Big Finish’s first volume in their exploration of the Eighth Doctor’s escapades during the early years of the Time War was an exciting first series that brilliantly expanded on the devastation the War brought to many worlds during its beginnings, while also delivering more insight into the Eighth Doctor’s character and how he changes as the War escalates and the toll it will inevitably deliver upon him. Now, the second volume of this saga sees both the Eighth Doctor and his newfound companion known as Bliss still trying to survive their way in the War across time and space, and along the way, both will have to deal with some old and new faces.
The first story, The Lords of Terror by Jonathan Morris, sees the Doctor trying to return Bliss home before learning that her world has been radically altered into a totalitarian state by the Time Lords in their bid to win the War against the Daleks. We see the Doctor thrown into a philosophical debate that harkens back to the morally questionable choices he has made before and what he will inevitably do later on. Even though there was hardly any character development for Bliss in the first volume, this is the first time in which we do see fleshed out, allowing us to see a different side to her.
Planet of the Ogrons by Guy Adams is, without a doubt, the best story in this set and is very noteworthy for introducing some bold new elements that work brilliantly. Firstly, after many battles with the insane, multi-personality clashing, renegade Time Lord known as the Eleven in the Doom Coalition and Ravenous series, we are now introduced to the next incarnation after him known as the Twelve played, brilliantly by Julia McKenzie. The Twelve has a new lease on life, wanting to be a better person after having all of her previous incarnations in check, yet still having that dark malevolence despite now being a sweet little old lady. It’s fun hearing her personality clashes with the Eighth Doctor. Secondly, it delivers one of the most interesting Dalek variants in Doctor Who media in the Dalek Overseer, a sadistic, yet charismatic hybrid of many different species that has an air of Davros about him and is both feared and loathed by his comrades. Lastly, how this story deals with the Ogrons, their past history in the show’s classic era and the central Doctor Ogron (an Ogron/Time Lord hybrid voiced brilliantly by Jon Culshaw) is cleverly handled and makes one see the Ogrons in a completely different light.
While that was the best story in the set, the following story, In the Garden of Death (also written by Guy Adams), is probably the weakest. This sees the Doctor, Bliss, and the Twelve without their memories and stuck in a prison camp on a jungle-like planet. This story feels very slow and a bit frustrating since we’re waiting for the characters to inevitably regain their memories by the end, thus making the whole thing feeling a tad pointless. Then we reach the finale with Jonah by Timothy X Atack, which sees the Doctor commanding a submarine and in charge of an underwater mission, orchestrated by Cardinal Ollistra, to find an ancient powerful entity that the Daleks are also searching for. This works well as a tense story where you aren’t entirely sure of what’s coming next, and the excellent sound design adds to that uneasy feeling. Plus, there’s a real, fascinating Lovecraftian mood and feel to the way this story ultimately wrap up.
The second chapter of the Eighth Doctor’s audio adventures in the Time War is just as amazing as the first volume, brilliantly raising the stakes with each new story that sees characters being pushed to extremes to achieve victory and being put at odds with the Doctor’s own morality. Of course, Paul McGann’s just as great as ever, Bliss’ development allows Rakhee Thakrar to sink her teeth into some juicy material here, while Julia McKenzie is just a delight as the Twelve. This is an action-packed, intense set of stories that brilliantly builds upon what has come before, and justifies Big Finish’s decision to tackle the Time War in the first place.
DOCTOR WHO: THE EIGHTH DOCTOR – THE TIME WAR SERIES 2 / DIRECTOR: KEN BENTLEY / WRITERS: JONATHAN MORRIS, GUY ADAMS, TIMOTHY X ATTACK / STARRING: PAUL MCGANN, RAKHEE THAKRAR, JACQUELINE PEARCE, JULIA MCKENZIE / PUBLISHER: BIG FINISH / RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 30TH
