Doctor Who: A Life of Crime

The first half of this story is a crime caper, centred around a bank heist and also involving a couple of cons. The nature of the cons is such that it's immediately obvious to the listener that they are cons, with the main tension being how long it takes the characters in the story to work this out. (Not too long, as it happens, but this is alleviated by a fair chunk being told in flashback). The real villains only take centre-stage in the second half by which time we're in something that's more of a typical alien invasion plot.

The most significant aspect, however, is the return of former Doctor Who companion Mel Bush. Obviously, she's been in other Big Finish plays almost since the beginning, but here we're following on from her departure in the TV story Dragonfire with space-travelling crook Sabalom Glitz. He's not in this, although some of the other characters are former associates of his and it deals, in part, with the repercussions of his actions.

Mel carries much of the early section of the story, with Ace and the Doctor both in the background, and there's some effective handling of the question of just how much her time with Glitz has changed her from the character we saw on screen. Unsurprisingly, as already seen in other BF stories, this makes her a better and more developed character than the two-dimensional, mostly irritating, version of the TV show. Since we're now seeing an older version, there's also the potential for more development down the line, without established continuity getting in the way.

Despite the stakes, and a few nice scenes here and there, the story never really grabs. It feels more like a means to bring Mel back in a way that makes sense given the nature of her departure than it does a particularly strong story in its own right. It works, but it's nothing special.