The Sinestran Kill

"They're aliens hiding inside the bodies of Hugo Blake, his wife, and his gang."

Writer: Andrew Smith

Format: Audio

Released: January 2019

Series: EDA 8.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Ann

Synopsis

When the Doctor decides to trace an anomalous energy signature on twentieth century Earth, he stumbles into an assassination attempt.

Gangland thugs are trying to murder a seemingly innocent shopkeeper, and it's only the intervention of the Doctor and Ann Kelso – a WPC who happens to be on the scene – that prevents a tragedy. 

But why do the gangsters want the shopkeeper dead? And what does this have to do with alien technology?

The first stages of a grand conspiracy are about to be revealed. And finding the answers will take Ann Kelso on a journey like no other.

Verdict

The Sinestran Kill was an excellent story to kick off the eighth series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures! I was very excited to get started on this boxset after managing to pick it up as part of a recent sale from Big Finish and it certainly didn't let me down. I thought this was really exciting and full of action and intrigue right from the off. I liked the idea of doing a 'current' story for the Fourth Doctor with the 1978 setting and picking up a brand new companion from that year is terrific because it fits right in line with the era on television which I think is important to reflect. I really enjoyed Ann Kelso and this was a fine introduction for her as the new companion. I liked that she was a police officer and her intriguing and questioning mind will surely suit well alongside the Fourth Doctor. I thought the start with dampener falling over the shop and that sparking the detection of the TARDIS for the Doctor to arrive was fun and establishing just who Ann was in her ordinary life was great stuff. I'm a big fan of hers already. DCI Neilson was a magnificent character played by long-time fan Frank Skinner and him having a history at UNIT and knowing about the Doctor was excellent. His reaction after seeing the TARDIS was superb stuff. Reynolds being targeted by the gang led by Hugo and Jimmy was interesting and their desire to kill him without entirely knowing why was very good. It was interesting me a lot and I thought everything about the era and the story meshed well. The Doctor's confrontation of Hugo and promising to stop any plans he and his thug friends had was an excellent moment that allows Tom Baker to shine in the role. Reynolds as the target of the hit being the one with no background on the police checks was a fun little twist and him actually being an alien called Trenix was brilliant! The history he had with the Sinestrans after giving evidence against them was good and I liked that it was later revealed that he'd gone against them from the inside. The Sinestrans enlisting empaths who committed crimes for them without knowing it was a superb concept and it was realised well in the form of Hugo. The cliffhanger with the Doctor killing Trenix worked well and whilst I never believed that he'd murdered the alien, it was still a nice shock. Jimmy revealing his true self as Spandren was a good development and him being part of the Sinestran Syndicate obviously eludes to the larger force at work throughout this series which is something I'm excited to explore! Kathy being forced into killing Hugo was a powerful moment and her inability to control herself sold it well. Trenix being targeted by the Sinestrans because of his work and knowledge of those allies as part of the alliance formed was very logical and that's always a bonus! He needed to be silenced which was a chilling statement. The Doctor using the nature of the Sinestrans against them by trapping their original bodies whilst they took human form was very clever and hearing how quickly they turned against Spandren in fear of being trapped in a human gang was magnificent. Spandren's final action in attempt of survival by transferring himself into Trenix was something I didn't see coming, as well as the Sinestrans simply killing him! That was an impactful end and a sad fate for Trenix in the end as he was quite helpless. The concluding TARDIS scene with Ann wanting another look inside the TARDIS was lovely and her eagerness to join the Doctor on his travels was terrific. The line about the reaction if he said yes coming full circle was wonderful. Overall, a fine start to the series! 

Rating: 9/10