Doctor Who: Afterlife

This is effectively an epilogue to the long-running “Black/White TARDIS” arc, in which the Doctor and Ace struggle to come to terms with the fallout of events in the final story of the arc proper. Of course, while a two-hour audio play on the subject of people trying to cope with the death of a close friend would be a perfectly valid thing in its own right, it wouldn't be Doctor Who, so there's more to it than that.

Having said which, the first 30 minutes takes places entirely within the TARDIS, with Ace reminiscing on the past, and the Doctor showing his alien perspective of the brevity of human life. There is some great acting here, and good writing, too, as Fitton gets into the heads of the characters, giving them an emotional depth that's more typical of stories in the new series than it was of those in the classic one.

Soon, we're in the Merseyside of the near future, a rather grim place that seems to have fallen under the sway of criminal gangs. The Doctor continues to try to make amends, while Ace becomes embroiled in the gang warfare before making a startling discovery - albeit one that was heavily flagged at the end of the previous story in the sequence.

These science fiction elements aren't as strong as the character-based moments; it's not obvious, for instance, how one of the characters gets away with his charade of trying to appear human. On the other hand, they are essential for the story to work as a whole, and to fit within the milieu. The small scale, and personal, threat posed by the villains is perfect for a story that has to deal with its other issues, and, naturally, it does all tie into wider events, rather than being something random.

I'll also note a good turn from guest actor Jean Boht, latterly of '80s sitcom Bread as Hex's grandmother, who helps ground some of the drama.

I can imagine that this could be quite a divisive story. As noted above, it really isn't the sort of thing that the classic series ever did, even after the strongest of emotional beats, such as the death of Adric. And, of course, if you're listening to the series for the action scenes, or the witty one-liners, you're likely going to be quite disappointed by this. But, frankly, if what you enjoy are just damn good stories with strong acting and writing, this should work well.