DOCTOR WHO: ECHOES OF EXTINCTION

RELEASED OUT NOW! 60 minutes | Vinyl/download

Publisher Big Finish

After a Covid-related five-month delay, Big Finish finally caps its contribution to Time Lord Victorious with this epilogue featuring two linked tales.

Paul Mcgann’s Eighth Doctor arrives on a space station where Jasmine (Kathryn Drysdale) is held prisoner by murderous entity The Network (Burn Gorman). Some time later, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor lands on a planet where a team of looters are searching for a powerful weapon. How and why the two tales are connected is gradually revealed.

The unusual format is perhaps behind some of the weaknesses in an otherwise solid release. The mystery of the Mcgann episode is intriguing, but the explanation is rushed through in five minutes of garbled exposition. The Tennant story is more coherent, but the excellent guest cast (which also includes Arthur Darvill and Mina Anwar) get only small roles.

There’s more than enough plot here for a longer release, but everything feels curtailed to fit the gimmick of having a different Doctor on each side of a record. That said, there is a thrill in hearing Mcgann and Tennant in the same tale, and Alfie Shaw’s script is peppered with lively dialogue. Good luck finding an affordable vinyl copy, though… Will Salmon