‘HOOKLIGHT’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
One Hooklight to Rule Them All with the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric
Definitely! This is a huge epic 12-part ‘Doctor Who’ audio adventure! 🙂
Here we are! We’ve finally come to it! This is the first official 12-part ‘Doctor Who’ audio adventure! Not just in the Fifth Doctor era, but also as the first 12-parter on audio by Big Finish! I’m amazed that it happened and I’m thrilled to bits to have heard it at long last! 🙂
12-part ‘Doctor Who’ stories are rare in the classic TV series. The only one I know of to have lasted as a 12-part story is ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ with William Hartnell, which was shown on TV from 1965 to 1966. It must have been a pretty huge epic story back then.
You could argue that a story to go beyond 12 episodes is ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’, which was 14 episodes forming as one season in 1986. However, there is debate about that, considering the season consisted of four segments forming as a 14-part story altogether.
I wouldn’t consider ‘The Key to Time’ season as a huge story forming many parts as the six stories in that can be considered as standalone. I wouldn’t consider the ‘Dalek War’ saga, which includes ‘Frontier In Space’ and ‘Planet of the Daleks’, in that category either.
In the new TV series, the closest we have to long multi-part story is ‘Flux’ with Jodie Whittaker, as six 50-minute episodes would be considered the equivalent of a 12-episode story in the classic TV series. Point being, long epic ‘Doctor Who’ stories are rare.
The cast of ‘Hooklight’. From left to right: Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, Alan Cox, Janet Fielding, Peter Davison, Celia Imrie and David Holt.
The traditional length of a ‘Doctor Who’ story in the classic TV series is four episodes. You might get two, six, seven, eight and even ten episodes for a ‘Doctor Who’ story in the classic TV series, but it happens rarely. Usually, four episodes is the norm for a classic ‘Doctor Who’ story.
So, it was quite a surprise to find Big Finish were doing a 12-part epic story featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric – my favourite TARDIS team from Season 19 of the classic TV series. As well as a surprise, it was a delight and a thrill for me to look forward to.
I didn’t think Big Finish would ever do a 12-part story in ‘Doctor Who’. Or even if they would do it, I wasn’t sure how they would go about it. Would it be presented in one limited special edition box set or would it be spread across multiple box sets for fans to listen to?
I wanted to do a 12-part ‘Doctor Who’ story myself and I took on the challenge when I wrote my final Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Billy story ‘Orionis’ as a 12-parter, which I’m looking forward to sharing soon. Just to tease you, it’s going to be epic and heartbreaking.
Going back to ‘Hooklight’, it was exciting for me when the news came that the 12-part story would be released in two box sets, both on CD and download. And Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse would be appearing in both box sets.
I purchased the two ‘Hooklight’ volumes as CD box sets from Big Finish for me to check out and review for my annual ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season from 2025 to 2026. It did take me a while to hear both box sets, but I’m happy I got to hear this story in December 2025.
I’ve had the CD box sets for both volumes of ‘Hooklight’ signed by Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton when I saw them at ‘MegaCon Live Farnbourough’ in October 2025. I’ve also had the CD sleeve notes of the second volume of ‘Hooklight’ signed by Paul McGann.
More on him later. 😀 Sarah did advise me that the story would be very long and that I would probably need a lot of hours in a day or two to hear the tale in full. I spent a whole week from Monday to Saturday to enjoy all twelve episodes contained in the epic story. 🙂
I know some people would probably like to hear the story all in one go, but I’d like to space it out and listen to the story at my own pace and leisure. So, it was two episodes on Monday, two episodes on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday, etc and so forth.
All twelve episodes of ‘Hooklight’ have been very engaging and enjoyable to listen to. You probably might want to hear the story more than once to get your head around some of the worldbuilding featured in the ancient realm of Morning, but it’s not too complicated.
I was anxious about not getting into the worldbuilding created by the story’s author Tim Foley, as I had that experience when checking out ‘The Great Beyond’, a six-part story by James Kettle. But I feel the character development is better in ‘Hooklight’ this time round.
Also, it’s interesting how Tim Foley goes about with the worldbuilding in ‘Hooklight’, as he takes some of his inspiration from the 1981 BBC radio series of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. That’s something I can get behind, as I’ve listened to that radio series myself and love it.
