The sixth series of Big Finish Companion Chronicles kicked off with Tales from the Vault by Jonathan Morris and directed by Lisa Bowerman. This release is worthy of note for two particular reasons: firstly, the narrative characters are played by Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso who were in the Eighth Doctor TV episode The Movie; and secondly, it is told as a set of four very short tales that link together at the end.

The story

From the Big Finish website:

New recruit Warrant Officer Charlie Sato is given a guided tour by Captain Ruth Matheson, and the archive reveals some dark secrets. An army jacket, a painting, crystal and a wax cylinder all hold a grave significance, and their stories are told by the Doctor’s companions: Steven Taylor, Zoe Heriot, Jo Grant and Romana…

In case you didn’t know, Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso had to play new characters as their previous characters (Grace Holloway and Chang Lee are unavailable for licence reasons.

How was it

The idea of a secret UNIT archive is sound and both characters are convincing. Given the need to fit four stories in one disc I was surprised that it didn’t feel too rushed. We have some credible snippets of adventure each performed by a companion. Maybe there was overuse of the ‘recorded report’ device and Sato himself does make that point.

About three-quarters through I wondered where it was all going as the tales, though interesting, seemed rather random. Tale four then rapidly glues it all together and somewhat typically I then felt it was all too tidy (as indeed did Sato).

So we have a decent start to series six and no complaints from this listener.

Any thoughts from the audience?