Doctor Who: Dark Eyes 2

While this is, like its predecessor, a single, 4-hour story, it doesn't initially feel much like one, with each of the first three 60 minute “episodes” within it seeming to be distinct. This may be partly because each 60-minute segment has a different main writer, but there's also the fact that they aren't told in chronological order from the Doctor's perspective, so that the connection between the first two isn't apparent until the end of the final one.

It should be noted, though, that the story does take place in chronological order from the perspective of the companions, and that it isn't at all difficult to follow in that respect. Effectively, we start with a flash-forward, and then we (and the companions) spend the rest of the story trying to figure out how we got there, and why the Doctor was doing what he was doing. It's a more sophisticated and plot-justified version of those TV episodes that start with something dramatic and inexplicable happening and then suddenly state “24 hours previously...“

We start on a planet under Dalek occupation, where we are re-introduced to Liv Chenka, a medical technician who previously appeared in the 7th Doctor audio-play Robophobia, and is played by Olivier Award-winning actress Nicola Walker. By itself, it's a fairly straightforward Dalek story, with the only apparent connection to Dark Eyes being the use of the same Dalek commander. In the context of the next three episodes, however, it's both more connected and more significant than it first appears.

Each of the remaining “episodes” brings back a different preexisting villain from the Big Finish canon, most notably (because he's on the cover) the Alex MacQueen version of the Master. There's a different setting for each, too, and we're well over half-way through before the disparate parts begin to come together, and the big picture becomes clearer. In this respect, I felt that the last episode worked best, as we finally move towards the point where we came in - meeting a particularly scary optometrist along the way.

While the story improves as it goes along, and the nature of the over-arcing threat becomes apparent, it doesn't work quite as well as the original Dark Eyes story. Even though there are more connections than there at first seem to be, it isn't as cohesive as the original, and, perhaps because she's no longer the sole companion, Molly doesn't quite have the same chance to shine (although, when she does, she's still very good).

The original was, of course, self-contained, so this sequel has to squeeze in a reason as to why it now has another three “seasons” (counting this one). That works well enough, and, this time round, any such problem is avoided for the future by ending the final part on a cliffhanger. You can listen to Dark Eyes on its own, but you can't do the same with this one.