I wouldn’t say it’s an exact match to how ‘The Lord of the Rings’ BBC radio series is handled in terms of storytelling and character development. However, I could get into the fantasy aspects for the realm of Morning, especially in how it’s developed and enhanced.
Echoes of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and Middle-Earth are in ‘Hooklight’, particularly with the Hooklight sentient light and lantern resembling the One Ring, Nyssa being the lantern bearer to match Frodo Baggins as a ring bearer, and the Nigh Guard resemble the Nazgûl.
Even Sarah Sutton has said in the behind-the-scenes interviews that ‘Hooklight’ has elements of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in it, which was reassuring for me to hear her say. Honestly, a ‘Doctor Who’ adventure that has a ‘Lord of the Rings’ vibe to it, I’m all for that.
Peter Davison as the Doctor and Celia Imrie as Dr. Kessica Myles in ‘Hooklight’.
I’m pretty sure the Ogrons were inspiration for the Uruk-Hai in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films by director Peter Jackson. 😀 When I wrote ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ and ‘Orionis’, I was inspired by ‘The Lord of the Rings’, both film and audio, to make them epic stories. 🙂
There’s also a Dark Forge that appears in this story, which is like the equivalent of Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, since the Hooklight was created there. I’m also reminded of the Forge that’s in the video game ‘Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force’, which I played years ago.
Going back to Sarah, she specifically said it’s like ‘Lord of the Rings in Space’. So, I’m pretty sure Tim Foley combined elements of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Star Wars’ when writing this epic adventure. Again, I’m all for this so long as the story is engaging enough. 🙂
Talking of Tim Foley, this isn’t my first encounter with him as a writer. He’s written ‘Doctor Who’ stories featuring the Fifth Doctor and friends like ‘The Merfolk Murders’, which features the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric. I enjoyed that audio story very much. 🙂
He’s also written Fifth Doctor stories like ‘Pursuit of the Nightjar’ and ‘The Auton Infinity’. Recently, I enjoyed his efforts in writing for the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz in ‘Vampire Weekend’ and the Ninth Doctor and Rose in ‘Snare’. He’s a very good ‘Doctor Who’ writer.
And from listening to ‘Hooklight’, it’s clear he has a very good imagination in setting up an interesting realm of the universe containing unique planets that are part of a quest that the Doctor and his friends embark on when finding a way to destroy the Hooklight forever.
To get to the story itself, we start off in ‘Part One’ with the TARDIS stranded on the planet Rift in the realm of Morning. This is following on from when the TARDIS lost all power at the end of ‘The Great Beyond’. I’m pleased that was followed up on satisfyingly in this audio story.
The Doctor, Nyssa and Adric have been working on repaired the powered-down TARDIS whilst Tegan has been sitting on a beach outside. Apparently, civilisation is said to have begun on the planet Rift, which is surprising, considering there’s a library on the planet. 😐
Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Peter Davison as the Doctor and Janet Fielding as Tegan in ‘Hooklight’.
That happens to be the Hall of Antiquities when the Doctor and his friends go out exploring the planet and ending up in a market. In the Hall of Antiquities, there happens to be this lantern from the Hall of Remembrance, and it’s a pretty dangerous lantern indeed.
As the story unfolds, the Doctor reveals that the light in the lantern happens to be called the Hooklight. It’s a light that must never be lit, yet somehow it happens to be lit when the Doctor and his friends come across it. Essentially, Hooklight is a light that can ‘stop’ time.
It’s what caused the TARDIS to end up stranded on the planet Rift. Very soon, the Doctor and his friends separate from each other, as they go off on their own unique journeys in this story. The Doctor tells Adric to perform a short hop and move the TARDIS from Rift. 😐
This can be done, thanks to a small power cell still in use in the TARDIS. This is so the TARDIS can avoid being destroyed as a storm approaches, which is a sign that the legendary Nigh Guard are on their way to claim the lamp containing the Hooklight within.
Whilst Adric pilots the TARDIS away from Rift, Nyssa and Tegan take the lantern containing Hooklight. They join a trainee archivist named Triss, who works under Dr. Kessica Myles – the director at the Hall of Antiquities, as they board his hopper to get to the moon Heft. 🙂
The ruler of the realm of Morning called Halcyon Jest fires an interstellar missile at the planet Rift once informed of the Nigh Guard’s movement. This, in turn, kills millions of Riftons. Fortunately, our main heroes survive, as they continue their respective journeys.
