70. The Game, a fun story featuring the 5th Doctor and Nyssa in which the play pokes fun at football - also there is an intriguing guest appearance by Jonathan Pearce in the cast. An intriguing play with a slightly different format, Big Finish are flexing their muscles and working on multiple levels. Of note is another guest appearance by William Russell as Lord Carlisle a character who feels a little bit like the inspiration for River Song.
69. The Juggernauts, another outing for Davros and he again crosses paths with the 6th Doctor along with Mel. Interesting things are going on here and the way The Doctor and Mel get involved in the situation is one of the most interesting in the Big Finish range. Also to compare it to Davros which appeared earlier in this ranking this feels like a story and not the writer harping on about the way of the world.
68. Jubilee, a story with a reputation for being reworked into the TV story Dalek but what about the play itself? I have a confession due to being on a break and the start of me falling behind with Big Finishes output I saw Dalek before hearing Jubilee. I don't think it affected my opinion as hearing it blind I didn't know it was coming. The 6th Doctor and Evelyn make for one heck of a team and both get put through the ringer. It oozes atmosphere but as a story it doesn't get near Rob Shearmans earlier releases - its missing an ending, with the one we get reminding me of Sherzo. This isn't a fun story, at times its deliberately unpleasant - its absolutely blooming memorable though. Its not one I revisit often, its the best example of a Big Finish tough yet fulfilling sit but I like it.
67. Renaissance of the Daleks, if I'm to be absolutely blunt this feels like the early story The Mutant Phase done right. From a story edited beyond recognisation from Christopher H Bidmead, its solid, its fun, has witty dialogue Davison has found his feet since the earlier story and this is a good way to spend a couple of hours.
66. Red, an outing for the 7th Doctor and Mel as they arrive in The Needle where the citizens are unable to commit violence due to being chipped. Needless to say violence begins to occur and The Doctor is blamed. A very memorable story for audio reasons alone, the use of screaming Red, The Doctor being put through the mill as he struggles with the situation and the familiar tones of Sandi Toksvig among the guest cast. Certainly one of the best produced plays in the range.
65. Time Works, its the 8th Doctor, Charlie and C'rizz in a timey wimey play! I absolutely love this one, the opening half leaves me wanting to know what is going on and once we do know things get tense. As a story it drip feeds us information that keeps the listener on the edge of their seat right until the end.
64. Bloodtide, not only is this the first appearance of the Silurians in the range they are put in a play with Charles Darwin! If that doesn't grab you and make you listen nothing will, its an utterly gorgeous story that gets a little bit dark later in the play. This is the first appearance by writer Jonathan Morris who is a firm favourite of mine.
63. The Fires of Vulcan, its the 7th Doctor and Mel in a historical set in Pompeii just before the eruption of Vesuvius. This is still early enough in the range where historicals were a novelty and in terms of production this is a strong entry in the range. The ending brings things down and while it isn't cheating it feels like cheating, without this ending it would be possibly top ten.
62. Other Lives, its the 8th Doctor, Charley and C'rizz in an historical. Its very good its not as moody as a lot of stories with this line up are. Even though things are a bit dark for C'rizz and his personal arc after the cliffhanger ending of Terror Firma. Of note is an appearance in the guest cast by Ron Moody.
61. The Apocalypse Element, the 6th Doctors entry in Dalek Empire. There is a lot of stuff going on in this story and by that I mean a LOT of action. It blatantly isn't an audio and can be a little bit tricky to follow but in essence its the Daleks taking on Gallifrey in what canonically is an early skirmish in the time war. Romana played by Lalla Ward makes her first appearance in the range. Theres a lot of continuity going on but thankfully nothing that distracts from the story. This is the closest Big Finish have got to an all out action film and its a lot of fun if occasionally a bugger to follow.
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