Doctor Who: The Widow's Assassin

The departure of Peri as companion has to rank as one of the least satisfying in the TV show's history (although there are other contenders for that honour...) Here, Big Finish tries to make sense of it with a story in which the Doctor turns up to attend Peri's subsequent marriage to King Yrcanos, and, in doing so, discovers her real motives for leaving him. Given that the story is written by Nev Fountain, it should also be no surprise to discover that it's a comedy.

What's good about it is that the story works on multiple levels. The comedy elements are often daft, with many of the characters over-the-top absurd (as an example, the two palace guards are literally named ‘Guard One' and ‘Guard Two'). But they work well, with some great lines, a good sense of comic timing, and, at times, a good use of the audio format to spring surprises on the listener.

But, on top of that, the story is quite complex, playing with time travel, and red herrings being thrown out for the murder mystery that forms the core of the tale - the villain's identity remains a secret for most of the run time. It's also a fitting sequel to Mindwarp and a more believable (if convoluted) explanation of what really happened than we got in The Ultimate Foe. This time, we get an ending that's much fairer to Peri.

Perhaps one of the most notable things, though, is the sheer number of characters the actors are called on to portray. Even Baker and Bryant are by no means restricted to their usual roles, and the results of that are some of the best in the play.

It's not one for those who like straightforward stories, and the way it subverts a lot of what happened in Mindwarp might not please those who actually liked that story. (I didn't, which may have helped). But I felt this was a great balance of comedy and drama... and yet another example of why Colin Baker is so good in this role when he's given a decent script.