This is really a two part story for the Fourth Doctor and Romana as they deal with the consequences of a deal that the capitalist megalomaniac Cuthbert has made with the Daleks. And when have the Daleks ever kept their word?
There is something very nostalgic about the Big Finish Fourth Doctor adventures. They have deliberately set out to recreate the feel of the late 1970s in these stories and it is all rather charming. Alistair Lock's music seems to catch this mood perfectly and really stood out as a great example of what Big Finish do so well. Obviously Tom Baker is on cracking form and John Leeson is in there as K-9 as well. David Warner brings a robust Northern accent to the part of Cuthbert and is a delight, as is long time Doctor Who fan Toby Hadoke. But these stories really belong to the late Mary Tamm who plays Romana for the last time ever. She is so good and it is almost painfully sad to listen to them knowing that she was not very well at the time, and that this is her last work on Doctor Who.
I bought these stories because Nicholas Briggs recorded some crowd noise during a live podcast at Big Finish day 3 and my voice is in there somewhere in the background. The Dalek Contract part two, track five in case you're interested. But these are two terrific Dalek stories tinged with the melancholy that has affected the Who universe recently as we have lost so many of the companions from the classic series.
Four out of five mechanical Mutts and farewell to Romana One.
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