Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping gave the serial a mixed review in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), writing, "Well meaning, and much more interesting before the Master arrives, at which point it turns from a Hulke political parable into a typical runaround.
In 2009, Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern described the story as "richly detailed, fast-moving drama that rolls out eventfully over a six-week period", which made it "indigestible" to watch all at once.