The Quest of the Engineer

Fourth Doctor Adventures #9.4

Released: 12 February 2020

Listened: 7/16/22

Andrew Smith, writer of “Full Circle,” where Adric and E-space were introduced, writes this one. He’s known for writing stories with monsters who turn out not to be so monstrous, or at least are only following their natures. This time, though, while the villain does have an understandable motivation beyond conquest, it’s still an amoral one. The action mostly takes place on an artificial planet that the Engineer has constructed, and can move portions of its crust around seemingly at will. It’s a fascinating image that probably wouldn’t have worked on TV, and unfortunately is hard to capture on audio. No sound effect can convey “a huge chunk of rock has ripped itself out of the surface and is carrying three people away at speed.” So the characters are forced to verbally describe things that are right in front of them, an audio trap Big Finish usually avoids. The various minor characters are well drawn and acted, although the main plotline itself doesn’t seem like enough for a four-parter. Oddly, although there are several stories left to go in this section, this is the last full-cast one, so that’s the last of Tom Baker in this part of the project, except for the inevitable multi-Doctor appearances later on.