the listener, this is a story from future history that the Doctor is absolutely enamoured with and his enthusiasm is infectious, you'll quickly be just as captivated by this heroic tale and there's so much joy in the Doctor getting to meet one of his heroes. It's all so wonderfully played and that really goes for the whole cast, the two guest performers (Paul Thornley and Fenella Woolgar, the latter of whom will be known to Doctor Who fans for playing Agatha Christie in The Unicorn and the Wasp) bring a lot to the story, but the focus lies mainly with our three leads and they all crush it, each of their characters get standout moments to themselves the actors really make the most of.

An example of particular note is Janet Fielding in the opening scenes of the final episode, I would be remiss to spoil a second of this adventure but the range of emotion you get out of Tegan here is so good and as bold as it is to say, I think this story may just be her best performance, my heart was racing through these moments but credit really has to go to the sound design and music too, as a production this is so well realised.

Cliffhangers are something you don't always think about with Doctor Who, many are deservedly iconic but they can sometimes feel obligatory, especially when you're in the habbit of watching or listening to stories in a single sitting or even just multiple episodes at a time, but this story is packed with standout ones, this seems to be a general strength of Foley's, he knows how to give the action a truly exciting cutoff point and pace plot developments just right and there is so much variety here.

On the whole this story is just so well mapped out, I find myself just as taken by it as the Doctor with the story of the Nightjar itself, every emotional beat lands and the whole thing comes together delightfully. The commentary on fans is really fun and I haven't even mentioned Alfie yet, the robot that Tegan names which even without dialogue you'll grow attached to.

This is the story that sells its box set, without hesitation I could encourage you now to give it a listen and I definitely want to see Tim Foley's name on future Fifth Doctor Adventures. This truly is an all-timer and I will come back to it time and time again.