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AND so it ends… The Doctor’s desperate quest through time and space in search of missing TARDIS parts brings the Time Lord (Tom Baker) and his companion Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) to the planet of Sepulchre, and an old dark house which will be the setting for a terrible plan from which he might never escape…

Defeated and despondent, the Doctor and Mike have been summonsed by the captured Mrs Wibbsey (Susan Jameson) for a showdown with the mercenary Demon and his secret paymasters, an old foe of the Doctor in search of revenge.

As the conclusion of a five-part series of interrelated adventures, there are a lot of references to previous instalments, and this often results in a heavy use of exposition dialogue at the expense of progressive action. But this was always the way at the end of the Doctor’s TV adventures, and if anything it’s reassuring to hear the villain reveal their elaborate masterplan in such intricate detail.

However, this is also a chillingly atmospheric story which benefits from its small cast and tight focus, with Baker in particular playing up to his strengths as an actor rather than just portraying the Doctor as a larger than life extension of his own personality. Franklin and Jameson also deliver outstanding performances, and prove how comfortable they have become in their roles.

The cliffhanger ending suggests we’ll be back in the company of the Fourth Doctor, Mike and Mrs W this time next year, and if these stories keep improving exponentially as they have done to date, we’re going to be in for a real treat.