Review by Daniel Mansfield

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One of the best things about Big Finish‘s Doctor Who output is the tantalising glimpses it sometimes gives us into the ‘what might have beens’. There are the Lost Stories, recreating scripts considered for TV but ultimately abandoned; the new First Doctor Unbound series, giving the First Doctor and friends three new movie-style adventures; Classic Doctors New Monsters, which pits old Doctors against villains not invented until after their time; and, of course, all the new companions and storylines slotted into established continuity.

Expulsion shows us what might have happened had Mark Strickson stayed on as Turlough beyond Planet of Fire, joining the Fifth (and eventually Sixth) Doctor and Peri on their adventures.

Picking up from the cliffhanger ending of Bad Terms, which saw the Sixth Doctor reunite with his former companion, The Reckoning by Nev Fountain explores how Turlough’s relationship with the Time Lord has changed since the latter’s regeneration into a far spikier character than his more affable fifth incarnation.

Taking us to seventeenth century London, this story sees Turlough once again tempted by a deadly deal to kill the Doctor. While Turlough is older and wiser, the Doctor is far less trusting, and indeed trustworthy, leading to an interesting new spin on a familiar story.

There’s also an added appearance from Christopher Marlowe, who is mostly there to hammer home the parallels between Turlough and Faustus, and a delightful twist that reintroduces a familiar character in a different guise, which adds to the developing storyline between the Sixth Doctor and Turlough in ways you might not expect.

After The Reckoning showcases the sizzling new dynamic between the Doctor and Turlough, it’s almost a shame that Lizbeth Myles‘ A Crucible of Queens splits them up for so long. That said, this is a fascinating look at a lesser-known period of history, exploring the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt and the tension between the future Charles VII, his mother and his advisor, Yolande of Anjou.

What with all the political intrigue, and total absence of alien threat, this story feels very much like a Hartnell-era historical crossed with some of Jodie Whittaker‘s more educational forays into the past, made all the more exciting by a rich score from Leon Parris.

The historical vibes continue in The Curse of the Duergar by Julian Richards which, after a meandering first act, settles into something very entertaining indeed. Contending with a powerful sword that implores its bearer to kill, the Doctor, Peri and Turlough face their most challenging conundrum yet.

There are some lovely insights into each character here, Peri’s deep friendship with the Doctor proving invaluable to saving the day, and Turlough’s feelings about the death of the Fifth Doctor coming to the fore. Colin Baker gets a marvellous, grandstanding speech too, while flexing his acting chops as a different version of the Doctor, who finds himself unusually affected by the beguiling power of Tyrfing.

How wonderful that the familiar relationship between the Doctor and Turlough gets a whole new spin put on it all these years later. Emotional, engaging and even educational, Expulsion is the shining start of a new era for the Sixth Doctor – an era I look forward to delving back into very soon.

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