The Omega Factor: Review: 1.2: The Old Gods

Adam and Anne investigate a strange retreat…

Now, this is exactly the sort of story I was hoping for when I heard that Big Finish had the rights to do The Omega Factor – a mix of high tech and ancient ways; cynicism, scepticism and belief; characters blundering in because it’s the right thing to do… and encounters with forces that aren’t immediately explicable. Phil Mulryne’s script hits all the right notes, and – with the replacement of John Dorney’s Adam with James Hazeldine’s Tom Crane – could easily have been a script for the original show.

Dorney and Louise Jameson’s Anne Reynolds butt heads as necessary, but at the end of the day, Anne has Adam’s back – even if it will come as no surprise that she underestimates the forces arraigned against them. There’s an innocent caught in the middle whose loyalties are tested by the revelations she encounters, and of course there are those who simply don’t realise exactly what it is they are dealing with. Terry Molloy’s Fenwick returns him to the side of Big Finish’s best antagonists (after a terrific turn in early episodes of Survivors), while Camilla Power’s Dr Jane Wyatt keeps both characters and listeners guessing as to how much she knows about what’s going on.

Ken Bentley ensures that the actors take it all very seriously – it’s one of those series where one wrongly-pitched performance could bring the whole thing tumbling down – and Martin Montague’s sound design once again adds a vitally needed layer to the telling.

Verdict: Keep this standard up throughout, and this will be Big Finish’s level to beat for the rest of the year! 10/10

Paul Simpson