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

Not unlike The Savages a few weeks back, I didn’t remember anything of The Smugglers, although on this listen it’s hard to fathom why.

“Oh, I can foresee oodles of trouble.”

The Doctor, The Smugglers: Episode 1

It’s a rollicking adventure in which Polly and Ben get stuck in to the action as if they’ve been travelling with the Doctor for ages (rather than mere minutes), everybody tries to double-cross everybody else and there’s a fairly hefty amount of bloodthirsty violence.

I can partly put my amnesia down to the difficulty I have generally in retaining the detail of audio tales (even those specifically written for audio).

If nothing else, this inability bodes well should any more of these missing episodes turn up – as it means they’ll almost appear fresh and new to me when I sit down to watch them. It also means there are a few stories to come in seasons four and five for which I also have these blind spots – a pair of classic Dalek stories spring to mind!