And that’s like the first episode of ‘Hooklight’. There’s more to look forward to in the rest of the story, particularly concerning dangerous things that happen to well-loved characters. There’s also the unusual appearance of a future face featured in this story too.
I like how Tim Foley spreads the story out with the Fifth Doctor and Season 19 TARDIS team on their respective journeys. With a 12-part story like this, you would have to be fully alert as to what’s happening. Thankfully, a recap for the first six episodes is provided in Volume Two.
Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor in ‘Hooklight’.
Peter Davison, as ever, is excellent in the role of the Fifth Doctor in this epic ‘Doctor Who’ audio adventure. Like many ‘Doctor Who’ stories he’s done, Peter is able to deliver an engaging performance of a Doctor working things out as the story progresses throughout.
It was fascinating when listening to this story how the Doctor finds himself going back in time to the Second Age of the realm of Morning, I believe. See? Another reference to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ where we have the First, Second and Third Ages depicting the history of Morning.
The Doctor ended up going back in time when being pushed by one of Halcyon Jest’s robots through a tear made by the Blade of Time. Not exactly how that works, but again, you would need to hear this audio story more than once to get over the plot’s complexities.
In doing so, he meets up with people like Vanderseer who’s on a mission for his master Halcyon Risk to find the Dark Forge where the Hooklight was created, I believe. He also meets up with Dalvin Crux, way before Dalvin Crux meets up with Adric in this adventure.
I liked it when the Doctor gets to meet up with Nyssa who somehow ended up back in time with him, even though she’s also in the future with Tegan. Confusing, I know, but at least the character camaraderie and dialogue allows it to be engaging enough to listen to.
It’s also nice when the Doctor responds to Tegan’s distress call when she happens to end up on a snowy planet called Nib with Oskar, though it took three years for her to wait for him. I also like the scenes that the Doctor has with Kessica Myles in this audio adventure.
This includes when the Doctor and Kessica are locked up in a prison cell by Halcyon Jest as well as when the Doctor connects with Kessica about her cancer condition. Some say that the Fifth Doctor can often be a bland character, which I personally don’t agree with.
It’s stories like this where I know Peter Davison can command a scene as the Doctor, especially when thwarting evil menaces including Nuera within the Hooklight. I also like that Peter’s Doctor gets to stand out more compared to Paul McGann’s Doctor’s appearing in it.
Sarah Sutton as Nyssa in ‘Hooklight’.
Sarah Sutton is equally excellent as Nyssa in this audio adventure. ‘Hooklight’ is a story where Sarah gets to portray a variety of talent in terms of acting, as she not only gets to portray Nyssa, but also the villainous Nuera, who’s revealed in ‘Part Six’ of the audio epic.
It was a shock to see Nyssa with yellow glowing eyes on the cover for the second volume of ‘Hooklight’. It makes her look like she’s the Hood from ‘Thunderbirds’. It’d terrify Aunt May from ‘Spider-Man’ and cause her to scream, “Those eyes! Those horrible yellow eyes!” 😀
Of course, this is another one of those incidences where Nyssa gets taken over again by another alien entity. Big Finish seem to obsess on having Nyssa be taken over by something. I agree with Sarah Sutton that this does seem to be on the verge of ‘repetitive’.
‘Hooklight’ was recorded in February and March 2024, and Sarah has remarked how Nyssa always seemed to be taken over by something at ‘Comic Con Mania Leicester’ in April that year. She suggested that Matthew Waterhouse as Adric should be taken over next. 🙂
With that said, I like that Nyssa, in ‘Parts Seven to Twelve’, does try her best to keep the evil Nuera contained within her when she screws her eyes shut and is blindfolded. It might not have been enough, but at least Nyssa wasn’t all evil in the second half of the story.
Nyssa being blinded in the story did put me in mind of Sarah’s performance as Diana Purwell in ‘The Moon Stallion’. I’m surprised that wasn’t mentioned or referred to when listening to the behind-the-scenes interviews, as that would’ve made a nice connection.
I also liked it when Sarah played two characters in the same scene when Nuera communicates with Nyssa in her mind. The voices that Sarah has for Nyssa and Nuera are very good, and it put me in mind of Matt Smith’s dual performances in ‘Nightmare In Silver’.
