Doctor Who review: The Eighth Doctor: Time War – Volume Three

The Eighth Doctor faces four more ordeals in the Time War with his friend Bliss, in the third volume of his ongoing audio series!

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The Eighth Doctor and Bliss continue to survive the dark days of the Time War, in the latest volume of the Doctor Who series exploring the conflict!

It’s been over a year since the previous volume of The Eighth Doctor: Time War was released. So far, the first two volumes of the Doctor Who audio series had proved to be successful, which is in some ways quite surprising.

It’s not that Big Finish hasn’t found plenty of success with the Time War setting already. They gave us a number of adventures with the War Doctor’s own series before John Hurt sadly passed away. We’ve also had the war explored from perspectives other than the Doctor’s, specifically in Gallifrey: Time War and The War Master.

But the Eighth Doctor described himself as someone who was “not part of the war”. While the Time War began during his time, he didn’t take part in any battles. So how do you explore a series set during the Time War with his Doctor?

As it turns out, pretty well. The first volume had him caught up in an attack without warning, and so the box set explored him both looking after refugees and how he was a conscientious objector. It was both an interesting glimpse of the war and a fascinating character study, too.

The second volume gave us more of a diverse mix of stories, ranging from finding himself in prison to working on a submarine. This last story, Jonah, leaned a little too closely towards him taking part in the Time War directly. Would the third volume risk doing the same? Or would it find new ways of exploring a Doctor who refused to fight in the universe’s biggest conflict?

Let’s find out!

State of Bliss explores the history of the Eighth Doctor’s current companion…or should that be histories? (Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions. Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

State of Bliss

The opening episode of Time War 3 kicks things off nicely. As the title implies, State of Bliss is heavily focused on the Eighth Doctor’s companion, as her history is explored. As her many histories are explored, in fact.

When Bliss was initially introduced in Time War 1, we didn’t have much of a chance to get to know her. While she was a strong character, the box set was heavily focused on several strong characters, and so we didn’t get to find out much about her.

Since then, however, we’ve had deeper explorations of her character. The opening episode of Time War 2, The Lords of Terror, gave us an interesting glimpse of both her home world and her family history. Interestingly, it’s not just in the Time War series that her history’s been explored – in the chronologically earlier series Ravenous 3, we met a version of Bliss pre-Time War, before her entire timeline had been affected by the conflict.

It’s because of Bliss’s extremely complicated history that leads the Doctor to exploring that. For the first half hour of State of Bliss, we’re introduced to many different versions of Bliss’s life. In some ways, it almost reminds me of The Natural History of Fear – a story where both characters and entire histories are changing on a whim. It’s an intriguing first half that gives us perhaps the best exploration of Bliss yet.

The second half is where the answers are given. It’s good, but it’s not quite as strong as the intrigue and the personal focus given in the first half. But the answers are still satisfying, particularly as they shed new light on the Eighth Doctor’s current companion. Altogether, this is an episode that gets the third volume of Time War off to a strong start.

The Time War might be far off from the Vale of Iptheus, but that hasn’t stopped its inhabitants from being affected in a horrific way.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

The Famished Lands

Lisa McMullin’s story for the Eighth Doctor and Bliss gives us a very different look at the Time War. For one thing, The Famished Lands explores a world that’s extremely far from the front lines. In fact, many of the inhabitants are completely unaware of the difference between a Dalek and a Time Lord. For another, it shows that, just because this doesn’t explore a world caught in the middle of a huge battle, that doesn’t mean it’s not badly affected by the Time War, even when it’s indirectly.

There’s an interesting story that explores what happens when a planet suddenly finds itself in a desperate situation. When it’s facing death on a horrific scale, and there is no way to avoid the inevitable. When facing such a harsh reality, is an easy lie actually better than a harsh reality?

While the main villains of the piece aren’t completely sympathetic, you do understand why they do what they do. Of course, the Eighth Doctor still sees things in broadly black and white terms, which is where a lot of the drama of Time War comes from. While he’ll be more pragmatic in his next incarnation, right now, he’s still fiercely moral, and The Famished Lands is a great example of exploring that sense of morality in a difficult time.

