Roots: The Wizard of Oz (although - "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home" predates that, and comes John Howard Payne's operetta, "Clari, the Maid of Milan," from a song titled-appropriately enough-"Home Sweet Home" in 1823). The Animaniacs - Pinky and the Brain stories about a mouse with a large mutated cranium out to take over the world. Tom and Jerry. The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - hyper intelligent mice. The Doctor name checks King Rat. The Prisoner ("I am not a mouse!").

Intertextuality: The Doctor uses ever-lasting matches (Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks). Shayde, the Time lord agent is a recurring character from the DWM comic strip and made his/its first appearance in "The Tides of Time" by Steve Parkhouse. The Library of St John the Beheaded is referred to in various Virgin New Adventures (first appearing in All Consuming Fire). Amelia Earhardt was written as the companion in a Doctor Who film script by Denny Martin Flynn.

Fashion Victims: Peri was going to wear Leela's outfit to a fancy dress party.

Goofs: It sounds like Erimem fires a gun at Rovie's equipment?

Erimem refers to the Doctor's matches as a torch (it's not even a flambeaux!).

The Rovie intends to eject the Doctor into the vortex AND use him to get through Gallifrey's Transduction Barrier.

Double Entendres: 'He's marking my corridors'

'Those of us who can must help do it.'

'Don't do that - it's disgusting!'

Dialogue Triumphs: [Why a cricket pitch?] 'I need to keep my cucumber sandwiches somewhere.'

'I don't particularly want surprises and adventure in my own home.'

'You can't expect me to have developed social graces as well.'

Shayde's unexpected joke at the Doctor's comment about the High Council being full of rats: 'Yes, Lord President'

Dialogue Disasters The Doctor's mouse related taunts.

'It's cold, Doctor, but space is colder!'

Continuity: The TARDIS contains the console room, large wardrobe room, a full sized cricket pitch (for the Doctor to keep cucumber sandwiches in), several fields, a rain forest area, various control relays (that appear like main control rooms but smaller), the swimming pool, 'the small library', gardens, the Doctor's workshop, a storeroom full of terracotta Chinese soldiers, a Dimensional Induction Chamber (which Erimem claims is large enough to hold the Great Pyramid) and the Cloister Room (where the Doctor claims he used to hide from Tegan and reminds him of the English Summer - without the rain). The TARDIS organizes its rooms according to a particular geometry, which can be followed if you know how.

The Doctor implies the TARDIS can redecorate itself of its own accord. It has emergency lighting that should come on in the event of power failure.

Gallifreyan mice or Rovie are small, scuttle about in fields and are long lived if they are not eaten or squashed, or fall down a vex burrow. They have no concept of time and have a memory span less than fifteen seconds. They can sometimes be seen in the Capitol. Some Time Tots keep them as pets. One entered the TARDIS on one of the Doctor's return visits there and was fed and watered by the Ship. A leak from the temporal relays caused by the Time Lords' remote control caused it to mutate. The TARDIS prevented its death, but it underwent a forced mutation undergoing millennia of evolution in minutes. Its brain grew a thousand times larger than before - It accessed the ships memory banks and slowly learnt and took over the ship. It has learnt a thousand languages from the TARDIS databanks. The Time Lords can foresee a time when the Rovie and his army have control of time and space, and ravage the galaxy. Shayde believes that the Time Lords can rehabilitate it.

The streets of the Capitol are patrolled by cleaning machines. The Time Lords have long since abandoned vivisection (in fact experimentation of any kind).

The Time Lords, using Shayde have planted a remote control on board the TARDIS, although it is never explained when. It is removed at the end of the adventure and Shayde's attempt to replace it is thwarted. Shayde can remove his bubble-head and store things in it, absorbing them into his self.

Humans exposed to the Time/Space Vortex wither and die in seconds.

The Doctor never felt he really belonged on Gallifrey, and sometimes wonders if he should settle down. He doesn't think of his family much, although he thinks of Susan sometimes. He also carries a box of everlasting matches. He has books he needs to return to the Library of St. John the Beheaded. The Doctor does not appear to share his successors affinity with cats.

The Doctor does not appear much older then thirty, and would not even be considered middle aged by his people's standards. He is still the Lord President at this point. The Second Doctor's large fur coat is made from polyester and is from Thraxis.

Erimem's father once tried to make a boat of solid gold. It sank. She misses her family but is resigned to staying with the Doctor. She has never seen ice before. Erimem wears a bowl shaped Egyptian wig.

Peri is unseen, spending the full adventure in her room.

Location: Inside the TARDIS, and appears to run in real time.

Links: Previous Doctor's costumes still appear to be in the wardrobe (As established in 'Time and the Rani'!) as well as clothing worn by Victoria, Sarah-Jane, Jamie and Leela. The Doctor also mentions Susan and K9. The Rovie entered the Doctor's ship on a previous visit to Gallifrey although there is no hint which one [most likely 'Arc of Infinity' or 'The Five Doctors']. 'Shada' (Time Tots), 'Eye of the Scorpion' (Erimem refers to her family and succession).

Untelevised Adventures: The Doctor, Peri and Erimem had recently visited the planet Pralax where the Doctor escorted the Grand Dowager back to her palace and the girls attended a fancy dress party (against the Doctor's advice). The Doctor dropped off an army of terracotta Chinese Soldiers for the Emperor (This is meant to be first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang (247-210 BC) though this is not expressly stated), a couple of incarnations ago. The Doctor has obtained Amelia Earhart's flying jacket.

The Bottom Line: 'I've never seen that before. A megalomaniacal mouse.'

Again for a free promotion, Big Finish provide a pleasant romp, this time within the confines of the TARDIS and the Magazine's own comic continuity, as well as name checking several others. It is also an engaging character piece for Caroline Morris' Erimem, allowing the new companion and the Doctor to realize how much kindred spirits they are. One sour note here is the villain, a one trick joke that quickly loses its humour. That aside, this is a nice laid back interlude in the Big Finish range.