It’s also nice when Nyssa is given that Frodo Baggins-sort of role in being the lantern bearer, even when it goes horribly wrong in ‘Part Six’. It’s also fun when Nyssa is in two places at once, including in the past with the Doctor as well as in the future with Tegan. 🙂
Janet Fielding as Tegan in ‘Hooklight’.
Janet Fielding is very good as Tegan Jovanka in this adventure. At this point, I believe Tegan is very settled in her role as a travelling companion in the TARDIS. She still aims to go back to Heathrow Airport on Earth, but it isn’t with a lot of urgency compared to previous stories.
The continuity of these Big Finish audio stories is debatable. For now, I’m content to believe ‘Hooklight’ takes place between ‘Black Orchid’ and ‘Earthshock’ and before ‘Iterations of I’. And it follows ‘The Merfolk Murders’, ‘Dream Team’ and ‘The Great Beyond’.
I like that Tegan gets to share scenes with Nyssa in ‘Hooklight’, especially when they’re journeying to find ways to destroy the titular light that must never be lit. This is when they’re journeying with Triss aboard his hopper and when they encounter the Dawn Brides.
Although I’m not buying the Nyssa-Tegan relationship that was hinted at in ‘Farewell, Sarah Jane’, I’m glad their friendship is explored enough in ‘Parts One to Six’ of the story to indicate how close they are, despite them coming from rather distinctive backgrounds.
Also, I’m not sure if I’m correct on this, but I believe there’s a scene where Nyssa and Tegan share a bed together when the accommodation aboard a Dawn Bride ship is limited. Nothing happens of course, but it was intriguing to notice that whilst hearing the story.
Tegan gets to have a whole episode dedicated to her in ‘Part Eight’ of the story. This is when she’s zapped across the universe by Nyssa possessed by Neura, and she ends up on the planet Nib. She meets a man called Oskar, who befriends her when she needs help.
Tegan has her distress call sent out for someone to come and rescue her, and she ends up spending three years of her life on Nib with Oskar. It’s indicated they have a relationship together, especially when they name their home ‘Heathrow’. That was compelling to hear.
When the Doctor and Kessica find Tegan on Nib, she has to leave the life she had with Oskar behind. I like how Tegan’s reluctance to leave Oskar is reflected upon in the story, especially when she’s having scenes with the Doctor, talking of her three-year life on Nib.
Matthew Waterhouse as Adric in ‘Hooklight’.
Matthew Waterhouse is also very good as Adric in this epic ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. It’s interesting that Adric ends up being by himself for some of the story when he has to pilot the TARDIS for a short hop away from Rift. He doesn’t know where he’s ended up for a while.
In ‘Part Three’ of the story, Adric meets up with Dalvin Crux, who is the last of the Everin. Dalvin assumed that Adric was another incarnation of the Doctor following Peter Davison. How he came to assume that isn’t clear, although it’s quite amusing to listen to.
This, of course, gives Adric the chance to be the Doctor for a while and don a brand-new outfit compared to what he usually wears. I visualised Adric donning a Captain Jack Sparrow look. At least he’d look more pirate-like there than what he wore in ‘Black Orchid’.
There’s a moment where Adric gets shot, and Dalvin is disappointed to find that he’s not the Doctor after all. Fortunately, Dalvin continues to be Adric’s friend, although their friendship gets tested at times, especially when Nyssa and the Hooklight are concerned.
It’s interesting when hearing Matthew Waterhouse be interviewed in the behind-the-scenes extras that he likes how writer Tim Foley made links to previous stories for Adric, particularly with ‘Warriors’ Gate’ when mirrors are used. 🙂 I wouldn’t have registered this.
What did I register though was the inclusion of giant spiders featured in this story, as that is a callback to spiders appearing in Adric’s first story ‘Full Circle’. Once again, another ‘Lord of the Rings’ reference, as the giant spiders did make me think of Shelob right there.
And like I said in my quick reactions video for ‘The Story & the Engine’, “Funny how giant spiders keep coming back into ‘Doctor Who’, isn’t it?” 😀 I liked it when Adric reunited with Nyssa in the second half of ‘Hooklight’ and that he defended her against everyone else. 🙂
Whilst Dalvin Crux and Merla are distrusting of Nyssa when she has the Hooklight inside of her, Adric maintains his faith in Nyssa in that she hasn’t become an evil person. This ‘Doctor Who’ story is also rare in that Adric doesn’t have many scenes with the Doctor. 😀
Celia Imrie as Dr. Kessica Myles in ‘Hooklight’.
