Review by Daniel Mansfield

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After May’s mid-season finale, Aegis, the Thirteenth Doctor Adventures hurtles past its halfway point with a more traditional tale. A UFO has crashed in Hallamshire Forest, and D.I. Patricia Menzies (Anna Hope) calls on errant P.C. Yasmin Khan and her alien associate the Doctor to investigate. And it’s a good job she did, because the spaceship is occupied by some of the Doctor’s old enemies… Ice Warriors!

Given that Yaz is a police officer, it’s amazing this is only the second story that sees her on the beat, dealing with crime (and aliens) in Sheffield. While it’s great to hear Yaz taking charge here, Mandip Gill‘s most compelling scenes are opposite Bhavnisha Parmar, who returns as Yaz’s elder sister Sonya.

The television series glossed over how Yaz explained her TARDIS travels to her family, so it’s interesting to delve into that some more here. Gill and Parmar immediately recapture the teasing but deeply affectionate dynamic they established on screen, with Sonya pushing Yaz to admit where she has been, what she’s been doing and, crucially, how she feels about the Doctor.

Meanwhile, Jodie Whittaker gets some of her best material yet on audio as the Doctor comes up against the Ice Warriors, moving effortlessly from joyful exuberance to simmering fury. One particularly powerful scene towards the end sees her venomously denounce a stubborn Martian’s refusal to change, reminding us just how formidable this incarnation can be when pushed.

I’ve always found the Ice Warriors to be rather disposable villains, and that remains true of them here. That said, Nicholas Briggs and Mark Elstob are superbly sibillant as the belligerent reptiles, and their complicated sense of justice, honour and morality leads to some unexpected rug-pulls.

Ultimately, though, the Ice Warrior invasion is merely a vehicle for Yaz and Sonya to work through their differences, with writer Rochana Patel perfectly capturing their tumultuous dynamic and, more importantly, finding something fresh to say about both characters. Add to that the return of the beloved D.I. Menzies (more of her please!) and a confident performance from Jodie Whittaker, and the second half of this series of Thirteenth Doctor Adventures gets off to a brilliant start.

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