Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures, Volume 1

Although he had previously made what are effectively guest appearances In the Companion Chronicles, the Third Doctor was the last of the classic Doctors to receive his own, full-length stories, of which this is the first. This, of course, was only possible because Big Finish finally decided to take the plunge and recast the iconic role. Naturally, even those happy with, say, Frazer Hines re-voicing Two might balk at the thought of an entirely new actor taking on a role of this significance to fans... and, if that includes you, then it's a safe bet you are not going to want to listen to this no matter what I have to say about it.

And indeed, Tim Treloar is very obviously not Pertwee. His impression actually isn't bad and it's helped by the way the dialogue is written, but it's clearly not going to fool anybody familiar with the original. For that matter, while Manning is quite impressive at imitating her younger self, Richard Franklin's voice has unavoidably aged forty years. There's a final oddity in that the story is narrated in places, which feels jarring but might, I suppose, be a device to cover for the fact that the Brigadier doesn't get any lines.

The set consists of two 2-hour stories which are unconnected beyond featuring the same two companions.

Prisoners of the Lake

The first story is an archetypal UNIT tale, albeit one featuring underwater action that would have been far beyond the budget of the BBC in the 1970s. UNIT are called to investigate an archaeological site beneath a lake that, it almost immediately becomes clear, is actually a crashed spaceship.
The resulting story is often claustrophobic, much of the action being tightly confined to the wreck, with limited access to the shore (or, indeed, oxygen). Many of the tropes of the Pertwee era are on display and, in that respect, it's clear that this story isn't attempting to break any boundaries – which was probably wise, given the need to establish the new actor. Having said which, it's riffing off some of the better TV stories of the era, with elements that are reminiscent – but not imitative – of The Silurians and The Daemons.

The focus is clearly on the Doctor, in a way that was never possible with The Companion Chronicles, but Yates and Jo also have significant roles to play. Jo, in particular, is given more to do than she often was on TV, and neither screams at the monsters nor gets tied up and held to ransom. Despite which, she is identifiably the same character, and arguably a key element in bringing back the atmosphere of the original. 3 stars.

The Havoc of Empires

Despite his association with UNIT, over a third of the Third Doctor's TV stories involved more traditional journies in the TARDIS, usually into the future. This second audio story takes up that theme, following up on the themes of the Earth Empire seen in stories such as Frontier in Space and The Mutants. Other links with Pertwee-era stories are also apparent, with references to Sontarans (The Time Warrior) and even the Delphons (a throwaway line in Spearhead from Space).

The story itself is a murder mystery set against the backdrop of a potential marriage alliance between a branch of the Empire and an alien polity. Echoing The Curse of Peladon, the TARDIS crew are mistaken for Earth agents sent to oversee the wedding although, this time, it's Jo who gets to take the lead, with the Doctor having to act as her assistant - something that helps to make them more equal here than their partnership often was on TV. The mystery is a decent one, with plenty of suspects, obligatory monsters, and a race against time all adding to the suspense. Perhaps due to not being shackled by the UNIT format, this story has more originality than the first one, despite numerous call-backs to the era and a definite feel that is a story that could only have been written for Three. 4 stars.