“The Return of Jo Jones” is an odd boxset. Apparently this reunion of the Third Doctor and an older Jo came about from Katy Manning saying she was struggling to do the young Jo voice but honestly her performance here doesn’t sound that far removed from her other Jo voicework anyway… Still, if it makes her happier to continue then sure, why not? Sadly this opening adventure is as plain as it comes in plot and characters, so doesn’t really get the “new” era off to a flying start, but hey-ho. Let’s take a look!

Even though I love six or seven part Third Doctor stories I will admit that they tend to drag, especially in the middle, so it’s always nice to get ones that manage to keep the story going at a good pace. Kaleidoscope here has almost the reverse problem: it has so much going on, so many side-plots that it can seem somewhat overwhelming. Still, I was thoroughly entertained! Let’s take a look…

We kick off the latest (and it’s been a while!) “Classic Doctors, New Monsters” set with what is really a “Classic Doctor, New Setting” story, as the “monster” in this story is actually a relatively nice person, just his race happened to have debuted in what is still dubbed the New Series (even though the story his race first appeared in is now 17 years old!). Anyway, it’s a new Third Doctor and Sarah Jane story, so… hooray! Let’s take a look.

The second story in the latest Third Doctor boxset sees the return of the Doctor / Sarah Jane dynamic with Sadie Miller continuing the fantastic impression of her mum to go along with the always fun Tim Treloar as the Doctor and Jon Culshaw at The Brigadier. Returning actors aside though what’s the story like? Well, it’s good, though it may never surprise you. Let’s take a look…

The release of a new Third Doctor set is always a reason to celebrate in my eyes, though I’ll admit this opener being a sequel to the fun but quite dull Frontier in Space had me slightly worried. Conspiracy in Space is two episodes shorter and so does manage to keep itself moving forward and generally kept me entertained. Let’s take a closer look!

After a short stay in Season 7 we jump all the way to the other end of Pertwee’s TV run and get a story set during Season 11 with Sarah Jane Smith and The Doctor travelling around in the TARDIS, so the complete opposite of the Earth bound UNIT stories. While Sadie Miller does a great job with her mother’s role I will say that The Gulf was sometimes a bit of a slog to get through… Let’s take a look!