The early moments of the story are really quite fun as
Carole Ann Ford does a great job in creating the panic and excitement of the
moment. There is a tremendous sense of fear for Susan of what’s going on and it’ll
be matched by Ian and Barbara in a few stories time. There is a lovely bit
about what caused them to ‘steal’ the TARDIS in the first place. I like how the
Doctor objects to the term stolen. There is a sadness when the Doctor doesn’t feel
like he’s welcome on Gallifrey.
In Quinnis, Marc Platt put some meat on a line that was used
in ‘Inside the Spaceship’ and it felt like he’d ticked all the relevant boxes
to make it work and he’s done the same here. That might sound like a critiscm
but it’s a compliment as that is what made Quinnis work and that’s what makes
this story work. Even to go to the trouble of not calling the TARDIS the TARDIS
but merely the time machine. Small details like that didn’t go unnoticed by me
and I suspect by a great number of people listening to this.
After the initial opening quarter we get to the main part of
the story with Terry Molloy entering the story who seems to have been on board
the TARDIS when the Doctor takes off. It’s
always weird to hear Terry Molloy in a non-Davros role. It’s the same every time
I watch ‘Attack of the Cybermen’ but it shows that he can do more than a mad
scientist who shouts a lot. As Quadrigger Stoyn (name of the year), Molloy
plays someone who is worried about pretty much everything and it matches the
sort of person that doesn’t venture outside of the capital that we encounter
whenever the show goes to Gallifrey. If I’m being honest sometimes I’m not a
wild fan of Carole Ann Ford’s readings. I don’t think sometimes that she’s one
of the better readers of the range and her last Companion Chronicle (The Alchemists)
was a rather tiresome release though I think that I remember saying that some
people may have gotten more from it than me.
The main part of the story does feel like normal companion
chronicle territory but after the wonderful opening fifteen minutes I must say
that I didn’t have a problem with this as it was done so well that it could
easily have worked on its own without the special vibe that goes with it. The
plot does a great deal to explain why the Doctor would have an obsession with
Earth.
I was surprised with how the Doctor leaves Stoyn behind. It
seems a bit un-Doctor like and even when you take into account the grumpiness
that William Hartnell’s Doctor in the early days it’s does seem a bit harsh of
him. Knowing that we are going to hear from Molloy’s Stoyn in the next release
does rob us of the ability to let his abandonment to fester in our
imaginations.
Carole Ann Ford’s last line in this is “We had no idea how
long it would last!” and that seems to be a nice way to end the release and it’s
probably a comment that Carole Ann Ford and William Russell themselves would
say repeatedly. I really like this release. I think that it does a good job of
telling a good story that kicks off a trilogy rather well and it has all the
fun stuff at the beginning which would have long term fans giggling with
excitement. The trilogy has a lot to live up to and whilst I wasn’t really that
fussed about the trilogy to begin with, after listening to this I am really looking
forward to the next two releases. 
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