Doctor Who: Casualties of War

The last set of stories featuring John Hurt as the War Doctor was released a month after his death and comes with a tribute to the actor. The three episodes form a single story, and all include at some element of innocent bystanders being caught in the crossfire, although that's more apparent in some than in others. But it's the last chance to hear the magnificent Hurt as a Doctor worn down by the weight of what he has done, yet still carrying a deeply buried seed of his former self.

• Pretty Lies – The Doctor and Cardinal Ollistra are stranded on a largely defenceless planet as a Dalek fleet heads towards them. The Daleks, being Daleks, are obviously planning on killing everyone on the planet regardless of what anyone does, forcing the Doctor to try and defend against seemingly insurmountable odds. For me, this desperate and apparently hopeless battle was the strongest part of the story as we question whether or not, this time, the Doctor is going to win (as opposed to merely survive, which clearly, he has to). But there's a second theme, implied in the title, of railing against wartime propaganda with the War Doctor typically reluctant to be seen as a hero in the face of a war correspondent with a very different view. In the case of this particular incarnation, of course, he may very well be right... 5 stars.

• The Lady of Obsidian – The second episode is something that's closer to a more typical war story, especially in the scenes that see Ollistra facing off against the Daleks. However, she's rather less important here than in ‘Pretty Lies', where her lack of empathy contrasts more clearly with the Doctor (and certainly doesn't make her fit any sort of ‘companion' role). Instead, the bigger story concerns the War Doctor meeting up again with Leela, allowing us see some of what she has been doing during the Time War. The meeting has some twists to it and there's also a non-Dalek monster in here, albeit one that turns out to be another by-product of the War, but it's still largely action based. 4 stars.

• The Engima Dimension - The conclusion sees the Daleks once again launching a secret weapon against the Time Lords. It's one that fits the notion of a Time War and much of the first part of the story revolves around trying to work out what it actually is. Much is made of Leela's generally guileless personality, although in a way that's more positive than was sometimes the case in the TV show of her era. There are also echoes in the plot of the Twelfth Doctor's anti-war speech in The Zygon Inversion although the Daleks obviously aren't ones for talking things out. 4.5 stars.

Of course, the story can't end with the Time War finishing because we already know how that happened, but this collection does offer a good conclusion and a good send-off for this particular version of the Doctor. And it's good to see Leela back, albeit now much older and less reckless.