The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith enjoy a visit to the future, where Earth’s expansion into space has led to colonies in the asteroid belt – and revolution is fermenting. 

Set in Jon Pertwee’s final season, ‘Revolution in Space’ brings us a futuristic, science fiction tale. On a TARDIS trip, the Doctor and Sarah Jane find themselves materialising in the tunnels of an asteroid within our own solar system. There, they witness firsthand the mining process performed by the residents of Hygieia, who use a powerful gravity bean to draw in neighbouring asteroids and strip them for minerals.

Revolution!

The miners are the descendants of the prisoners first shipped to the colony. Overseen by an Earth Governor, they provide vital supplies to a resource-starved home world but it’s a political powder keg. The Doctor knows this period of Earth history well and fears he’s been once again diverted to do the bidding of the Time Lords. If only he could work out what that might be!

Big Dumb Object

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Earth authorities, the locals have discovered an alien presence (of sorts) embedded within their home. Dubbed the BDO – Big Dumb Object – it’s a giant crystalline structure,  seemingly inert, but with ability to radically alter the balance of power.

Plot and counterplot play out, with the Governor and the rebels vying for control. However, none of those political machinations take into account another rising power, that of the colony’s final prisoner, Zyla Kalstein.

Leading the story, Tim Treloar sparkles as the Doctor and the robust, almost spiky relationship with Sarah is well realised. For her part, Sadie Miller’s performance as Sarah is terrific – and she’s thoroughly put through her paces as events unfold.

Among the guest cast, the standout performance comes from Juliet Aubrey as Zyla Kalstein. The villain, whose criminal legacy remains unknown to us, sits in the background as a puppet mistress until terrifyingly… she doesn’t. If this isn’t a chilling audition for a future incarnation of the Master/Missy, we don’t know what is! Richard James also impresses the Governor Rogan, who’s soon out of his depth and not half as clever as he thinks he is.

In Summary

‘Revolution in Space’ provides another cracking adventure for the Third Doctor, with its engaging space-bound setting. It’s nice to see this particular flavour of the Pertwee era continued. There’s superb sound design from David Roocroft and Nicholas Briggs provides an authentic sounding score to underline the action.

The real-world mirrors for Hygieia independence are easy to see, but the story doesn’t get bogged down in the minutiae. Crucially, it sustains its pace over all six episodes with multiple threats, intricate schemes and mature themes.

This is another perfectly-pitched story from writer Jonathan Morris, hot on the heels of his excellent First Doctor Dalek tale. Teamed with script editor/producer Nicholas Briggs, the pair again demonstrate a clear understanding of how Doctor Who works in this era. Highly recommended.

There’s also an entertaining behind-the-scenes featurette for the recording of the story.

Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: Revolution in Space is available now, on CD and download, from Big Finish.