The second chapter of four part mini-series Sontarans vs Rutans is here, moving on from the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz’s adventures in 55 BC Ireland.

Poor Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Jon Culshaw) is trying to get away for a well earned holiday, when the Doctor (in his Third incarnation here, played by Tim Treloar) begins acting very strangely indeed.

As the Brigadier investigates, alongside the intrepid Sarah Jane Smith (Sadie Miller), it becomes apparent that there’s something very wrong going down at a nearby castle; a location that’s definitely familiar to Sarah Jane.

Hopefully without spoiling too much, The Children of the Future is a near-enough direct sequel to the first ever Sontaran story, The Time Warrior.

However, the Sontarans themselves are conspicuous by their absence; though mentioned numerous times, the Rutans most definitely take centre stage here.

It’s a good contrast to the first chapter, which was very Sontaran-heavy; though that did also do well to showcase the two alien species at war, whereas The Children of the Future is much subtler and more low key.

I normally really struggle when roles must be recast and characters are impersonated; it constantly takes me out of the story and I find it very difficult to listen to.

Case in point: many reviewers and fans mention how good Jacob Dudman’s Eleventh Doctor is, but it still doesn’t sound quite right to me, as good as it is. And as such, I really do find it hard to get through his Eleventh Doctor stories.

I don’t want to be overly critical as he does a fantastic job, but it just doesn’t work for me.

Now, given that The Children of the Future features three main characters who were played by actors who have all sadly passed away (and all three of them, it must be said, are much missed), there’s no option but to cast new actors in each role.

Yet I had absolutely none of the problems here that I usually have with recast characters. Though of course none of them sound quite the same, all three do a great job of moving beyond impersonation and really embodying the characters properly.

Treloar does a stunning job as Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor, for example. Sadie Miller plays Sarah Jane Smith, a role originally played by Miller’s mother, Elisabeth Sladen, beautifully.

Jon Culshaw, who is best known as an impressionist, at least to those of us in the UK, comes closest to being a bit over the top with his recreation of the voice and mannerisms of the Brigadier, soon endeared himself to me as one of my favourite characters in Doctor Who’s long history.

In fact, the pairing of Sarah Jane and the Brigadier is truly inspired; seeing them teaming up to solve the mystery of the Doctor acting so out of character leads to some truly wonderful moments. Miller and Culshaw have fantastic chemistry too.

It really did feel odd that there was such a lack of Sontarans here though, particularly as this mini-series exists, in part, to celebrate the 50th  anniversary of their first appearance.

Going by the cover art of the third chapter of the series, Born to Die, it seems that we’re going to swing back to a very Sontaran-heavy story once more, with an adventure featuring the Sixth Doctor and, once more, the perennially popular Charley Pollard.

I can’t wait to catch up with the potato headed warriors once more, but I did enjoy this second dive into the history of their war with the Rutans.

And it’s worth noting that more time spent with the Third Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and the Brigadier is never time wasted.

You can buy Sontarans vs Rutans 2: The Children of the Future directly from Big Finish here.