Review by Jacob Licklider
The Sontarans vs. Rutans miniseries is the first of many releases from Big Finish Productions this year that was clearly meant to be released as a box set and shifted to a single release structure, see also the Dark Gallifrey releases being three-hour long stories released in single hour installments. Unlike Dark Gallifrey, however, Sontarans vs. Rutans is a series where the actual arc is largely in the background for each of the releases so they can be enjoyed as individual stories. In Name Only is the concluding installment and the one closest to relying on the three previous installments for its resolution: it’s a story where the actual explanation as to why the previous three releases occurred becomes integral. John Dorney is responsible for writing the conclusion, and as a Big Finish veteran it’s far from the only conclusion to a miniseries he has written, but In Name Only works because Dorney knows how to strike the balance between making the three previous releases be that integral piece to the puzzle and new listener friendly. This does lead to an issue where there is perhaps too much exposition for the single hour of the story due to a tendency from Dorney as a writer to over explain the connections instead of just letting the listeners pick up on them by paying attention. This does mean that this becomes a script where Jonathan Carley has to do a lot of expositing about the past three adventures.
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