In the early days of Doctor Who, a purely historical story was a regular thing, as the shows brief was to entertain and inform. After the start of the Troughton era, they became very rare, with one further on TV and a couple of novels. Now we have the first purely historical audio play. And it's quite good.

The seventh Doctor and Mel arrive in Pompeii, the day before the city is set to be buried under tons of volcanic ash in 79 AD. But The Doctor has seen this day coming. During his fifth incarnation, while visiting Earth, a Police Box was unearthed by archaeologists digging in the ruins of ancient Pompeii. Now he knows that Time has finally caught up with him.

While Mel does her best to try and lift his melancholy, the Doctor falls foul of a Gladiator, who swears revenge on the Time Lord for humiliating him. When the TARDIS goes missing as well, the Doctor feels that fate is really stacking the deck against him.

So is there any way that the Doctor and Mel can escape? And if they do, what will it do for the delicate balance of the future?

Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford are on top form for this story, with Mel getting some of the more amusing lines. Indeed, Bonnie Langford puts in a much better performance here than she did on TV. Sylvester is in brooding mode as a Doctor who thinks his time is up. Of the supporting characters, Andy Coleman as Popidius Celsinus and Gemma Bissix as the slave girl Aglae are the best. It's also nice to hear Captain Muriel Frost, of the comic strip seventh Doctor UNIT stories at the beginning of the adventure.

The story is slow in places and the scenes with the Gladiator and the Doctor are quite annoying, but overall a good effort by the cast and crew. I look forward to hearing more historical adventures from Big Finish in future.