Doctor Who has a proud tradition of taking classic monster stories and doing its own spin on them. This was especially prevalent in the early gothic influenced Tom Baker era and ‘Last of the Colophon’ is a tale consciously cut from that cloth.

Continuing his adventures with Leela, the story begins with the Doctor looking for a campfire holiday. Arriving on the planet of Colophos, the savage’s instincts are instantly roused as she correctly describes the planet as a “dead world”.

The crew of the survey ship Oligarch arrive at much the same time. Hailing from the Third Imperial Consortium, a human civilisation which the Doctor unusually claims never to have heard of, they are on a mission to assess the planet for potential colonisation or mineral exploitation.

Initially suspicious, the Oligarch’s crew find themselves working with the time travellers when they receive a brief radio transmission from within the dead city. Lured into a highly secure compound to sate their curiosity, they discover its desperate sole resident, Morax, Clinging to life, the fully bandaged scientist is the last of his race and he seeks their help in escaping the ministrations of his controlling, over-protective robotic nurse.

This is the second of these stories in row to feature a member of the Blake’s Seven cast; Gareth Thomas puts in a splendid turn as the crippled and dangerous Morax. He is a great match for Tom Baker and the story turns into an enjoyable battle of wits between the two. Despite the cover image, which in retrospect is a bit of a giveaway, we remained happily ignorant of the twist which revealed Morax’s true nature until the moment of its reveal.

Louise Jameson’s Leela enjoys some well thought out action scenes, pitting her skills as a huntress against the villain’s unique abilities, and it is great to hear the Doctor valuing her finely honed instincts. For their part, the bureaucratic humans are amusing and are fairly clearly lined up as cannon fodder. Of the three, Jessica Martin, who played Mags in ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’ impresses as the spiky Deputy Surveyor Sutton and is paired off with the Doctor for a portion of the tale.

As the latest in an impressive run of Fourth Doctor adventures, ‘Last of the Colophon’ presents a villain who is particularly cold blooded and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. After the initial big twist, Jonathan Morris’ script has fun with the concept while delivering a thoroughly chilling premise.

Extras: Eleven and a half minutes of comments from those involved, including the cast and writer Jonathan Morris.

Released in May 2014 by Big Finish Productions Ltd.

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