The story’s guest cast includes Celia Imrie as Dr. Kessica Myles. This isn’t Celia’s first foray into ‘Doctor Who’. Oh no! If you recall, she’s been in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series episode called ‘The Bells of Saint John’ with Matt Smith, which introduced Clara Oswald.
The proper introduction to Clara, by the way. 😀 Celia played Rosemary Kizlet in that episode where she appeared to oversee the business controlling the evil Wi-Fi at the Strand in London. She was reduced to a small girl asking for her parents by the story’s end.
Kessica Myles is very different to the role Celia Imrie played in ‘The Bells of Saint John’. Kessica is nicer and willing to help when the Doctor and his friends are seeking to destroy the Hooklight. It’s rather sad that Kessica happened to be very ill as the story progressed.
I’ve not seen Celia Imrie in many things outside of ‘Doctor Who’. I’ve seen her in two ‘Nativity’ films including ‘Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?’ and ‘Nativity Rocks’. She comes across as very versatile and a well-renowned actress from listening to ‘Hooklight’. 🙂
I know Sarah regards Celia highly when hearing her interviewed in the behind-the-scenes extras for ‘Hooklight’. Celia has also voiced other characters for Big Finish audios, including the audio story ‘Gallery of Ghouls’, which has her meeting Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
She’s also been in a ‘Counter-Measures’ episode and a ‘Gallifrey’ episode. Celia has also been in an episode of the ITV ‘Marple’ series with Geraldine McEwan as well as a role in ‘Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again’. There’s no denying Celia Imrie has a range of credits.
I did wonder how Kessica’s role was going to turn out, as, initially, I assumed she’d be a villain of sorts, like she was in ‘The Bells of Saint John’. Thankfully, it didn’t turn out like that, though she was quite absent in the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes whilst listening to the story.
Fortunately, Kessica comes into her own by the second half of ‘Hooklight’ where she reunites with the Fifth Doctor. It’s fascinating she’s someone who’s essentially ‘married’ to her work as the director of the Hall of Remembrance on Rift before she makes a noble sacrifice.
Matthew Waterhouse as Adric and Kieran Bew as Dalvin Crux in ‘Hooklight’.
Kieran Bew guest stars as Davlin Crux in this ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. Apparently, this isn’t Kieran Bew’s first association with ‘Doctor Who’ either. In the new TV series, he played a character called Ivan in the episode ‘Oxygen’ with Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor.
He’s been in other Big Finish audio stories such as ‘The Lady of Mercia’ with Peter Davison and ‘The Creeping Death’ with David Tennant, both of which I’ve heard. 🙂 He’s also been in the audio stories ‘The Helm of Awe’ and ‘The Tribulations of Thadeus Nook‘ with Tom Baker.
He also did an episode of ‘The Robots’ series as well as ‘The Lives of Captain Jack’ series. And he’s been in the last main range ‘Doctor Who’ audio story by Big Finish called ‘The End of the Beginning’. He’s had plenty of ‘Doctor Who’ audio stories under his belt. 🙂
Outside of ‘Doctor Who’, Kieran has done a couple or so ‘lost’ episodes in ‘The Avengers’ audio series by Big Finish. And he’s been in six episodes of the ‘Games of Thrones’ prequel series ‘House of the Dragon’. Not that I’ve seen that series, but it’s intriguing to know that.
In ‘Hooklight’, Dalvin Crux seems to be a roguish character, almost to the point of being one of those superhero characters from ‘Flash Gordon’ or something like that. He happens to be last of the Everin, an alien species in the realm of Morning that were mostly wiped out.
Ideally, this would be a good way for Nyssa and Dalvin to connect with each other, considering Nyssa is the last of her kind from Traken. Unfortunately, with Nyssa possessed by the Hooklight, Dalvin isn’t exactly willing to consider Nyssa a kindred spirit.
This is especially when the Hooklight destroyed most of the Everin in the First Age of the realm of Morning. It was interesting how Dalvin happens to have a connection to the Doctor, both through the Peter Davison and the Paul McGann incarnations of the character.
