A Feast of Steven: A Forest of All Seasons

"The causes of existing problems could be traced backwards."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Audio

Released: June 2025

Series: Short Trips Special 1.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Vicki, Steven

Synopsis

The Doctor, Steven and Vicki arrive in a strange forest where time seems to stand still. When Vicki disappears, Steven must confront a baffling mystery involving an alternate version of himself and the inhabitants of a village trapped in an endless cycle.

Verdict

A Forest of All Seasons was a great story to kick off the A Feast of Steven double collection of Short Trips to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Steven Taylor joining the TARDIS as companion! I think this is such a delightful idea and I'm absolutely in favour of paying recognition to characters on their anniversaries. We've had this recently with the Fifth and Sixth Doctors for example so it's good to pass the tradition down to the companions. It's even better and an unexpected delight for this release to be completely free! It was a delightful email to find from Big Finish late at night on release date and I duly downloaded them with a smile on my face! I do wish the Short Trips range returned to a monthly schedule so to get more of them free of charge here is just brilliant. Peter Purves was tremendous in reprising his role as Steven and it's incredible to think that his debut in The Chase was sixty years ago now. Sixty! And he's still going ever so strong in portraying the character. I liked how the story didn't just focus on Steven though and whilst he did conclude with the focus on him, for much of it that was actually on Vicki which was nice. I've always enjoyed these companions' relationship and it was presented very well here. I thought the era was presented spectacularly in being authentic of the time which is kudos to the writer who is one of my favourites. Rayner just gets this First Doctor team and that made listening an absolute breeze. I thought the concept at the heart of the story was intriguing and whilst it does admittedly steal some parts from The Space Museum with the time track element, it was really interesting to explore. The idea of projections both backwards and forwards in time works really well for me and I liked the emotional pull that brought. The Doctor and Steven got to lay eyes on a young Vicki with her father whereas then Steven saw a potential future with his ideal woman in the form of Harla. Seeing Steven old is a nice touch in an anniversary celebration like this and even having children and experiencing the pain of his wife being ill at a time where they had grandchildren was excellent. It really did tug on the heartstrings. Vicki's reaction to knowing that she could see a projection of her father was good because despite her knowing that it wouldn't be the real version, just getting a glimpse would be so welcomed. I could completely understand and I liked that Steven did too in his explanation to the Doctor. He would also try for a reunion no matter how brief just for a chance to say goodbye. I liked how the Doctor worked out what was happening with the System and the most likely projections were shown, but I do think things were tied up a little too loosely with the Doctor and Steven both simply believing that everyone would now be fine. A lot had happened here to both companions and everyone around them so I think something a little more final would have been beneficial there. I also think it'd have been fun for the Doctor to just a glimpse of something of his past and future other than Vicki's description of the Second Doctor as I'm not sure that would mean too much to him. Overall though, still a really strong concept at the heart of the story and a terrific performance from Purves. Onto the next! A welcomed delight.

Rating: 8/10