ninth in the latest series of companion chronicles, a series of talking books featuring an actor who played a companion to doctor who on tv returning to the role for an all new story.
as with the rest of the range this runs for roughly sixty minutes and is spread across one disc in two episodes. there's a trailer for the next in the range at the beginning of the disc and a ten minute long interview with cast and crew at the end.
this time it's the turn of anneke wills, who played polly opposite william hartnell and patrick troughton's doctor in the 1960's. another common feature of this range is that there will be one other speaking part in the story, played by a guest actor. this also happens here.
the story features the second doctor and polly and jamie and ben landing in france in 1944. swiftly realising they're in a very dangerous time they aim to leave quickly but are separated. polly and the doctor, in addition to finding the missing ben and jamie, must travel across occupied france. making contact with a lifeline, a group of resistance fighters who help downed allied airmen get out of the country, they have a chance to survive. but can they get to safety? will they find ben and jamie? who can they trust?
and will polly, in a desire to do the right thing, change history?
like some of the 1960's doctor who stories this is a purely historical story with no science fiction elements other than the tardis and the doctor. there's a real sense of jeopardy facing the characters, and the script does manage a couple of very decent twists and turns. you can't take any of the other characters for granted.
as with a few others in this range it's also about the effect things have on the main character, in this case polly's desire to do the right thing and make a difference. and that becomes key to the plot in the end. this also leads to a very nice scene between her and the doctor towards the end of part two.
anneke wills has a very nice voice and is a pleasure to listen to.
as a whole though this story is very good rather than great. It does what it sets out to do very well but it's lacking that certain something which makes it a classic. still, it's a good story all in all and a solid entry in the series.