Doctor Who: The Last Post

A Third Doctor story told from the perspective of Liz Shaw. Poignantly, especially given the subject matter, this was the last audio play to star Caroline John, who passed away a few months before its release. However, it's chronologically the earliest, being set during Doctor Who's 7th series, rather than in it's aftermath, as has been more common.

The story is largely told in epistolary format, as a number of letters exchanged between Liz and her mother, although, in the second half, this is really just a straight re-telling of events. The story concerns various important people receiving letters accurately predicting their exact time of death (of natural causes). However, it's perhaps more notable for being tightly woven in with the episodes of the TV show, making numerous references to events and characters in Shaw's four TV stories - and to some from before her time.

The limitations of the Companion Chronicles format are apparent here, with the rendition of the main villain's voice being particularly grating. And it does require a knowledge of the era to get the most out of, although that's a fairly safe bet among its target audience. But, those points aside, it does a great job of building on established continuity, and of bringing Liz to life, expanding on her family life, and seeing her perspective on the stories she featured in. Plus, the half-way cliffhanger is really quite a good one.

I've not, on the whole, been highly enamoured of the Third Doctor audios to this point, but this one does stand above the crowd.