Strong start to this 4da series I like how jago and litefoot are reaccuring characters throughout the era

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

Previous Story: Luna Romana

Anything with the double-act of Jago and Litefoot is great fun and this is no exception. This story takes strong inspiration from Jekyll and Hyde and gives it a fun little sci-fi twist. I found Jago to be a little more toned down in this one but then again I haven't listened to that many stories featuring him so I can't say whether this is out of the ordinary or not.

The chemistry between all the characters is absolutely great. This story effortlessly juggles 5 main characters and they all get equal roles in the story. I really enjoyed the spotlight K9 got in this aswell, it was really funny hearing him on stage working a crowd and paints a funny picture of a robot dog speaking to a crowd of Victorians.

Next Story: The Eternal Battle

Can't say this is the start I was hoping for... I have quite a few problems with this story, but the main one is that this range either does really over-complicated and difficult to understand stories, or the stories are so simplistic that they're boring. This falls into the latter column.

I really enjoyed the opening scene - The Doctor and Romana pleasantly enjoying their pet up on stage amusing the audience - it was rather heartwarming to hear things going well for them. However, not much else is very good beyond that - this feels much more like a Williams era Doctor, more jolly and less serious - This feels like this was written for Romana I, and then they were like "Let's just write a line so it makes sense that Jago and Litefoot acknowledge her change in appearance" - and at some points, I do forget it's not Mary Tamm, and to be honest, she doesn't seem too invested in what's going on and even sounds bored - I know I am. And a lot of the time, they're surrounded by convenience after convenience. The Doctor just knows who the Knave is because he's a super clever Time Lord, K-9 is able to locate the TARDIS just because the Doctor forgot to turn something off... I'm just not very impressed at all.

It's a decent idea - a Victorian gentleman trying to improve his status in society with alien technology, but transforming who he is in the process. However, the enemy isn't at all interesting and they could've showed off the message "have pride in who you are" in a much more fashionable way, as this story just plods along with them - also the "TARDIS is missing" cliffhanger isn't too original, is it?

The audio landscape for Victorian London is rather beautiful - authentic and throws you into the atmosphere of a new time excitingly!

For the start of a fresh new era, I'm very disappointed that immediately we're taking a trip through memory lane. The Fourth Doctor can have a Victorian historical without the inclusion of Jago and Litefoot. In fact, he has had multiple. It's nice to have them around, but these characters become rather stereotypical and predictable that it's just a run-of-the mill adventure.

It's an okay start, but it's not what I'm hoping for with this era of the show - fresh, new ground; darker and more serious stories; exciting visuals - not a nostalgia trip. The actors do a mostly decent job though so I'll give it credit for that.