As you just might have gathered from the boxset title and cover, this year’s Second Doctor Adventures release from Big Finish sees the return of Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon, joining Michael Troughton‘s Second Doctor as he continues to work for the Time Lords after the events of The War Games. He may be a little older and a little wiser, but this is still the Jamie we all know and love, and it’s a thrill to have him back in the fray.

Jamie reunites with the Doctor in the aptly-titled Jamie by Mark Wright, in which we find the hairy-legged Highlander more than a little worse for wear, locked in the dungeons of Edinburgh Castle and experiencing visions of both the past and of potential futures he might have lived. Hines does an excellent job at portraying Jamie’s confusion and anguish at his predicament, and shares a strong rapport with Daisy Ashford‘s Elen, a kindly nurse treating his condition.

As in the two stories of the previous boxset (our review of which you can find here), Jamie has a delightfully sinister atmosphere, not least because of all of the spooky goings-on Wright packs into the script. This is due in part to the character of Raven (Emma Noakes), who has a much larger role here than before, following the Doctor around on his mission in her role as his handler for the CIA. It’s so rare to hear the Doctor not in control of his own actions, and I love the way this is woven throughout all of the stories in this series; it really makes them feel fresh and unpredictable.

The first half of the story keeps the Doctor and Jamie away from one another, but when they eventually reunite in part two, it’s with a refreshing lack of mawkishness. The story is so quickly paced that there isn’t much time for the two to discuss old times, but, rest assured, there’s a convincing explanation for how Jamie has his memory back, and a lovely scene at the end where he enters to the TARDIS once again after so many years away.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Hines interacting with Troughton’s Doctor (that was in last year’s The Annihilators, review here), so we already know the two have an excellent rapport, but it really is lovely to hear two such loved characters coming together once again, and in a way so strongly reminiscent of the double-act formed between Patrick Troughton and Hines all those years ago. A strong opener.

Next up is Paul F Verhoeven‘s The Green Man, a decidedly more traditional story which sees the Doctor and Jamie investigate The Grove, a state of the art rehabilitation centre, on the orders of Raven. Nigel Havers guest stars here as the villainous Overseer Fuller, and puts in a strong performance, proving a far more effective monster than the titular Green Man, which doesn’t really get all that much to do.

It’s great to hear the Second Doctor and Jamie properly back together here, and their investigations of the Grove are the highlight of the story. Sadly, the plot wraps up so quickly in the second part that all of the build-up ends up seeming inconsequential. Nevertheless, there’s an electrifying final scene between the Doctor and Raven that really cements how serious a predicament our favourite Time Lord has found himself in, setting up more mysteries to be unpacked as the series goes on.

Bob Ayres‘ The Shroud closes the set, seeing the Doctor and Jamie arrive on the planet Ninevah, which has been plunged into total darkness by an alien superweapon. The time travelling twosome are split up for most of the story, Jamie falling in with a group of terrified humans and the Doctor being captured by the villainous ‘Squids’, who seem to be the force behind the Shroud covering Ninevah, though we still get some lovely interactions between the two.

Unlike the previous story, there quite a few guest characters here, but standouts include Mickey Knighton as the grieving Paul and Eva Savage, who gives the mysterious Hearken a suitably spooky voice. Emma Noakes once again features here as Raven, and gets some great material, her character being seen in a more vulnerable position for the first time.

And as the story, and indeed the boxset as a whole, comes to a close, the Doctor and Jamie find themselves plunged into yet more dangerous events, the outcome of which we won’t get to hear for another year, when the next boxset in the series is released. It’s a shame we have to wait so long but, if this boxset is anything to go by, it’ll definitely be something worth waiting for.

James Robert McCrimmon is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com