Another exciting homage to a favourite era of Doctor Who with no weak link in sight.
When a mysterious being in silver trousers called Kaleidoscope (or Kal for short) turns up and announces that he is from a distant planet and is here to warn the people of Earth about impending doom, it’s up to the Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and Sarah-Jane Smith to uncover the truth. The truth lies a long way from London and a little too close to home.
Alan Barnes’ ripping new instalment in the Third Doctor Adventures series for Big Finish is an excellent bookend to February’s release of The Annihilators. Taking place during Jon Pertwee’s final season as the Third Doctor, this story plays on the very real fears of the time — war with the Russians — and turns it into a highly entertaining and action-packed adventure. The script pays homage to a lot of the tropes from that era without being bogged down by it. He also gives the Brigadier a bit more of a backstory, which is always good to hear.
At six episodes, each roughly between 30 and 40 minutes long, this story largely avoids the lengthy padding of the similarly long stories from that particular era. Director Nicholas Briggs once again shows his love for this era by directing the story with aplomb as well as creating the wonderful musical score (something he has done for the previous volume as well). He is helped by his trio of leads who all excel at replicating the original actors. Tim Treloar is a wonderful Third Doctor as always (and gets better with each and every volume). Sadie Miller continues to imbue Sarah-Jane Smith with the same feeling as her late mother Elisabeth Sladen who originated the role. It is now almost impossible to distinguish her voice from the original. Jon Culshaw, as always, provides the stiff upper lip of the Brigadier with alarming accuracy. Steve Foxon’s excellent sound design is as on point as ever.
The remaining cast are all absolutely top draw. Stephen Noonan (who in another series from Big Finish is now playing the First Doctor originated by William Hartnell) plays no less than five roles in this story (his most notable being Colonel-General Sokolov), and Mark Elstob has four roles (with the bumbling Air Commodore Hurley as his absolute best). Playing the title role of Kaleidoscope, Gerran Howell does an outstanding job at helping the leads carry the weight of the story. Jasmin Hinds, playing Smith’s rival Jenny Nettles, is also a superb addition to this cast. Helen Goldwyn is a scene-chewing Daphne Green and is great to listen to. Finally, it is good to hear the role of Harry Sullivan being portrayed wonderfully by Christopher Naylor.
A substantial set of interviews with the cast and crew is included and shows the immense fun had by the cast during the recording sessions.
This is an excellent addition to the Third Doctor range and fans of this era will lap this one up with sheer delight.
Reviewed by Rodney Hrvatin
Twitter: @Wagnerfan74
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not necessarily of Glam Adelaide.
Distributed by: Big Finish Productions
Released: October 2022
Approx RRP: $35 Digital Download, $45 CD
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