Next we have The Lost, an addition to a three box set series Big Finish created for the Tenth Doctor called Dalek Universe, their one and only story arc for Ten. The premise being that the Doctor has been pulled out of his normal time and plonked not only in the far future but in the time before the Time War, so…Daleks!!! But surprisingly the Daleks aren’t heavily featured in this series, it’s more about exploring the universe where the threat of the Daleks looms over it like a shadow and revisiting planets and creatures featured in the Terry Nation Dalek stories, such as the Mechanoids, the Movellans and the Space Security Service. Which brings us to the companion of the series, Jane Slavin as SSS agent Anya Kingdom, but not her first appearance or her first meeting with the Doctor. This was a character who was actually introduced in a series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures when she was a sleeper agent posing as a 20th century policewoman named Anne Kelso who travelled with the Fourth Doctor and K9 but subconsciously was using him to track down and assassinate the members of the Syndicate (the Dalek’s allies from The Dalek’s Master Plan). Parting on bad terms as in the Doctor’s mind she basically killed Anne when her memories were restored, Anya reunites with the Doctor many years later and many lifetimes later in his case. But wait! There’s more! As you may have noticed from the surname Anya’s also the niece of former companion Sara Kingdom but has no idea what truly happened to her aunt.

Dalek Universe was a fun experience and it was great for Big Finish to give the Tenth Doctor something resembling a story arc, some notable highlights include battling the Monk regenerated into female form calling herself the Nun (voiced by Gemma Whelan aka Yara Greyjoy), some insight into the creation of the Movellans and the Doctor’s unintentional role in their creation and the two part finale featuring Terry Molloy as Davros facing off against the Tenth Doctor on the planet Kembel. But the downside is it’s very heavy on not just Classic Who lore but Big Finish lore to the point where it may not be ideal for the more casual listeners. But out of the entire series, the best story comes from the finale to Volume 2 and the least connected to the overall story arc.

The Lost sees the Doctor and Anya crash through a pocket dimension and find themselves in a strange garden-like world with an ancient ruin close by. What seems to be a quiet and deserted world is actually the opposite as they sense a presence close by, a being who’s been imprisoned for countless millions of years that it’s forgotten its own name and desires only to return to the universe, but the price would mean either the Doctor or Anya must stay behind as the dimension collapses.

I’ve seen people compare this to Scherzo and while it’s nowhere near the same quality I do see the similarities; the Doctor and his companion lost in a reality very different to their own and stalked by a malevolent presence, there’s a lot of character introspection with how mentally weighed down the Tenth Doctor is at this point in his life and the truth behind Anya’s family that he’s kept from her for so long. It’s some of the most interesting material the Tenth Doctor’s ever been given and David Tennant and Jane Slavin just excel in this story. The villain is kept entirely mysterious, there’s a brief scene at the beginning offering a glimpse as to where it came from prior to imprisonment but it’s never referenced again and doesn’t offer much that explains what it’s true nature is which is what makes it so unnerving.

The story has a bit of a technobabble reverse time climax which was a bit disappointing but it is quite heavy going with the way it treats the Doctor and Anya that I was kind of expecting an ending of this nature. But the story is still Big Finish’s best work with the Tenth Doctor and if you do the homework setting yourself up for Dalek Universe it’s well worth the listen.

A very interesting story. It concerns the Doctor crashing with Anya Kingdom on a strange planet, with a Godlike entity called Lost who was imprisoned there. The ending is possibly the best part. Never expected to hear a Dalek proclaim "Hello sweetie".