It’s implied that Davlin has a romantic interest in Adric when paired with him in the story. Whilst I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Davlin and Adric being lovers in this story, it’s something that’s not exactly explored on an intimate level compared to Tegan and Oskar.
Issy Van Randwyck as Merla, Kieran Bew as Dalvin Crux and Matthew Waterhouse as Adric in ‘Hooklight’.
Alan Cox guest stars as the Halcyons in this story as well as Mention 5. This isn’t the first time I’ve come across Alan Cox in a Big Finish audio of ‘Doctor Who’. The first time I encountered him was when he played an evil robot Jeeves in the story ‘The Auntie Matter’.
He’s also been in Big Finish audio stories such as ‘The Ghost of Gralstead’, ‘The Roof of the World’, ‘The Institute of Forgotten Souls’ and an episode of ‘The Legacy of Time’ called ‘Collison Course’. He also played Ken Bright-Thompson in some ‘Stranded’ audio stories.
Alan has played Death in the episode ‘Death and the Queen’ with David Tennant, and he played Mark Steven in ‘The Destroyers’ with the Daleks before Joe Sims played the character in more audio stories to follow. He’s been in more ‘Doctor Who’ audios than I expected.
It should be noted Alan Cox is the son of Brian Cox, who played Sydney Newman in the TV docudrama ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’. Alan has also been in audio spin-offs such as ‘Jago & Litefoot’, ‘The Paternoster Gang’, the ‘River Song’ audio stories, and more. 🙂
In ‘Hooklight’, Alan Cox plays the Halcyons, who are the rulers of the realm of Morning. They happen to be clones. Their lineage is based on them being clones. The Doctor meets two Halcyons in this epic story. This includes Risk in the Second Age and Jest in the Third Age.
The Halcyons being clones reminded me of Weyoun, the Vorta from ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’, as he was cloned multiple times in that series. Like Weyoun, the Halcyons are driven by power. Jest, who is in the Third Age, happens to be corrupt with power in this story.
Apparently, Jest is the 23rd Halcyon when he ruled the realm of Morning. He caused the destruction of the planet Rift when the Nigh Guard were about to make their attack upon it. Jest also has a grudge against the Doctor, and he has him and Kessica Myles locked up.
Towards the story’s end, the Doctor meets Mention 5, played by Alan Cox, who happens to be a scientist and an author. He was also responsible for the creation of the Halcyons. Mention 5 created the Halcyons after most of the Everin were destroyed by the Hooklight.
The rest of the story’s guest cast includes David Holt as the robots that serve the Halcyons in the story. David Holt has voiced several characters for BBC Radio and Big Finish, including the radio dramas ‘The Paradise of Death’ and ‘The Ghosts of N-Space’. 🙂
The robots featured in this story are mostly generic, particularly the ones that serve as butlers to the Halcyons. There’s one robot however that seems to have the Doctor’s interests at heart, although he pushed the Doctor into a tear to make him go back in time.
There’s Issy Van Randwyck as Merla, who is Great Mother of the Dawn Bride in the Third Age of Morning. I’ve come across Issy Van Randwyck before. Not just in ‘Doctor Who’ audio stories, but in ‘Star Cops’ audios too. She’s also been in the ‘Survivors’ audios by Big Finish.
It’s interesting to compare Merla’s character in the first and second halves of ‘Hooklight’. Initially, she trusts Nyssa as the lantern bearer for Hooklight when she and Tegan comes to the planet Divination. In the second half, Merla has Nyssa arrested when she’s broken the lantern.
Theo Solomon guest stars as Triss, the trainee archivist of the Hall of Remembrance on Rift during the Third Age of Morning when the Doctor and his friends meet him. This is the first time that I’ve encountered Theo Solomon in a Big Finish audio drama of ‘Doctor Who’.
In the story, Triss helps Nyssa and Tegan to get away from Rift when the planet is about to be destroyed. Aboard his hopper however, Triss inadvertently transforms into a Nigh Guard after looking at home. Fortunately, he does survive with Kessica Myles watching over him.
David Shaw-Parker as Vanderseer in ‘Hooklight’.
David Shaw-Parker guest stars as Vanderseer as well as a soothsayer in the story. David Shaw-Parker has played Ron Winters in some of the ‘Stranded’ audio episodes by Big Finish. He’s also been in ‘1963: The Space Race’ and ‘Eyes of the Master’ in ‘Dark Eyes 4’.
