Point of Entry

As I finally get a chance to catch up on the first series of Doctor Who Lost Stories audio dramas, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share my thoughts on them. When the series was first announced, I was incredibly excited as exploring the scripts that would have been produced if Doctor Who hadn't been forced into hiatus back in 1985 is something I've wanted Big Finish Productions to do from the start.

Point of Entry is an oddity as it was never fully commissioned, but was a fruitless unsolicited submission. As a result, it feels more like an original play than a bona fide Lost Story. It is easy to understand why Point of Entry never moved past a pitch. There's simply no way a script this dark and borderline disturbing would have ever been produced. How much of that originates from Barbara Clegg or Marc Platt is up for debate.

The adventure itself has a wonderful sense of atmosphere and a nice pace, despite the two episodes running over an hour each. Both the Doctor and Peri are given a nice slice of the action, with Nicola Bryant's performance as Peri masquerades as the queen a definite highlight. Using a demonic villain and connecting it with Kit Marlowe's Dr Fautus was inspired.

I applaud Big Finish for taking a chance and developing this unsuccessful pitch from the Eighties. As it turned out, Point of Entry was quite a gem.