Audio CD review
Starring Sylvester McCoy, Katherine Parkinson, Kevin McNally
Big Finish
Release date Out now

Travelling alone, the seventh Doctor becomes embroiled in a series of experiments which question the meaning of death, then gets caught in a nightmare of recurring events…

Big Finish returns to the three episodes/single episode format for this release, which definitely benefits both stories told. The Death Collectors uses its three episodes well to set up the situation and characters and push them through the necessary travails, while Spider’s Shadow would become very annoying if allowed to go any further!

Writer Stewart Sheargold maintains the clear take on the seventh Doctor’s character that he established in Red, and new director Ken Bentley has an assured hand, coaxing a more energised performance from Sylvester McCoy than some stories of late. Katherine Parkinson makes a good replacement companion for the tale, and there’s a nice bittersweet farewell between her and the Doctor at the end of The Death Collectors, which also boasts one of the more annoying computers in recent times.

Groundhog Day-type stories are full of repetition by necessity, which can become irritating if there’s not enough forward momentum. Spider’s Shadow just about keeps things moving, but could probably have benefited from five minutes being lopped off. Peter Quentin

VERDICT: 7/10
One of the better recent releases.