BAKER! WARD! LEESON! WARNER!! HADOKE!! TROUGHTON!!! Oh, my...

So last year I started listening to a lot more of the connected ranges of Doctor Who, with one of them being the fantastic Fourth Doctor Adventures range, the first two series of which are brilliant. They are tinged with sadness however, due to Series 2 being the last recorded performance of Mary Tamm as Romana before her untimely passing in 2012. But oh boy, was that a series, especially the finale! K-9! DALEKS! DAVID WARNER! TOBY HADOKE! The last two of which were pure nectar to my ears. Speaking of which, I wonder where they went.....

DOCTOR WHO FOURTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES REVIEW

5.07 & 5.08: THE PURSUIT OF HISTORY and CASUALTIES OF TIME

By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Time is catching up with the TARDIS team, in more ways than one. After a malfunction in the Time Vortex, Romana is whisked away and reunited with the Laan, but something is not right with them. And when the Doctor arrives in Victorian Yorkshire, he's reunited with Cuthbert, the head and CEO of the notorious Conglomerate, but something is not right with him. And waiting to be reunited is his right hand man, Mr Dorrick, overseeing the operation of the Quantum Gateway, but something is not right with it. As the TARDIS crew discover what is going on, they discover something big is not right. An old enemy has returned, and has promised revenge for the travellers......... and death for one of them.

Closing off one of, in my opinion anyway, the strongest series of the 4DAs ever was going to be a considerable challenge, so who else to take it on than the wibbly-wobbly-timey-writing juggernaut that is Nicholas Briggs? Returning to his characters and plot points from his amazing Series 2 finale, The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase, Briggs constructs a tale that shows everyone fighting for control, unaware that all the buttons are being pressed in the background. And whilst the true villain of the piece is easy to deduce, how he enters the proceedings and what his plans are perfectly done and should not be spoiled in this silly review. Really, it's hard to talk about this story without spoiling it completely...

...but oh I can talk about the cast of this brilliant thing till the cows come home. As well as our three regulars of Baker, Ward and Leeson, we have the returning bliss of David Warner and Toby Hadoke as the aforementioned Cuthbert and Dorrick. And joining them are the familliar names of Lisa Bowerman, John Dorney, Jane Slavin, Jez Fielder and David Troughton, all doing a Monty Python and playing multiple characters. Hell, even Leeson has another role in this one! All directed to perfection by the formidable talents of Briggs.

As for the sound and music..... does anyone know a way I can sing Jamie Robertson's praises that I haven't used on the site yet? The only criticism I have for this story (Sorry Nick) is that it is continuity heavy. And although it's not entirely necessary for following the story, it does help make everything that bit clearer and more enjoyable. With that said, it is a fantastic finale by Briggs and should definitely not be just glanced over, even with the extra listening.

VERDICT: 4/5 Don't let the extra listening deter you, this is a brilliant release in just about every other way! ;D