Originally released : March 2026

Listened to: April 2026

Written by Robert Valentine Phil Mulryne

Starring Tom Baker and Sadie Miller

Episodes:

15.1 The Ministry of Death by Robert Valentine (4 parts)

15.2 The Inhuman Empire by Phil Mulryne (2 parts)

Context:

THE REVIEW

What I thought:

The Ministrey of Death: – I thought this one was excellent, a classic UNIT and 4th Doc story. It was lovely to have Harry and SJS back together, in a classic story setup, mad professors who ran a shady experiment to extend life in the past, with Pendegrast/Mildred trying to restart the whole caper. There is a series of murders, which turn out to be in line with the occupations of the victims (silly idea in some respects, but perfect for this Dr Who adventure). There is a lot of brilliant stuff between the UNIT team and the Doctor, but it is the interactions between the Doctor and the Brig where this really shines. There is a brilliant scene between them, with a bomb underneath the Brig! Fantastic scene and interplay between these two fan favourite characters. There is some great stuff exploring their relationship and what they mean to each other as well, lovely stuff. The ending is fun, and a surprise, as the Brig seems to have stolen the TARDIS!

The Inhuman Empire – another good episode that intrigued me in quick order, with some kind of mystery in a museum unfolding with ancient Samaran plinths/monuments (is that what they are?), which leads to covert investigations from SJS and team. The creepy museum curator clearly knows more than he is letting on in terms of these creepy artefacts, and yes, there are some very familiar aliens behind this (SPOILERS AHEAD), and when we hear the noise and hear the command for total destruction, it is a whoop out loud moment. I certainly did when I realised this was an Auton story. Great idea that thousands of years ago, the Autons attempted to invade Earth, and ended up stuck in a pre-plastic ancient human society. Therefore, they had to hang around in order to get to a period where plastic was available to them, a brilliant idea! The finale is fun, and the Fourth Doctor finishes the Autons off in quick style. I really liked the length of this one. Another great story and a very strong Fourth Doctor box set.

Rating: 4 out of 5 scarfs: lovely boxset that fits perfectly into this early eara of fourth doctor adventures. The team is amazing, SJS the brig and Harry work so well with the fourth doctor, and Tom B clearly has lots of fun in this one, highly recommended.

What am I left thinking?

• Where next for the fourth Doctor?
• Can we have more of this TARDIS team together please BF
• The two-parter was a highlight for me, and not just for the inclusion of the plastic-obsessed aliens, the pacing just worked really well
• The scenes between the Brig and the Doctor discussing how important they zre to each other is great!
• SJS investigating in a dark museum is pure 1970’s who, this so would have worked on TV

Memorable bits

• The brig is sitting on a bomb, and the Doctor is defusing it!
• Total destruction!