Doctor Who Review - The Companion Chronicles 7.5 - "Return of the Rocket Men"

rating 4.5

WARNING: Significant spoilers follow Here we have, unsurprisingly, a direct sequel to €œThe Rocket Men,€ a First Doctor Companion Chronicle that featured Ian, Susan, Barbara and the Doctor meeting a group of air pirates known only as the Rocket Men. Now the Rocket Men have returned, and it€™s up to the Doctor and Steven (Peter Purves) to defeat them. The story itself is told in, essentially, two parts. We first see Steven remembering meeting the Rocket Men back a few years before, when he was a young space pilot. He was nearly killed by them, but was saved at the last minute by a mysterious figure in a Rocket Man outfit. Now, years later and traveling with the Doctor, Steven encounters them again, and finally learns who it was that saved him all those years ago. I€™ve always rather liked Steven, and thought it a pity that so few of his stories exist intact. He€™s really done quite well as a character in the audio adventures, though, and this one was no exception. It gave him a real chance to show his origins as a space pilot, and to show what his life was like before he met the Doctor. That sort of thing is always welcome. Beyond that, the story itself was everything that I ask for. It was tense, exciting and action-packed with enough emotion to it to break up the intensity when needed. It was also, as is so often the case with Big Finish audios, very well-acted and extremely well-written. So much so that despite the fact that it is essentially a narrated Companion Chronicle, something I generally dislike, I really was able to enjoy it. The only real problem that I had with it, in fact, was the eventual reveal of who it was that saved Steven. It was a bit of a new series solution to the situation, and while I€™m not entirely against it, it was a little eye-rolling. It was also really quite obvious. But those complaints aside, this was a good story, and doesn€™t require previous knowledge of the Rocket Men. It€™s also very affordable, and another good one for those who are looking to get into the Who audios and want to know where to start. Recommended! NEXT TIME: Leela deals with life after death.