The Split Infinitive [AUDIO/2019.7.17]

★★★☆☆

  One of the best things to come out of the Sylvester McCoy era of the Classic Series was the group Counter-Measures, and one of the best things to come out of the Companion Chronicles range was the Rocket Men. It's only fitting that John Dorney, a writer familiar with both branches of the Doctor Who mythos, should be the one to bring these two elements together and make a cracking time-split adventure.

  Filled with action and intrigue in equal measure, Dorney manages to make a perfect love letter to the post-Season 25 McCoy era. The Doctor is quick on his feet and wits, and he always has a plan. Ace is, at this stage, a spirited young girl who handles the action side of things. The Countermeasures group (led by the great Toby Kinsella) provides an entirely different flavour to the military honchos of UNIT, breathing in an air of 1960s spy fiction with more brains than brawn (whereas the UNIT of the Third Doctor era was a more or less balanced mix of the two). I'm also a sucker for the Rocket Men, those brutish space pirates with attitudes, and it was certainly a surprise to hear them again in a surprise reveal.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  I remember a time when John Dorney used to be one of my favorite Doctor Who writers, right around the time he was delivering hits like Special Features, Solitaire and Second Chances. The ol' Big Finish writing fatigue may have caught up with him in recent years, but it's nice to know that he can still deliver something as exhilarating as The Split Infinitive every once in a while. Ian Gilmore flying around in one of them rocket suits is everything to me.