The Children of the Future is another worthy entry into the Big Finish audio range Doctor Who: Sontarans vs. Rutans. Tim Foley provides the script which was directed by Ken Bentley. Tim Treloar has once again performed his version of the Third Doctor, originally portrayed by the late Jon Pertwee. Sadie Miller reprises the role of Sarah Jane Smith, who was originally portrayer by her late mother, Elisabeth Sladen. Jon Culshaw continues his masterful impression of the late Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Jeremy Ang Jones, Nicholas Boulton, and Lucy Goldie make up the guest cast.
The Doctor has become more irascible and secretive lately, and the Brigadier and Sarah Jane Smith become concerned enough to follow him to a secret base of soldiers who claim to be from the future. They claim that they are refugees after the Sontarans invade Earth in the future. There is an audacious plan to breed humans who are uniquely capable of standing up to the invasion that has yet to happen. Sarah detects a few inconsistencies and begins to doubt the Doctor’s allegiance, and then his identity. The Sontarans’ long-standing enemy, the Rutans, are shapeshifters, and this Doctor may not be the genuine article.
All of the original actors who played the main parts are deceased, but the characters live on. Sadie Miller really is getting better at emulating her mother’s vocal talents. Treloar has continued to solidly capture the essence of Pertwee’s performance as well. The story has some interesting red herrings in the plot. The resolution was not as obvious as it could have been, but that’s good. It still ends up being merely solid entertainment, but that’s better than being outright garbage.
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