Audio Review: Doctor Who - The Eternal Battle

Full review on Starburst.

When we join the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 at the beginning of this latest adventure from Big Finish, they’re travelling to the Lake District in order to visit the Pencil Museum. Of course, no listener actually expects them to make it there. The time travellers in fact find themselves in a warzone populated by Sontarans, zombies, and zombie Sontarans. The rain’s similar to the Lake District, though.

Though the zombie genre may have been worn out a while ago, pitting Sontarans against the undead versions of themselves is an irresistible pitch, and regular Who franchise writers Cavan Scott and Mark Wright get a lot of great material out of it.

It’s particularly interesting to have the Sontarans on the same side as our heroes for once. The pairing of the Doctor with Commander Stom, a kind of companion figure, is a highlight of the story; Tom Baker and Dan Starkey are both naturally funny actors and the script makes fun of the Sontarans’ overly militaristic manner in a witty way, rather than resorting to wackiness like some recent TV appearances.