I went into this not being sure what to expect, its my first experience of Noonan outside special releases, and also my first non-narrated 1st Doctor audio. As I finished the Savages today, I remembered this existed and thought it'd be lovely to find out what happened to Steven. I had no idea the nature of the story, so was quite surprised at the somber, reflective aspect of it all.

I can't say Steven is a favourite of mine, but this story really touched me in a lot of ways. I've lost a lot of close relatives in a very quick succession, so when I realised this story was going to touch upon grief I really felt it. I'm glad this was just a one-off return for Steven, and it works well in the context really. Unlike a lot of the 'Doctor meets companion but older' tropes, this one doesn't result in travelling together which I loved.

One thing which at first I thought would hinder my enjoyment, and didn't, was the references to Daleks Master Plan. I haven't seen this serial, however I felt the weight of what happened in it and the references must've been lovely to those who had heard it. Generally the emotional aspects of this story really resonated with me and I liked it a lot for that amongst other reasons. As always with classic releases, I wish they were shorter and snappier. This flew by, granted, but if it had been a 4 parter I reckon it would've hit even harder.

I do wish they leaned even more into the grief aspect of the story. That being said, the discussion at the end between the Doctor and Steven surrounding grief was just lovely. I loved the characterisation of the Doctor throughout this, Noonan was fab. I kinda thought Dodo's inclusion was pointless really, until the final scene which gave her a proper exit! Timey wimey exit at that! It makes a lot of sense and I really like how it was done. That being said, this was my first experience of the actor playing Dodo, and I didn't think she sounded like her at all. That being said, I still thought she was fab in the one part she featured in.

A disappointment that shares a lot of DNA with ‘Fugitive of the Daleks’.

Steven, now an old man, wakes up in a mysterious spaceship. Disoriented, he soon meets up with a ragtag group consisting of 2 women, a teenager and a dog. While looking around, they discover they’re in some kind of zoo. And a certain Time Lord is also one of the exhibits.

While this synopsis sounds fine on paper, the problem is that everything that happens, once again, lack emotion, growth and connection. Characters feel flat. The plot feels generic, and while the Doctor and Steven have one incredibly good talk, it is saved for the end so there’s no time to actually do anything with the character growth it presents.

You know what it reminds me of? An annual story. That alone isn’t a problem, but an annual story usually doesn’t drag on for more than 3 hours. The story tries a little with some location changes and small character dynamics, but it doesn’t lead up to anything. It happens, and we move on.

Honestly, I don’t think I have much more to add here. Take all the criticisms I gave to Fugitive of the Daleks, and apply them here. Flat, long, nothing to build on. Another character farewell ruined.

For a first Doctor box set there isn't much of him to be found, also Dodo is in this for a grand total of 1 part out of 6.

This should've been a four parter.

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

Previous Story: Fugitive of the Daleks

Not quite as good as Fugitive of the Daleks in my opinion but still really solid and an excellent character piece for Steven. As far as 6-parters go, it's not exactly breezy but it's a lot better paced than most of them. It mainly suffers in the middle. I think it could have done with being 2 parts shorter.

The start is very good, we have a brilliant mystery being set up and it's reminiscent of The Great Beyond - another 6-parter that released fairly recently that also has the Doctor trapped in a prison-like place (although the similarities disappear very quickly).

Dodo is barely in this one... again. This time it's a Dodo from after she's left the Doctor (I think. That whole thing was fairly confusing to be honest). Admittedly she does get some nice character stuff but it feels like they don't know what to do with her.

Peter Purves and Stephen Noonan have great chemistry, both putting in excellent performances. Noonan's impression is really good now. Perhaps it's because I'm just used to it but I can picture him as 1 perfectly.

I think this story is a bit too heavily tied to The Daleks' Master Plan. It's been a while since I did that so a lot of the emotional beats and general elements of the story didn't mean much to me and it took me a bit to remember what they actually were.

I did enjoy it, mainly for the performances, but it's definitely not doing anything to win me over on the 6-parter format.

Next Story: The War Machines