The Rocket Men have been one of the most interesting foes created for the Doctor’s audio adventures.

This scourge of the galaxy have evoked a Saturday morning picture-serial sensibility with their mercenary antics on two occasions in the Companion Chronicles range.

This third outing expands their world, introducing us to “The Asteroid”, a seemingly impregnable base of operations with a very specific security system, and their thuggish and none-too-bright leader Shandar who is keen to impress his new business associate, The Master.

John Dorney’s script takes delight in a deliberate reversal of the traditional format; the Master arrives to discover the Doctor already has a plan underway, working from the inside as a prisoner on the asteroid base. It does cast Fourth Doctor in the more unusual situation of having a master plan, rather than stumbling through the adventure on instinct, but for a gear change it is great fun and Tom Baker clearly relishes the action – with the plot inevitably culminating in an epic space sequence with the Doctor darting around an asteroid field by rocket pack.

The story has plenty to keep both companions occupied, with K-9 placed cleverly in the action while Leela (Louise Jameson) is on the loose and engaging in a rather personal battle of warrior wits against Marshall (Damian Lynch) the tracker, which leads her to a personal revelation.

As ever, Geoffrey Beevers’ effortlessly smooth tones make for an effective Master and he is well matched by the rough, East End gangster charms of Mark Frost’s Shandar. We almost felt shades of Pertwee’s Doctor in the Master’s pomposity as he ranted at the “King of the Rocket Men” for his ineptitude… in fact, we cannot help but feel if the Rocket Men came off rather badly in this ‘Requiem’ tale… perhaps they deserve a Renaissance at some point in the future?

Extras: Seven minutes of interviews with cast and crew, with an expanded version available on the Big Finish website.

Released in March 2015 by Big Finish.

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