Crashing straight into a two-horse rally race, The Doctor and Ray’s final outing finds them stuck playing cupid for the sake of the future – and to stop a creature who feeds on heartbreak…

A character-driven final act, Much Ado About Racing, focuses on two intergalactic rally racers, April Mercury and Boots, whose relationship has turned sour, causing them to become bitter racing rivals. The first part does an excellent job of establishing their feud and uprooting their resentment caused by their differing statuses by splitting The Doctor and Ray between them. As they both talk while fixing cars and mending machines, we’re given deep insight into the difficulties of overcoming privilege and the obstacles surrounding media and celebrity. It’s something that feels very grounded and poignantly human.

In amongst these deep emotional scenes, the 7th Doctor’s turning of a new leaf also comes into play. Despite the 7th incarnation’s reputation as an unfeeling manipulator, this story gives him a much-needed opportunity to show how his attitude is changing within his final years. More philosophical and helped by Ray’s personable nature, he’s able to do a lot of good in this story without the need for tricks or grand spectacle. He’s using what he’s learnt as a manipulator to push the two of them back together in a way that sets him back in line with some of The Doctor’s more human iterations.

While these character moments are top-notch, they ultimately come at the expense of other parts of the adventure. The story’s antagonist, for instance, gets some of the worst of this neglect. Featuring a cosmic creature known as a Wastrel, its abilities are parasitic, feeding on the heartbreak and jealousy of others. An interesting and unique concept, it falls short of having any sort of real impact throughout the 60-minute runtime. Beyond a commanding voice, the creature never succeeds at feeling threatening. It, for a time, tries to control Ray and even The Doctor to some extent, forcing them to break the couple apart by bringing about the deep-seated insecurities the two had about their original relationship. However, both The Doctor and Ray are easily able to forgo these instructions with minimal effort, which is never a good sign when trying to create a fearsome villain.

Besides messing with the happy couple to be, the Wastrel also attempts to manipulate Ray’s relationships. A great idea that is inevitably let down by its placement in the run of adventures between The Doctor and Ray. By this point, we’re still getting to know her character so a concept that wishes to look broadly at her character doesn’t have the necessary emotional weight that comes with her place as a companion being truly established later down the line.