Written by Philip Martin Brian Finch Paul Finch Christopher H Bidmead PJ Hammond Andy Lane Barbara Clegg Marc Platt Pat Mills Ingrid Pitt Tony Rudlin Graham Williams

Adapted by John Ainsworth

Starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant

Originally released : 2009-2010

Listened to: February/March 2026

Context: so these have been on my shelf as a series of individual purchases for ages, just haven’t got round to listening to any of them, however this collected set (which I got on download, financial madness but that is collecting for you) pushed me into listening to these in one go (as in in a row rather than sitting down for three days and listening to these solid!). Always like the 6th Doctor on BF, don’t really know much about any of these stories, going in with an open mind!

Episodes
1.1 The Nightmare Fair by Graham Williams, adapted by John Ainsworth
1.2 Mission to Magnus by Philip Martin

1.3 Leviathan by Paul and Brian Finch

1.4 The Hollows of Time by Christopher H Bidmead

1.5 Paradise 5 by PJ Hammond and Andy Lane

1.6 Point of Entry by Barbara Clegg and Marc Platt

1.7 The Song of Megaptera by Pat Mills

1.8 The Macros by Ingrid Pitt and Tony Rudlin

THE REVIEW

What I thought:

The Nightmare Fair by Graham Williams, adapted by John Ainsworth. This one, to a large extent, is the one in this collection I was most excited to listen to, and unfortunately, this one was a real disappointment for me. For a while, I thought I was listening to this out of order, so little sense did it make to me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed some elements of this. I thought David Bailie as the Toymaker was great, and the start of the adventure in Blackpool was really good, but I just couldn’t picture this one in my head. I therefore really struggled to work out what was going on in this one. Am I being a bit harsh?!?

Mission to Magnus by Philip Martin. I had a Target paperback a million years ago (never read it), and although I knew Sil and the ice Warriors were in this, I didn’t know anything else about this story. I have to admit, despite having listened to this one now, I am not sure I am more the wiser story-wise! It’s nice to have Sil back, the ice warriors are cool (although perhaps a little underused here), and the adventure is fun, especially around Sil and his lady boss, with the role of the Doctor’s school bully (played to perfection). Otherwise, I think this is a bit of a damp squib for me.

Leviathan by Paul and Brian Finch is one I knew nothing about beforehand, an interesting one, that starts as one thing (a medieval jaunt) and ends up as something else, a whole medieval society that is inside the cargo hold of a gigantic spaceship. It’s an interesting idea, and the enemy of this story being a rogue computer programme is pretty cool. The box set starts to be a bit more elevated now for this one.

The Hollows of Time by Christopher H Bidmead is an odd one for me. I appreciate the return of the Gravis etc however Frontios is one of the few TV episodes which I haven’t seen so the return of these weird slug/prawn things was a little lost on me. I also lost contact with the story a few times, which was partly me, but I do think it was partly the story as well, a little too clever for its own good perhaps, with cars in outer space and odd villains using mind control…

Paradise 5 by PJ Hammond and Andy Lane was a surprise for me, worked really well for me this one, with a very 80’s vibe, kinda a bit like Paradise Towers but better, with the doctor and peri splitting up, investigating what lies beneath the utopian holiday resort of Paradise 5. As a master like (Master to be) evil dude is great, as are the wee cleaner rat things, who turn out to be more than what they seem. As is rapidly becoming a theme with these episodes, it’s a little long, and as a result, for me anyway, I lost the thread a little by the third episode. I was not entirely clear what was going on. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this one a lot.

Point of Entry by Barbara Clegg and Marc Platt was an interesting one, a Tudor-set adventure with Philip Marlowe, Walsingham and Spanish spies/magicians and some Aztec alien-esque demons. Seems to work perfectly for this TARDIS team. This is a story that works particularly well for the 6th Doctor, and I could imagine this one actually being on TV. I love all the stuff on the ship at the end, and Peri as Elizabeth the First is good fun.

The Song of Megaptera by Pat Mills, again, another adventure I hadn’t even heard of the title before, let alone any story details. So I cracked on with listening to this one, and I have to say this is a highlight of the collection for me. The whole idea of ‘space whale’, although not completely new, seems like a brilliant idea to me. The captain of the ship is great, as are his moron minions, wonderfully played with many great interactions between them and the 6th Doctor and Peri. The TARDIS having to dematerialise in the body of the whale is great, and then things start getting really weird as the team encounter the creatures that live inside the whale! Mental. Great ending on this one as well.

The Macros by Ingrid Pitt and Tony Rudlin starts well, I liked the stuff around the Philadelphia project, and I think Colin and Nicola are brilliant in this as the mystery of the ship unfolds. The story then goes a bit too sci-fi for me, with the action heading to another planet/dimension which turns out to be a pocket (macro) dimension, although this was only clear to me somewhere into the second episode. I was pleased that there was a return to the ship, and the Philadelphia experiment, which is a really good as I particularly like this aspect of the story. The president is a good villain, and her henchmen are pretty cool, which makes for an exciting conclusion to this story. As in all of these stories, Nicola B and Colin are fantastic as Peri and old sixie in this one.

Rating: 4 out of 5 pairs of yellow striped trousers: overall a very enjoyable series of stories, which have some less than great stories but there are some really good ones here. I think listening to one after another may have been to the detriment of the story, but overall I am pleased I smashed through these in the winter months of 2026.

Memorable bits

• Macro universes!
• The TARDIS materlising in the belly of a space whale
• The setting of the Philidelphia project, perfect for a Who story, and works especially well for the 6th Doctor.
• I quite like the baron!
• Space whales are always cool
• Macro universes
• Hurn the Hunter
• The Toymaker is always a welcome returning villan.