A very fun romp that takes advantage of the Eighth Doctor as a Bryonian romance figure (albeit one more interested in the sights than talking feelings, much to the chagrin of his apparent boyfriend) and the trippy nature of the Monks (particularly use of simulations and forced consent). I thought the Monks were well utilised and the set pieces were nicely judged. The slightly sour note of the Doctor's simulation dying without telling his real self (the contrivances of keeping story elements secret for the TV show rarely fail to annoy me) of the Monks was helped by the discovery if real Mark for a sweet ending- but one that also unpicks the (somewhat trite) emotional pathos for lead Chris. Hard to be disappointed by a story with plenty of gay (though there could be even more if you ask me).

Surprisingly good for a studio colony story. The costumes are trash and there's an abandoned side story about rebellion that only serves as poor colouring for the society, but besides these it comes together rather well. Davison sparkles with charisma unlike any previous story (but quite like how I have become used to his Doctor in audios), and Strickland gets to do something different with his panic attack from encountering the Tractators, whose machine is a bit hokey but still horrible to see in action, and whose hive mentality is a clever conceit without pushing Bidmead into his usual science fixation. The set & music gives a nice grime, and the guest characters are somewhat forgettable but share interesting traits to distinguish them from other stories. Hell, I'll even let JNT off for the false 'destroying the TARDIS' because seeing the sets mixed in with the rock was really striking.

This story wears its influences on its sleeve, namely (as cited in the interviews) the Prisoner, A-Team and the Hartnell story 'The Chase'. It's not radical (it is a prison break and Dalek story after all) but as a series pilot it's an effective one- this Doctor is a much more hardcore, harsh one actively on the run, reluctantly drawn to help. It's fast paced (even by NuWho standards), but great fun.