Philip Scholes reviews the final instalment in this year’s Fourth Doctor Adventures series

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It would be an understatement to say that following the adventures of Naomi Cross (Eleanor Crooks) and the post-Terror of the Zygons iteration of Harry Sullivan (Christopher Naylor) has been complicated. They first appeared together in 2021’s Between Two Worlds, the first UNIT: Nemesis boxset, where it was revealed they had been marooned in the 21st Century after their travels with the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). They then rejoined the TARDIS with the Seventh Doctor in 2022’s Sullivan and Cross – AWOL, which takes place after 2023’s final UNIT: Nemesis boxset, Masters of Time.

And then, nearly three years after their “debut”, we finally found out how Naomi met Harry and started travelling with the Fourth Doctor in March 2024’s Storm of the Sea Devils. The point I’m trying to make here is that Dominant Species is being hyped as some sort of series finale, yet I think some listeners may find it hard to appreciate the stakes of this finale if we already know that Harry and Naomi will emerge unscathed.

Regardless of the timey-wimey order in which their adventures have been released in, I do like the pair of them. I think Naomi and Harry have to be one of my favourite original TARDIS teams Big Finish have created in recent times, simply because they bounce off each other so well. You have Harry’s public school politeness and gentility mixed with Naomi’s feistiness and modern sensibilities, which is a dynamite mix. Stir in the Fourth Doctor’s warm soul and sharp wit and you have something truly magical.

However, before we get to the titular four-part finale, there’s Sarah Grochala’s two-part The Face in the Storm to listen to. The Fourth Doctor, Harry and Naomi land on the SS Maycrest in 1916, where there’s an ice-cold crate in the hold. Soon, a mysterious force is terrorising the crew, while a surprising meeting awaits Naomi…

This is a very enjoyable tale. Naomi’s relationship with Samuel, given warmth and compassion by Kayi Ushe, is played beautifully, giving the former some development I think she really needed. Crooks, as ever, is delightful to listen to as Naomi, bringing out Naomi’s gentler, more loving side here, unlike in some of Naomi’s “future” stories. The exploration of Jamaican culture is quite refreshing too, especially for a story from the Fourth Doctor’s era, an era in which filming a story in France was seen as ground-breaking.

The Yukionna are not unique villains, as the idea of strange creatures being able to freeze people is, admittedly, a well-worn trope (most recently seen in 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire). Yet this feels much more intimate and claustrophobic, being constrained to one lonely ship in the ocean. Toby Hrycek-Robinson creates an appropriately chilly and tense soundscape, whether that’s with the cracking of the ship or the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver freezing over.

I don’t think I need to comment much on Tom Baker’s performance, given how he still sounds like the same curly-haired bohemian who wandered through eternity fifty years ago. This is quite remarkable, given how (at the time when this was recorded) he was in his late eighties. I think, if you close your eyes, you can imagine the Doctor, Naomi and Harry wandering around the ship, battling the Yukionna and Naomi having a pleasing heart-to-heart with her grandfather.

The only true concern I have about this story is the explanation behind the villains. The Yukionna are explained as aliens which have been stolen from the Japanese, with no further details given beyond that. While this does sprinkle some intrigue into the story, I think they could have been given more time to talk. Helen Goldwyn does imbue the Yukionna with some menace and it’s a shame that they’re not developed a little more.

So I think The Face in the Storm is a bit of a unique Fourth Doctor story. It’s mysterious, very atmospheric and very modern too, tackling themes and ideas which (as far as I know) have not yet been tackled in the TV series. Grochala’s script is tight, with good pacing and a suspenseful cliffhanger, making this a punchy appetiser, ahead of the main course.

And so let’s address the main event itself – John Dorney’s Dominant Species. I’m not entirely sure many people have been calling for a sequel to The Dominators, but it’s fair to say that the titular villains weren’t used as well as they could have been in that story. We already know that Harry and Naomi faced the Dominators in their final adventure with the Fourth Doctor (seeing as they faced them “again” in 2022’s Power of the Dominators) and so my expectations going into this story were quite high.

I’m very pleased to say that they were met. Dominant Species is a very strong finale to this run of adventures, packed full of action, danger and twists. The Doctor, Harry and Naomi land on Taleeria hoping for a holiday, but they soon discover the Dominators have invaded and that they are carrying out an insidious plan… 

As is typical of a Dorney script, the writing crackles with energy and life. While the first part may seem like a repeat of the original TV story (particularly as the story starts off with the Doctor rhapsodising about a holiday on a peaceful planet), things soon move into more interesting territory. We travel across to Zarana as Harry and Naomi help rebels fight against the Quarks, while the Doctor tries to sabotage the Dominators’ plans from within. At first, it seems as if the original TV story is being repeated once more – which, given the strong performances of Baker, Naylor and Crooks, is no bad thing – but then things become more interesting. This story’s scale grows, although it’s a shame that this is only limited to the final episode. We do still get to learn more about the Dominators though and, as an added bonus, Harry does indeed get to don Dominator armour (as the cover of this boxset promises).

The Dominators themselves are very well-used in this story, more so than in their original TV outing. The in-fighting between Clive Wood’s husky-toned and emotionless Draaga and Clive Hayward’s Valtor is played out as much more than childish arguing – these are beings who actively hate each other. When this rivalry escalates into something far more dramatic, Dorney manages to re-imagine the Dominators as villains of a similar ilk to the Daleks – merciless killers who don’t care at all for innocent lives. We see the effect of this in Polly Kemp’s Calo, a morally ambiguous soul who fights to protect the people she loves yet heartlessly murders Dominators without giving a second thought. It’s safe to say then that Dominant Species is the story the Dominators deserve.

Yet, as I’ve mentioned before, I think certain aspects of this story may have hit home more had we not known the fates of Harry and Naomi. The cliffhanger to the first episode in particular attempts to be grand and yet falls a little flat, as does the ending of the final episode. While it does bring the story of post-Terror Harry and Naomi full circle, maybe it would have been more shocking had this boxset been released before the UNIT: Nemesis saga.

Overall, I think this is a very strong set of adventures. This TARDIS team is one of Big Finish’s strongest, so it is sad that these are (for now) their final adventures together. In The Face in the Storm, you get a tight little story that injects some much-needed multiculturalism into the Fourth Doctor’s era, while Dominant Species itself is a grand adventure full of twists and danger. Putting continuity and releasing quibbles aside, you’d be hard-pushed not to enjoy this.

Dominant Species is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com