The 50th anniversary celebration for the Sontarans comes to an explosive climax with this fourth story in the Sontarans vs Rutans saga: In Name Only.

This time around, the ‘young’ War Doctor (Jonathon Carley) is the Doctor at the centre of the action, following on from the Eighth, Third and Sixth Doctors in the previous instalments.

When a Rutan infiltrates and attacks a Time Lord base, Gallifrey’s response looks set to be utterly devastating, throughout time and space. Enter the War Doctor, who is keen to avoid the utter eradication of Rutans from the timeline, and in the process finds himself against unlikely enemies, and with equally unlikely allies.

I’ve hugely enjoyed Sontarans vs Rutans overall, and this final episode ties things together in a way that brings everything together full circle.

It demands that the listener pay attention, with paradoxes layered upon one another and plenty of double crossing and side switching occurring.

Jonathon Carley does his usual excellent impersonation of the late John Hurt as the War Doctor; if I have a complaint about his performance at all, it’s a particularly nitpicky one, in that he seems just a tad too gruff for the younger incarnation of Hurt’s Doctor.

Elsewhere, sterling work is done by a trio of stalwart Sontaran actors in various roles; John Banks, the wonderful Christopher Ryan and, of course, everyone’s favourite Sontaran, Dan Starkey.

Debbie Korley does great work here too, as a character with several layers; for fear of spoilers, I shall say no more, but she does brilliantly with the many facets of her character that she’s required to play.

As the conclusion of a series that celebrates 50 years since the debut of the Sontarans (in Third Doctor story The Time Warrior), it fittingly showcases the Sontarans in a fantastic way, with the former Doctor himself acknowledging their importance in the final scene.

As an anniversary story, it’s wonderful stuff for us long term fans, but it also works well as a richly timey wimey, Sontaran-heavy saga (part two aside, though Sontarans still loom large in the background of that chapter), regardless of how far back your interest in the Whoniverse goes.

As a final note, it was wonderful to listen to the conclusion of the story just a few days after meeting good old Sixie himself, Colin Baker, star of the third part of Sontarans vs Rutans!