The curtain has risen on another installment surrounding the mysterious Dark Gallifrey. On the grimy techno world of Opus Tooli at the backend of the universe, an attempt at thievery by two vagrants is interrupted by the appearance of a strange woman in purple. Missy has landed looking for information and a new opportunity, but has hit an inconvenient snag in being trapped on-world with limited use of her technology. An alliance of convenience is about to change everything for these two thieves and not in the way they're expecting.....

The saga of Dark Gallifrey continues after a strong initial trilogy with Morbius and a mostly disappointing follow-up with the War Master. This time, we have Michelle Gomez's incarnation of the Master taking charge after her encounter with the Daleks in "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar". Rochana Patel's script mixes mystery with a Victorian steampunk heist plot that boasts a weirdly meta edge to it. It opens with a play that feels eerily similar to a more normal Whovian adventure, and things follow a predictable course with an end twist that nicely sets up what's coming.

Sadly, there are major problems, in particular because Missy isn't the focus of this story. The focus instead is on the thieves, Mortimer & Scratch, who end up getting dragged along in her antics, becoming her pseudo-henchmen. It's not a bad idea, and Michelle Gomez is again stellarly crazy in the lead role. But it's difficult to empathize with them, which means there's not a ton of engagement beyond some superficial moments. The score also has a hard time matching the action, which is sadly becoming a strange trend with more recent Big Finish releases, and despite the unique setting and some minor details, the soundscape isn't new or novel in the end.

"Missy" Part 1 then has its moments and is certainly better than other "Dark Gallifrey" stories, but doesn't have anything to write home about when all is said and done. It's a decent start and an ok Missy story, but one that doesn't exactly inspire excitement for Parts 2 & 3.

-- 6 / 10

In the depths of the Time War, the War Doctor is being hunted. After the antics of his recent degeneration, it seems that things aren’t over yet and someone has been given 15 hours to take him down. As the Time Lord searches for clues through unconventional means, the answers he finds vex both him & (strangely enough) his pursuer. Two Doctors are about to collide but not the two the universe is expecting & their conflict is going to be explosive in more ways than one.....

“Coda - The Final Act” is a massively important Who story, concluding “Once and Future” with the most distinctive multi-Doctor story yet. Picking up where “The Union” left off, Tim Foley’s script is stuffed to the brim including cameos from Vienna Salvatori, Bernice Summerfield, and Queen Elizabeth as played by Imogen Stubbs. The narrative is basic but makes a surprising amount of sense, even the time limit which seems arbitrary but does have a purpose, and the plot is rooted in the past with a great twist on Time Lord lore that produces one hell of a monster in the climax.

Performance-wise, while everyone is great and Carley’s Doctor is as strong as ever, the highlight is Jo Martin in her audio debut as the controversial Fugitive Doctor. Last seen in the Chibnall era with Jodie’s Doctor, she fits the bill as a far cry from any Doctor we’ve heard before. Her no-nonsense mercenary personality makes her almost the villain of the piece even though there is predictably something else manipulating things behind the scenes. Pairing these two, arguably Who’s most unique Doctors, makes for engaging drama, and the two work off (and against) each other brilliantly while in the process touching on who the Doctor is and who they could be.

‘Final Act’ then is utterly fantastic, a great story / Doctor v. Doctor battle that brings things literally full circle for the saga. Welcome Jo Martin & can’t wait for more from both these incarnations soon.

— 9.5 / 10

The TARDIS has been brought to perhaps its strangest destination yet, a beautiful planet called Rift in the realm of Morning. It's where everything in civilization and the stars supposedly came into being, and this legendary status makes it older and grander than almost anywhere else in the universe. But a visit to a local museum brings trouble as a mystical light from a rusty old lantern echoes in the minds of the Doctor and his friends. A lamp that must never be lit full of a destructive temporal element is about to send the TARDIS team on their biggest adventure yet .....

"Hooklight 1" is an ambitious Fifth Doctor release that's the first half of a massive epic that's unlike almost anything we've heard before. It starts interestingly quietly, as it initially seems like business as usual for the TARDIS team. But the more Tim Foley's script unfolds, the more things feel truly different. The writing feels like Doctor Who does "The Lord of the Rings" with a wonderful blend of sci-fi and fantasy, with the Hooklight itself as our central MacGuffin and the ghoulish Nigh Guard as our Nazgul. It's a bit overlong in places, true, but with plenty of fantastic lore full of political intrigue, philosophy, and big plot points, the narrative is denser than one would expect, backed by an appropriately mysterious soundscape and a great musical score.

Predictably, Davison and Sutton get the biggest developments overall as the Doctor and Nyssa have the biggest visceral reaction to what's going on. But Waterhouse and Fielding get plenty to do as they bear witness to past and future events to shocking effect; emphasis on the shocking part, as there are some big moments here that knock the wind out from under you more than once.

"Hooklight 1" then is a refreshing change of pace for your Doctor Who audio listening, grand and vibrant with a lot to enjoy if you can manage to keep up. Not to a usual Whovian's tastes, but well worth a listen, provided Part 2 sticks the landing.

-- 8.5 / 10