Start to Finish: 2.01 - Mother Russia

Image (c) Big Finish Productions Ltd

Series 2 of The Companion Chronicles follows the same format as series 1, which means that we're back with the First Doctor, this time joined by astronaut Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), now sans Vicki and joined by child of the swinging sixties, Dorothea 'Dodo' Chaplet.

The TARDIS lands in Russia, and the crew set out for a well-earned break. Unfortunately, this is Russia in 1812 and the estate where they find themselves is right in the path of the Grande Armee as it marches from Borodino to Moscow. Yet this is not the whole of the time travelers' problems, as a crashed alien craft brings a monster out of myth to a quiet Russian village.

After the upbeat satire of The Beautiful People, we're back to a melancholic pseudo-historical in Mark Platt's Mother Russia. Using the format of one of the First Doctor's 'holiday' stories, it sees the TARDIS crew settling in for an extended stay on Earth, and Steven's friendship with a local forester and the impact of the SF elements intruding into history form the backbone of the first - and stronger - half of the play, in which echoes of Russian folklore frame the story. The second half, more focused on the big figure of Napoleon and the more direct actions of the alien presence, is less successful, because it impacts less powerfully on the narrator, who as an astronaut is more distant from the events than a modern Earthican.

The framing device is more inventive than in series 1, taking the form of a dialogue between Steven and his Interrogator (Tony Millan), with the nature of the Interrogator and their situation only becoming clear over time.

Peter Purves provides a handful of accents (which he himself defines as 'Welsh Russian' and 'Greek French') to enliven his cast of minor characters, but also brings the first truly effective Doctor to the series, capturing the cadence, if not the voice, of William Hartnell's irascible old traveler to the life.

This is a solid entry in the series, and although weaker in its grander moments, the more personal narrative in the first half is one of the best that the Chronicles have to offer.

Next on the list is Helicon Prime, a Second Doctor story narrated by Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon.