“The Great Beyond” is the latest Fifth Doctor release from Big Finish and has taken the approach of doing a six-parter, something that can sometimes lead to a great story full of slow-burn plots and great characterisation, but often ends up spinning its wheels and padding out the story poorly, and I’m sorry to say this is very much the latter. It’s a shame as there are some fun sci-fi ideas on display here and the TARDIS team is well realised, but the plot doesn’t survive the nearly three hours, and the new characters barely survive the one scene they’re introduced in! Let’s take a look, anyway…

“The Stuff of Legend” is an odd one in that it was more conceived as a live show experience than a traditional release, though this version I listened to was a simple studio recorded version before they “took it on tour”. That means it doesn’t fit into a range or anything, it’s just a two-hour Eighth Doctor and Charley story featuring the Alex Macqueen Master… which is honestly good enough for me as I love all of those things! It also has the Daleks, which can be good or bad at this point, and some pretty generic supporting characters… So basically the story isn’t breaking any new ground at any point, but it’s fun enough. Let’s take a look!