I remember when this came out it split opinion, some saying it was great, others saying it was too long winded and boring. I fell more towards the latter back then, so going into this second listen ten odd years later I was hoping to have my old opinion reversed and that maybe I just wasn’t in a mood for a slow burning historical-set adventure when I first listened to it. So which side did I fall on this time?! Let’s find out as we jump back into proposed Season 23 storylines territory with Point of Entry.

Paradise 5 is the odd one out of the original Lost Stories run, as it was originally the third segment of the “Trial of a Time Lord” season, rather than having been planned for the series that was eventually replaced by it. That means it’s in four parts rather than two long ones, and it also means quite a bit had to be rewritten! The original had Mel as a companion (in her first story no less!) and loads of Trial scenes in amongst it, so this Paradise 5 isn’t as much a Lost Story brought back as much as one that’s been adapted. Still, after all that waffling, is it any good?

The Hollows of Time was written by TV story fan favourite Christopher H Bidmead, but sadly much like his other Audio effort “Renaissance of the Daleks” this leaves a lot to be desired. Full of long exposition and very few thrills… ever, Hollows of Time lives up to the hollow part if nothing else. Throw in the unfortunate fact that Big Finish at the time couldn’t get rights to The Master, leaving “Professor Stream” as figure of mystery that clearly is supposed to be Ainley’s Master in disguise but is never revealed as such, and it’s a pretty poor way to spend two hours…

During the first series of Lost Stories I remember there being two unexpected hits, this and “Point of Entry”, and while the latter often splits opinion, Leviathan is often pointed out as the major hit of the run. Why? Well, it blends medieval folklore with a fun sci-fi plot, and does it very well. Want more specifics? Well, let’s take a closer look then!