Review by Daniel Mansfield

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Over the past two years of Eighth Doctor Adventures, there have been hints, whispers, mentions of something called the Causeway. In this new boxset of audio adventures, the Doctor, Charley and Audacity find out what exactly the Causeway is… and for one of them, life will never be the same again.

But before all that we have Rochana Patel‘s Lost Among the Stars, less of a palate cleanser before the grand finale and more of a harbinger of the terrible things that are to come for the Doctor and his friends. A creepy, claustrophobic tale, Lost Among the Stars pushes the TARDIS team to their limits, taking them to a world full of dangers that test them like never before.

You’ll notice I’m being very vague about this episode, and that’s intentional. The truth is, it’s one of those stories about which saying less really is more. What I will say is that it’s simple, effective, packed with ideas and actually quite scary.

India Fisher excels as Charley at her ingenious best, while Jaye Griffiths steals the show with a very different performance as Audacity, who is tested in ways here that’ll shock you. Add to that the cherry on top that is the always-sparkling Paul McGann and this boxset kicks off with a veritable treat.

With our appetites whetted, and our socks well and truly scared off, it’s onto The Time You Never Had, by Tim Foley, which takes us to Copenhagen… and the Causeway. I, of course, won’t spoil for you here what the Causeway actually is, but suffice it to say it’s a huge idea that looks set to have big consequences for the Eighth Doctor and friends going forward.

After being put through the wringer in the previous story, you might be forgiven for thinking Audacity might get a day off here. Wrong! This is, once again, Audacity’s story, her encounter with mysterious Silurian Mr Barabbas (Richard Hope) thrusting her into a whole new universe of adventure. Hope and Griffiths make an excellent duo, their performances rising to meet the quality of the shocking, exciting and heart-wrenching material Foley gives them here.

This whole boxset really feels like a modern Doctor Who finale, full of twists and turns, shocks and scares, and gorgeous moments for the characters we’ve come to know and love. And in a time where we have to wait over a year for new Who on the telly, how lucky are we that we have something as good as this to tide us over?

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