Review by Daniel Mansfield

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Two years ago, in Reflections, the Eighth Doctor, Alex and Cass found themselves in a strange, Uncharted universe inhabited by belligerent flora, Time Lord Sontarans and the villainous, face-changing Hieronyma Friend.

In this third boxset in the series, Branches, we finally get some answers to some of the big questions – chiefly what the Uncharted universe actually is – while being thrust headlong into even more mysteries.

Opener The Only Girl in the World by John Dorney reunites the Doctor and Alex with Cass… but probably not the one they were expecting. Cassie, the Uncharted universe’s version of Cass, is a swashbuckling adventurer whom the Doctor and Alex meet in the midst of a battle against a very peculiar Dalek called Mr Karl.

Set on a spaceship with a strange relationship to time, The Only Girl in the World has more than a flavour of the acclaimed Twelfth Doctor two-parter World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls – but, sadly, this is where the similarities end. Despite spirited performances from Emma Campbell-Jones as Cassie and Nicholas Briggs as the campest Dalek you’ve ever heard, The Only Girl in the World feels muddled and, worst of all, dull, making it a disappointing opener to the set.

Similarly disappointing is False Dawn by Alison Winter: a bonkers story that feels like the audio equivalent of psychedelia. This story is full of off-the-wall imagery that, while undeniably creative, leads to a lot of very clunky ‘say what you see’ dialogue. It’s nice to hear Sonny McGann‘s Alex take on a more Doctory role, with Cassie as his companion, but apart from that, False Dawn is a swing and a miss.

Tim Foley‘s The Council of Susan is far better, the Doctor, Alex and Cassie discovering a religion modelled on the Doctor’s granddaughter (and Alex’s mother), Susan. While I can confirm Carole-Ann Ford features here, whether we finally get the long-awaited reunion between Susan, the Doctor and Alex I’ll let you find out for yourself.

Aside from that, Council of Susan is, quite simply, a lot of fun. There are some charming guest characters (all named Susan, naturally), some tantalising hints about where the series is going and lots of easter eggs for fans of the First Doctor’s era, both on TV and audio. It also helps that The Council of Susan is an old-fashioned, linear story – much needed after two more out-there instalments.

All Over by Patrick O’Connor returns to the precedent set by the opening stories, but does the timey-wimey schtick far better, which goes to show that this kind of thing can work, with the right writing.

Daphne Ashbrook, who played the Eighth Doctor’s first companion Grace Holloway back in 1996, takes on the role of Hieronyma Friend here – the perfect guest star to celebrate Paul McGann‘s thirtieth year playing the Time Lord. Ashbrook’s take on the character is just as sly and cunning as the others, but with a bite to her that makes her feel properly dangerous.

With this added edge to Friend comes (finally!) some movement in the Uncharted story arc, beyond just Cass appearing and disappearing. Not only does the original Cass return here, Campbell-Jones delineating her two roles subtly but clearly, but we finally learn the truth about what this strange new universe is.

Revealing anything here would spoil all the fun, but enough answers are teased that, by the time All Over ends with a truly wild cliffhanger, you’ll be dying to know what happens next.

Bring on Uncharted 4!

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