The Famished Lands is the most unusual glimpse we’ve had of the Time War yet, in any medium. It also shows exactly how much variety we can get from this key part of the mythology. Another great episode.

The Doctor, Bliss and Tamasan look for someone who should not exist…

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Fugitive in Time

The Eighth Doctor and Bliss find themselves working reluctantly with Major Tamasan in Fugitive in Time. They’re looking for someone who shouldn’t exist on a medieval world. But they’re not the only ones interested in the mysterious Shonnath, as the Daleks are looking for her too…

Roland Moore is very quickly becoming one of my favorite writers at Big Finish. Just last month, he gave us the excellent Memories of a Tyrant, probably the best release in the monthly range this year so far. He also wrote The Night Witches, an extremely strong historical for The Early Adventures range. So I had high hopes for Fugitive in Time.

It didn’t disappoint. While the surface plot focuses on a device that the Time Lords and the Daleks are interested in having, the real focus on the story here is Shonnath. The last survivor of her race, she feels a lot of anger and rage towards the race that wiped her species out. A race so ruthless that they erased Shonnath’s people from time itself. And that’s a problem for the Doctor and Tamasan, considering that it was their species that were responsible…

One element that really stands out is how this story reminds us just how terrible the Time Lords themselves can be. Fugitive in Time is really keen to explore their darker side and reminds us just how ruthless they can be.

Having characters like the Doctor and Major Tamasan in such a story is a brilliant move. The Doctor hates what his own people have done and always wants to find a better way. But he’s the exception of their race. Major Tamasan is a clear example of how many of them – particularly the soldiers – actually think. So it’s interesting to hear this conflict between these two very different characters, and how they react to the situation that they find themselves in. And, of course, how others react to them.

Fugitive in Time is an effective exploration of the darker side of the Time Lords, while also telling an intriguing story. An excellent story that leads very nicely to the final episode…

The Doctor’s distorted future self returns in The War Valeyard. But is he the same man he once knew…?

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

The War Valeyard

Out of all the episodes in this box set, The War Valeyard definitely has the biggest hook. The unexpected return of the Doctor’s future and darker self. Looking noticeably older. And for some reason, wearing Eight’s clothes. How has he come back? And is he really the same Valeyard that we know?

There was a big risk with exploring the idea of a “War Valeyard”. We’ve had “the War Doctor” and “the War Master”, but both of those were names given to distinct incarnations of those characters. The War Valeyard in this story is played by the same actor who played the original Valeyard, Michael Jayston. So what makes the War Valeyard so different?

That’s the question that drives this story. It’s established very early on that this isn’t the Valeyard that we’re used to. Without giving too much away, the Doctor’s dark future self has changed in a big way. And unsurprisingly, the Eighth Doctor wants to find out how and why.

A different Valeyard?

Michael Jayston’s performance in this episode is absolutely brilliant. It’s a radically different take on the character, but he makes it work beautifully. Unsurprisingly, there are interesting parallels and foreshadowing of the War Doctor with his character. He doesn’t follow the War Doctor’s journey – in fact, it’s almost the exact opposite – but that’s what makes him such an intriguing character.

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Earlier this week, we wrote about how the Valeyard feels like a personal enemy for the Sixth Doctor. And because of the role the Valeyard plays in this story, that surprisingly still feels true.

There’s also an excellent twist revealed towards the end that will surprise you. Nothing is quite what it seems in this story, and the twist is so bold, that you could only pull it off at this point in the series, when we’re deep into the exploration of the Time War and still have one box set left to go. It also makes for a good cliffhanger ending that leaves you wanting to find out what happens next in the fourth (and final?) volume of the series.

Overall, the third volume of Time War has been an extremely strong one. It gives us four extremely strong episodes that explore the Time War setting, but avoids making the Eighth Doctor a part of it. And that’s extremely tricky to do, especially when each of these stories are so different and so fresh. The War Valeyard is currently my favorite, but each of these episodes are fantastic listens. Another easy box set to recommend.

Have you listened to or will you be listening to Time War: Volume Three? Have you listened to the previous two volumes? Do you think the Eighth Doctor works in a Time War setting? Let us know in the comments below.