Audio CD review
Big Finish
Starring the voices of Lis Sladen (The Ghost House; The Time Capsule); Sarah Sutton (The Darkening Eye); Colin Baker, India Fisher, Philip Madoc (Return of the Krotons); Colin Baker, India Fisher, Anna Hope (The Raincloud Man); David Warner, Nicholas Courtney, Terry Molloy (Masters of War)
Release date Out now

The latest BBC Sarah Jane Adventures and Big Finish Doctor Who releases…

The BBC have issued two new Sarah Jane Adventures on audio, written by Doctor Who novel stalwarts Stephen Cole and Peter Anghelides, both narrated by Lis Sladen in character as Sarah Jane. They're set in the second season, with Rani replacing Maria, although it's interesting to note that without the different actresses playing them, the characters are pretty interchangeable.

Cole's The Ghost House is a spooky tale of a house swapping places in time, allowing Sladen the chance to demonstrate a very interesting accent for the alien! Anghelides' The Time Capsule sees a weird anomaly appear in a supermarket where Clyde is working. Both reference the show's Doctor Who roots, and are enjoyable listens.

Big Finish's first release is The Darkening Eye, a Companion Chronicles prequel to the Sylvester McCoy audio The Death Collectors, explaining how the seventh Doctor knew about the race. Sarah Sutton captures the inflections of her TARDIS crewmates, with a respectable Australian twang for Tegan, the calm note of Davison's Doctor and a slightly annoying catch for Adric. The story doesn’t require knowledge of the McCoy story, but adds further layers to it.

The sixth Doctor and Charley get two outings this month, with Return of the Krotons, available to subscribers to the range, leading into The Raincloud Man. Both are solid tales, with the former seeing the return of Philip Madoc, who appeared in the first Kroton tale. The latter is a sort-of sequel to The Condemned, with Anna Hope reprising her role of Detective Inspector Menzies, who has now become Manchester's port of call for aliens in trouble. There are some strong concepts here, occasionally let down in the execution (the voices of the aliens are a little too generic).

The gem of the month's audios, though, is the Doctor Who Unbound tale Masters of War, which sees the return of David Warner's alternative third Doctor, accompanied by the retired Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart, whom he picked up in 1997 Hong Kong. The pair land on Skaro, and encounter Thals, Daleks and Davros – but one whose life wasn't interrupted by the arrival of the fourth Doctor in Genesis of the Daleks.

Occasionally all the alternate timelines and reinterpretations of history make your head spin, but because all bets are off in terms of what the characters' futures may hold, there are some considerable surprises along the way, including a version of Davros' past that pays little heed to Big Finish's own continuity. Warner, Nicholas Courtney and Terry Molloy excel. Highly recommended. Peter Quentin

VERDICT
The Ghost House: 7/10
The Time Capsule: 7/10
The Darkening Eye: 7/10
Return of the Krotons: 6/10
The Raincloud Man: 6/10
Masters of War: 8/10