Audio CD review
Starring the voices of Katy Manning, Jane Goddard
Release date Out now

Jo Grant Jones remembers when Time ran backwards...

The key question after 77 odd minutes of this tale is: did Katy Manning actually pause to draw in breath at any stage, or has she perfected the opera singer's technique of inhaling while singing, or in her case, talking? Unlike some of her predecessors in this range, she jumps into the story, infusing it with an urgency and dynamism.

Manning sensibly doesn't try to imitate her co-stars Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney, but gives a flavour of their tone, so it's easy to tell who's who during one of the frequent spats between Doctor and Brigadier. She also readopts the breathy tones of Jo Grant, using her own natural voice for the older Jo/narration sections.

Marc Platt's script is full of the sorts of convolutions that figure in his New Adventures, and audiences who enjoy timey-wimey high jinks so beloved of Steven Moffatt will feel at home. Platt also uses the "Will the Doctor aid the bad guys if they'll help him get off Earth?" motif that turns up regularly in the show's eighth season, where this story would seem to fit, but doesn't make it feel a stale idea. Peter Quentin

VERDICT: 7/10
An enjoyable missing story.