Doctor Who: The Blazing Hour

This is the final Fifth Doctor release of Big Finish's main monthly range, before he was moved to his own series (and penultimate release in the series overall). As such, it's standalone, featuring Turlough as the companion, who we haven't seen in some time.

The Doctor arrives at a power facility operated by the Earth Empire in the 31st century just before something goes horribly wrong. What follows is a disaster story, partly about characters trying to escape from the burning wreckage of the facility and partly about trying to find some way of preventing the problem from becoming even worse. (There's quite an inventive explanation of how the energy supply works and why it's so obviously doomed to failure, tying in to some wider elements of the show's lore).

I suspect what will make or break this story for listeners is what they make of the guest characters - most of them female, and all of them played by non-white actors. One of them is a blithering idiot with no redeeming features, a two-dimensional cutout who is there just to be an obstacle to the others. The main guest character, however, played by Rakie Ayola (from Noughts and Crosses among other things) is much more ambiguous and played with consummate smarm. She's clearly not a very nice person, but she's also bright enough to grasp what's happening when others don't, and isn't a straight-up villain, her actual stance and motivation being unclear at times.

There's a strong anti-greed message here and a criticism of politicians that those of a particular political bent will likely find frustrating (it's hard not to see some of this as a dig at Liz Truss's premiership - until you realise it was written before that happened). In fact, it fits in perfectly well with the sort of thing that Doctor Who has always done and as much a part of its tradition as invading aliens... but if it's not an element you appreciate, then, in fairness, it can be quite blunt in this particular story. If you do, though, it's a great tilt at corporate misdeeds and uncaring bureaucracy.

I'll also note that, while Turlough gets a lot to do and plays a key role, the part could equally well have been written for most other companions and isn't directly built around his strengths or flaws. There have been some better Fifth Doctor stories than this, but it's still a good send-off for his part in this particular series. Roll on the final story...