Doctor Who: Lucie Miller

This is the first of a two-part story, concluded in To the Death. I have reviewed both parts here.

This is the two-part finale to Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures, wrapping out the fourth, and final, “season”. Not coincidentally, it is also the last story to feature the eponymous Lucie Miller, who has been the companion for most of the series' run.

The story follows on from both Relative Dimensions and The Resurrection of Mars, with references to some other Big Finish stories as well. It features Lucie and Susan becoming embroiled in a second dalek invasion of Earth, that shows many odd similarities with the first (in the TV series). As such, it's hardly a standalone episode, although that's not really unexpected in a series finale!

Unusually, the Doctor doesn't turn up until almost the 30 minute mark, which gives us a particularly effective look at the invasion, showing just how bad this sort of thing is when the Doctor isn't around. In doing so, it actually makes the daleks menacing again, something that the TV series (and, for that matter, Big Finish itself) has often lost its way with. Were it not for the fact that we know the Doctor will turn up eventually, this would actually be quite bleak, and is one of the strengths of the episode. Even when he does turn up, there are still some significant character deaths, leaving a deep impact on those that survive.

If there is a flaw, it's that the daleks' plan makes barely more sense than it did the first time round - there's more of an attempt at an explanation than in the related TV story, but it's still hard to see how it would actually work. But the strength of the story is in the relationships between the various characters, with strong performances from most of those concerned. It doesn't wrap absolutely everything up in a nice, neat, bundle, but it's a fitting end to the series, and a poignant final departure for Lucie.