This series continues to be very well made, and I had a fine time listening. My big issue was the twist of the Slaverings being the missing men was so incredibly obvious that it was a little painful waiting around for everyone else to get with the program. As well, the main antagonist, Mrs. Turneman was just getting on my nerves a lot of the story. (Jacqueline King is a fantastic voice actor though, I would've never guessed). Still, the overall mystery is keeping me interesting and India Fisher is as good a narrator as Charley is a character.

Charley's first season is off to an interesting start. I've heard India Fisher do so many narrations in the past, that this felt not quite like a full-cast audio at points because it relied heavily on her narration. I did enjoy the vibes of the story, it starts with Charlie saving a finance bro, Robert, from a fun virus called the Obscurantist that has him saying weird words. After meeting what's apparently a rogue Viyran, Charlie escapes and goes into a crazy ass space thing called the Prolixity. The Viyrans aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but Charley is a good hang and the questing into the unknown was interesting. We'll see how the story develops.

This is absolutely one of the best episodes of Doctor Who ever made, and at its core, it is very simple. It is the triumph of love and compassion over hate and evil, and told in such a beautiful way. The Doctor is on Satellite Five with Jack mounting a suicidal defense against the Daleks. The Daleks are somehow worse than ever, they are self-hating religious zealots who kill for no reason other than sadism. When you look at the world today, how many people wish they could exterminate anyone unlike them? Then Rose is back home in London, completely failing to live an ordinary life. The Doctor taught her a different way to live, to be brave and confront evil. The choice is given to the Doctor again: all of humanity as collateral damage with the destruction of the Daleks. He chooses "coward every time", but his effect and kindness on others is rewarded by Rose arriving and cleansing the Daleks. Everyone is great, from Lynda with a y's horrific silent extermination death, Jack's glee in the defense knowing he dies, Jackie's reaction to Rose saying she was there when Pete died. This is a marvelous episode, and I think only The Doctor Falls has it beat in terms of finales. What both episodes have in common is that it isn't about winning a victory at any costs: it's about fighting for what's right even if the universe is against you. Bravo Doctor.

Dark Eyes ends as it largely began, being perfectly fine. A lot of the Dark Eyes arc has just had a lot of moving parts with usually not truly feeling dangerous. How many times has the Doctor been hanging out with the Daleks and not really been in any danger? We get some characters from previous volumes back and the reveal that the Eminence is the future of the Time Controller’s consciousness. The Heart of Orion has been taken over by Daleks, and we have a stand off between the Time Controller and Supreme that felt unearned.

There are great performances throughout and it’s a brilliant exit for Molly who happily gives her life to send the Eminence to the end of the universe. Hopefully, somewhere, she got a normal life. Sorcha Cusak was so good as old Molly it’s amazing it was a different actress. For that alone, it raises the bar here.

Hopefully Doom Coalition is better structured and more dangerous.

The main character in this story is the Macqueen Master, and boy is he fun. I think he is the smarmiest of all the masters, he speaks in a formal way but you can tell he is just sneering underneath the surface. His presence along makes this fun. The first half he's facing off against Liv (who continues to be great this boxset), then he's against the Time Controller, and finally the Doctor who had some classic amnesia for some reason. Liv also meets an older Molly, and it is good to see her again. Liv is starting to feel more like a traditional companion while Molly was a temporary one, I'm warming to her a lot. Dark Eyes 4 has definitely stepped it up from 2 and 3.

I was vibing with this story. I think I am just a sucker for settings developed like the Moulin Rouge getting crossed over with Daleks. The atmosphere was very well done and I agree with another review that it feels like we're getting back to more of the distinctive Eighth Doctor we know that was a bit missing last two sets. Liv also continues to getting more character development and be more fun than she was the previous two stories. I had a good time, even as it turned out the Dalek Time Controller was behind everything. The return of the Master does feel a little old hat at this point though.

Finally, the first classic so far of the Eighth Doctor boxset era. The Doctor and Liv are looking for Molly, but that doesn't really matter. This story is about a man named Martin stuck in some sort of time anomaly, and the Doctor is trying to figure out why. He has set-up Martin and Liv essentially on a date with each other, and it is genuinely heartwarming to see things going so well with them. Liv spent most of the previous two boxsets pretty down on herself and sullen, but Martin gets her to laugh and she genuinely likes him. The twist is Martin is stuck in a time loop, and the bigger twist is he doesn't mind because it's the only day he'll get with the woman he's fallen in love with. It's not creepy, it's genuinely moving, and it's clear by Liv's heartbroken reaction to his death there was something real going on between them. For Martin, he keeps getting to live that one perfect day. Beautiful story.

In some way or another all of these SSS stories have been dancing around the Daleks which considering Mark Seven and everything else makes perfect sense. In this one we get a story about the legacy of Daleks and people worshipping them along with a culture who worships the machines who created their colony in the first place. Add in some political intrigue and this was another good installment though it did take me a second to get on board. I wish there was slightly more of an overarching arc mystery we were dealing with though. All said, an enjoyable listen and the spy craft and plot twists are something not common in Doctor Who adjacent stories.

This is a lengthy, meaty story with a lot of double plotting and intrigue just like the classic television spy shows it's meant to be emulating. Anya and Mark go to a Thal planet (didn't know those existed), and there's a lot of good, clever discussion of just how far the Thals' pacifism can be pushed. We know what will become of Mark Seven, but to hear him discussed as the 'anti-Dalek' adds another layer to the fight. It's not quite as well-paced as the first story and has a few too many shifts, but I'm enjoying it. The retro music helps!

A confident debut introducing is to this new spin-off which takes place after Anya's time with the Fourth Doctor and before her time with the Tenth. I liked the 1980s retros vibes even though this is starring agents from the year 4000, I think it could plausibly be a pulpy sci-fi show from that era. The Voord don't really do much for being the title characters, and neither do the Thals but there's promise of more to come. Akinyemi is a great character and provides a very different perspective, but I am torn on her interrogating Anya: it was well-written, but it was also just annoying to us listeners as it was to Anya. Excited to see this series continue to develop. Mark Seven rules by the way. Perfect 'man in the chair'.