Vanderseer happens to be the Mage of the Halcyon Risk at the end of the Second Age of Morning when the Doctor meets him by travelling back in time. Vanderseer is on a mission to search for the Dark Forge and destroy the Hooklight. Unfortunately, he’s killed in the story. 😐
Ruby Crepin-Glyne guest stars as Sabine, one of the Dawn Brides working under Merla in the story. This happens to be Ruby’s first ‘Doctor Who’ audio story by Big Finish, apparently. She’s also been in one episode of ‘Doctors’ and two episodes of ‘EastEnders’.
Sabine was a novice in the Dawn Brides who hadn’t completed her training when she came to rescue Nyssa and Tegan who were being attacked by Triss becoming a Nigh Guard. Although keen to do her duty, Sabine sadly got killed by Neura taking possession of Nyssa.
Harriet Kershaw guest stars as Galieth, another of the Dawn Brides working under Merla. Harriet Kershaw has voiced several characters for Big Finish audios in ‘Doctor Who’, ‘The Avengers’, ‘V UK’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’. She also voiced Bella Lasagne in ‘Fireman Sam’.
The more recent TV series of ‘Fireman Sam’, by the way. Not the original. What are the chances though, right? 😀 There’s not much I can say about Galieth’s character in the story, though she didn’t like Sabine’s disobedience, and sadly, she gets killed by Nuera too.
Shogo Miyakita as Oskar in ‘Hooklight’.
Shoga Miyakita guest stars as Oskar, the man Nip whom Tegan befriends on the planet Nip. Shoga Miyakita has been in a Seventh Doctor audio story and a War Doctor audio story as well as been in audio episodes that feature River Song and the Paternoster Gang.
Oskar does come across as a very nice person who’s willing to help Tegan when she becomes stranded on the planet Nip. Oskar seems to take it well when Tegan has to leave him in the story. It’s a pity that Tegan never went back to Oskar after the adventure ended.
But of course, the biggest guest star of this ‘Doctor Who’ audio story is of course Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. I must admit, I was quite surprised to find Paul McGann making an appearance in this 12-part epic story, but it was a very welcome surprise for me.
‘Hooklight 2’ fake-out cover.
When Big Finish advertised the second volume of ‘Hooklight’ via their website, they released a dummy cover that concealed the surprise of the Eighth Doctor’s involvement in the epic story. Instead of the Eighth Doctor’s face, a monstrous Nigh Guard’s face was used.
The Eighth Doctor makes his first appearance in ‘Hooklight’ at the end of ‘Part Six’, particularly in the scene where Nyssa gets taken over by Nuera, and in a post-credits scene where Eight is the pilot overseeing Kessica Myles’ recovery before he disappears. 😐
From looking at the official cover for the second volume of ‘Hooklight’, it’s clear that this the Eighth Doctor with the shorter haircut. Presumably, it’s the Eighth Doctor during the Time War and before he met his fate in ‘The Night of the Doctor’, which is very fascinating.
Also, from seeing the official cover for the second ‘Hooklight’ volume, the Eighth Doctor has an eyepatch that covers his right eye, as it was scared by the Hooklight. Seeing Paul McGann with an eyepatch over his right eye did put me in mind of the Brigadier from ‘Inferno’.
Or rather the Brigade Leader from the parallel universe in that story. I’m surprised not everyone was wearing eyepatches in this story to make the joke more obvious. 😀 Paul McGann also wore an eyepatch when appearing in the ITV ‘Marple’ story ‘Sleeping Murder’.
When revealed in the story, he happens to be the Oracle controlling the events that happen in this story. He does encounter Nyssa briefly as well as Tegan and Adric, but not the Fifth Doctor. Meaning this story isn’t like ‘Cold Fusion’ where the Fifth Doctor met the Seventh.
Maybe that’s for the best, as I did have the Fifth and Eighth Doctors interacting with each other in my stories including ‘The Prime Factor’ and ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’. The Eighth Doctor is quite moody when overseeing everything that happens in the story’s second half.
The story thankfully concludes with the Fifth Doctor defeating and destroying the Hooklight for good. The resolution of how that happened is rather fuzzy in the storytelling, but the Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric do return back to where they began on the planet Rift.
