The Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in Normandy on the eve of D Day.

Michael Troughton has been performing as the Second Doctor in Big Finish’s ongoing range of The Second Doctor Adventures for a couple of years now. However, those ongoing stories take place after his trial, with the Doctor as an unwilling agent for the Time Lords.

‘Operation Werewolf’ offers something different, recreating an idea developed for his father’s tenure. The story, from director Douglas Camfield and co-writer Robert Kitts, was outlined with the opening episode written before it was passed on. Now, it becomes a six-part audio drama from writer Jonathan Morris.

Operation Werewolf

The first surprise of the story is that it has spoken titles. This, combined with individually titled episodes stand the story apart – as they were dropped the Hartnell era.

The tale begins with the Doctor seeking to visit 1066 and watch the departure of William the Conqueror. Instead, the time travellers discover railway tracks and soon realise they’re in occupied France. In the woods, as a British agent parachutes down, the trio soon become embroiled. The Doctor is captured by the Germans, while Jamie and Zoe are rounded up by the French resistance.

With the leads split up, there’s an authentic feel of capture and release. The Doctor’s scientific knowledge is put to work by the Germans at their chateau base for sinister purposes, while his  companions gain the uneasy trust of the resistance fighters and seek to free him.

As the story develops, the six-parts are easily filled with conspiracy and action on both sides of the English Channel. It’s a story we knew little about prior to listening and rewarded us with enjoyable twists and turns.

While there’s plenty of adventure fare here, the story also plays with a science fiction element too. It’s not alien though, as the Nazi menace provides enough threat in its own right, as does knowledge of the future. When they are believed, it’s soon realised that the TARDIS crew have information that could be used to rewrite history.

European cast

With characters of multiple nationalities there’s always a danger of the ‘Allo ‘Allo! factor in terms of accents. Director David O’Mahony neutralises this with a wide European cast – something that a 1960s production probably wouldn’t have achieved.

In that guest cast, Michael Higgs is fun as Sir Aubrey Fanshaw-Smith, while the director himself plays Fergus, a British agent with a fun connection to Jamie. Leonie Schliesing also stands out as the relentless Hauptsturmfüher Leni Bruckner too.

In Summary

While there’s currently a vogue for reuniting Doctors with companions when they are older, this Lost Story fits neatly into Patrick Troughton’s final season. Both Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury return easily to the younger iterations of their characters, and the interplay between them is fun too. For his part Michael Troughton captures his father’s impish tone perfectly.

It’s understandable that the story’s fascist themes and wartime setting were deemed too close to home in the late 1960s. The budget would have been royally stretched too with a lot of location work. There’s also some technological crossover with ‘The Seeds of Death’, referenced in story by Jamie, which might have been a clash too.

Thankfully, none of that is an issue here and ‘Operation Werewolf’ is a welcome treat. It’s an enjoyable tale with great performances, a terrific period score from Jamie Robertson and is presented with a stunning cover from Georgie O’Boy too.

Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Operation Werewolf is out now. It’s available as a collector’s edition CD (+ download), or on download only, from Big Finish.