N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

With Remembrance of the Daleks it feels as though many of the most promising aspects of the previous season’s Seventh Doctor stories have clicked into place: for one, the balance of playfulness and melancholy in this Doctor seems to be spot-on here.

“Time will tell. It always does.”

The Doctor, Remembrance of the Daleks: Part Four

There’s still the odd stab of incongruous music and occasional naff effect (the baseball bat, anyone), but these are balanced by generally excellent production values (I’ve always liked the shock of that new X-ray death effect), strong supporting cast and roles (particularly Pamela Salem and what would become the Counter Measures team), and some crisp dialogue from new writer Ben Aaronovitch.

The Doctor and John’s discussion of the ripple effect in the café is an obvious favourite, although Alison’s ‘No idea, I’m a physicist’ comeback when asked if the Corporal is OK is pretty sharp.

Oddly though, my enjoyment of Remembrance of the Daleks is tempered somewhat by my memories of how good Aaronovitch’s novelisation was, with it being a clear forerunner of the New Adventures that Virgin Publishing would produce. Don’t get me wrong, Remembrance of the Daleks remains one of the best Seventh Doctor stories; it’s just that my recollection of it is that it could have been even better!

But all of that is to undermine just how good a story Remembrance of the Daleks. Whether you enjoy it as an action-packed Dalek story, its handling of the theme of racism, its overt nods to the show’s past or its hints at a more complex Doctor’s origins (“Didn’t we have trouble with the prototype?”), there’s plenty to admire here.

Now, if only we could persuade Aaronovitch to take a break from his excellent Peter Grant stories to give us another Doctor Who adventure …