Reunited: The Caller

"It's a fully catered kidnapping!"

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: July 2025

Series: Smith & Sullivan 1.01

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Harry, K9

Synopsis

As the government prepares to sell off the telecommunications network to the highest bidder, including Starling Industries, Sarah investigates a spate of unexplained deaths in phone boxes across the capital. Elsewhere, Harry is vetting the bidding companies on behalf of UNIT, delighted when the assignment converges with his old friend – and her robot dog!

Sarah and Harry realise they are investigating the same thing – why is government minister Sir Gordon Carmichael covering up the 'phone box murders', and what alien power is Violet Starling preparing to unleash?

Verdict

The Caller was a great start to the brand new Smith and Sullivan spinoff series! I was really excited when this series was announced and whilst I would have preferred it to also be a physical release like most other fans, I am grateful to just be getting the series at all. Sarah Jane is a character that is no stranger to her own spinoff and I like how this seems to basically be a follow on between K9 & Company and the start of Sarah Jane Smith at Big Finish. There's plenty of room between those two series and I like that we're now going to get some of that filled in. Of course, we unfortunately don't have Elisabeth Sladen or Ian Marter with us anymore but I think Sadie Miller and Christopher Naylor work really well together in bringing two iconic companions back to life. I think it's fun to also have K9 present and he already started the basis of a fun relationship with Harry. I thought the reunion between the pair could have been a little more impactful but it was still a feel good moment for sure. I think that reunion is going to feel like a constant thing throughout this series and it even appears that Aunt Lavinia approves of him! The misunderstanding she had in why Harry was staying the night and just who he was made for some amusement, but I do wonder if we will get hints at a relationship between the pair? I kind of hope we don't go down that route, but I won't be offended if we do. They're grown adults with some incredible shared experiences! It would almost be surprising if there weren't romantic feelings. I thought the investigation here was good and with Sarah being a journalist and Harry vetting for UNIT, their paths were always going to cross when the Government were looking to sell off the communications network. I think listening now in 2025 to a 1980s set adventure is fun when it comes to this kind of technology because we had Violet Starling marvelling at the potential of instant messaging and even booking conference rooms via a device. It's taken for granted today what we can do at the touch of a button on our phone, but this is revolutionary to this time of Sarah. Sir Gordon Carmichael was a good character as the Minister for Communication and I think a shady political figure is a fine way to start off this kind of spinoff series. I think the threat of the Caller was strong and whilst it didn't exactly feel original with the likes of the Wire and the Vardan coming before it as a threat on the same kind of wavelength, I still think it worked a treat. That sinister and almost child-like voice really added something in terms of a creepy feel. I feel like the way the Caller was defeated was predictable but it was also really logical and a quick bit of ingenuity from Sarah to use a prerecording. It was clever in tackling the pest at hand which I really liked. I thought Lavinia recognising that there was something special in Harry was nice too and really sets things up for this pairing moving forward. She was pushing Sarah into ensuring that they didn't lose contact again and instead of her even waiting a day to make the call, she wanted her to call him right away and bring him. She'd made more cocoa than was necessary as it was! Her being sad at losing her old chum to one of the phone box murders injected some raw emotion and rounded out the episode nicely. It's a scary prospect to perish in a phone box, but K9 was on hand to help some of the regular characters here. It's nice to have him with us. Overall, a fine episode to start what looks to be a terrific little series! 

Rating: 8/10