Doctor Who: The Ghost Trap

Writer: Nick Wallace
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor: Michael Stevens
Cover Illustration: Mark Plastow
Music & Sound Design: Toby Hrycek-Robinson
Producer: Michael Stevens

Read by Louise Jameson
Released April 2015

The first fourth Doctor instalment of the new-format monthly Doctor Who Short Trips, The Ghost Trap is a decent summation of the era's middle years without ever threatening to be particularly attention-grabbing.

Landing on an organic ship ripped out of hyperspace, the Doctor and Leela explore, get into a few scrapes and head off again. They are pretty much the only two characters, but spend most of the story apart, leaving little room to delve any deeper into their relationship.

Nick Wallace's script is thoughtful and atmospheric and the production reflects that, although the music could do with being slightly more dynamic at times to keep up. This is a pleasant way to spend half an hour but won't linger in the mind very long after it's finished.

Louise Jameson gives a good reading, but it's pretty stock material for both Leela and the Doctor. That's no bad thing; The Ghost Trap is harmless enough, it just feels like the first and third episodes of a traditional four-parter bolted together and condensed, without much else to it.