Yes, Rift isn’t destroyed anymore and Tegan’s three years on the planet Nip didn’t happen. 😐 She considers going there to be reunited with Oskar, but she doesn’t seem to want to anymore, especially when she can’t remember what Oskar looked like, which is a shame.
It’s also a relief that Nyssa’s back to normal and doesn’t have the Hooklight in her anymore. Nowadays, some of these ‘Doctor Who’ stories do end on a happy note where Nyssa’s back to normal after being possessed, but it’s still a repetitive form of storytelling.
In the end, the Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric return to the TARDIS and they leave Rift and the realm of Morning behind. They’re seen by the Eighth Doctor, who watches nearby, and he’s joined by Davlin Crux, who ends up being his companion by the adventure’s end.
I don’t know if this means a continuation for the Eighth Doctor where he has adventures with Davlin Crux. Knowing Big Finish, they’re likely to do another series of Eighth Doctor audios featuring him and Davlin Crux on adventures. Only time will tell on what will happen.
There’s also a brief post-credits scene where we see what happened to Oskar on the planet Nip when he’s with his snow dogs. Somehow, the scenes of Nip put me in mind of the snow dogs scenes in the 2020 film ‘The Call of the Wild’, which I saw at the cinema. 🙂
‘Hooklight’ has certainly been a very compelling and very epic 12-part audio adventure to listen to. I’m pleased that I managed to hear the story at last when the two volumes came out on CD and download in April and May 2025, since I got to hear them in December of that year.
The performances of the cast are very well done, especially with it being led by Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse. They’re a highlight for me in the Big Finish audios I hear with them as the Fifth Doctor’s Season 19 TARDIS team.
It’s also been good to hear Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in this epic audio adventure as well as hear special guest stars like Celia Imrie, Kieran Bew and Alan Cox. Even though there are complexities to the story’s plot and worldbuilding, I didn’t find anything boring.
I can’t claim that ‘Hooklight’ matches to what I would have done in terms of writing a 12-part epic adventure in ‘Doctor Who’, and it doesn’t match to ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ at all. Heck, there isn’t a ‘Feast of Steven’ Christmas episode for us as listeners to enjoy. 😀
Once I finally get to share my 12-part epic story called ‘Orionis’ on my blog, hopefully, my take on the 12-episode structure will be enlightening for those checking out my ‘Fifth Doctor’ stories. Otherwise, ‘Hooklight’ proved to be a worthwhile endeavour to listen to.
I don’t know what’s going to happen next concerning the Fifth Doctor adventures by Big Finish in 2026. At this stage, no more new audio releases have been announced, which I find unusual, since a new Fifth Doctor audio release would have been announced by now.
When I chatted with Sarah in Farnborough in October 2025, she gave the impression she, Peter and everyone else hadn’t recorded any new audios yet. This might have changed by the time you’re reading this review and they’ve recorded some new audio stories already.
It’s not helped by the fact this happens to be producer David Richardson’s last contribution to the Fifth Doctor audio adventures by Big Finish. I know Sonny McGann, Paul McGann’s real-life son, will be producer of the Fifth Doctor audio adventures next. 🙂
But beyond that, there aren’t any details concerning what the stories are going to be about and who’s going to be in them yet. A couple of releases have been scheduled for April and September 2026, but I don’t know if Nyssa, Tegan and Adric will appear in them.
No matter what happens, I hope brand-new ‘Doctor Who’ audio adventures featuring the Fifth Doctor along with his companions will be made and released soon. It would be nice if we had more Fifth Doctor and Nyssa audio stories by Big Finish, as I’ve enjoyed them so much.
It’d also be nice if Big Finish adapted my Fifth Doctor stories in audio someday, but that’s a dream waiting to happen should it ever happen at all. 😀 I’m looking forward to sharing more of my Fifth Doctor stories online and no doubt Big Finish will surprise us very soon.
At the end of Discs 1, 2 and 3 of Volume One of ‘Hooklight’ and at the end of Discs 1, 2 and 3 of Volume Two of ‘Hooklight’, there are behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and crew, including Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, Paul McGann, Celia Imrie, Kieran Bew, Alan Cox, writer Tim Foley, director Ken Bentley, producer David Richardson, etc.
‘Hooklight’ rating – 8/10
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