Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight

Big Finish: Monthly Range #29

by Robert Shearman, Paul McGann (Narrator), India Fisher (Narrator)

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring...

But something must be stirring. Something hidden in the shadows. Something which kills the servants of an old Edwardian mansion in the most brutal and macabre manner possible. Exactly on the chiming of the hour, every hour, as the grandfather clock ticks on towards midnight.

Trapped and afraid, the Doctor and Charley are forced to play detective to murders with no motive, where the victims don’t stay dead. Time is running out.

And Time itself might well be the killer...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Time Travel, Horror, Christmas

2 pages, Audio CD

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

Robert Shearman has worked as a writer for television, radio and the stage. He was appointed resident dramatist at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter and has received several international awards for his theatrical work, including the Sunday Times Playwriting Award, the World Drama Trust Award and the Guinness Award for Ingenuity in association with the Royal National Theatre. His plays have been regularly produced by Alan Ayckbourn, and on BBC Radio by Martin Jarvis. However, he is probably best known as a writer for Doctor Who, reintroducing the Daleks for its BAFTA winning first series, in an episode nominated for a Hugo Award.

His first collection of short stories, Tiny Deaths, was published by Comma Press in 2007. It won the World Fantasy Award for best collection, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize. One of the stories from it was selected by the National Library Board of Singapore as part of the annual Read! Singapore campaign. In 2008 his short story project for BBC7, The Chain Gang, won him a Sony Award, and he provided a second series for them in 2009.

He is now at work on his first novel.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite simply the best Doctor Who Christmas story ever written.

Arriving at an Edwardian house on Christmas Eve, the Eighth Doctor and Charley soon find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery.

This atmospheric play works so well on audio, the situation really evokes the classic Christie mysteries of the 1920's.
The fact that Dame Agatha was name checked despite the 1906 setting was another effective way to add an extra layer to the complex time loop.

McGann is as always great as the Doctor, but this story really gives Fisher's Charley a chance to shine - it feels like this TARDIS team has finally clicked.

This early Big Finish adventure certainly deserves all the plaudits that it receives, it cleverly manages to be an ideal jumping on point whilst advancing the arc of these run of stories featuring this pairing.
It's also become a fun festive tradition to revisit at this time of year.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"And you need me. Without me you would never tread upon the beaches of alien worlds or marvel at the eclipse of new suns, the birth of new stars. You have seen the universe, Charley ,and you have made a difference to it."- 8th Doctor

"I’ve been too methodical recently, I think. Setting coordinates and things, actually deciding where we want to go. I’ve been getting far too safe and predictable these last few incarnations. Do you know I once travelled for centuries without ever knowing where I’d materialize next?"- 8th Doctor

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. The Big Finish series has touched on this sort of closed-reality setting before, but the way it organically unfolds from a materialisation in an Edwardian larder is brilliantly atmospheric. We're thrown into a domestic below-the-stairs drama with a meek scullery maid, the chauffeur and lady's maid making time with each other, and so on. Then the scullery maid, Edith dies and her colleagues' reactions to her murder are callous to say the least. 'She's nothing,' is the refrain, 'she's nobody.' Things get stranger and stranger with the Doctor cast willy-nilly in the role of a Great Sleuth and Charley initially pegged as his assistant and later as the daughter of the house.

the atmosphere of subtle disorientation in what should be a cozy setting, an English manor on Christmas Eve, is completely absorbing. No one is quite what they should be and there are all those deaths on the hour, every hour. Lots of subtle signs of deep strangeness and meaty roles for the Doctor, Charley and a host of memorable side players.

This is one of the best Big Finish dramas so far and the gorgeous sound design with its effective use of restrained musical accents and occasional, telling sound effects adds to the sense of being there, of watching the action unfold in your head. Excellent stuff and I can see why some people consider the Eighth Doctor their favourite on the strength of material like this.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since i've listened to this, but the Chimes of Midnight is quite possibly one of the best big finish stories and this deserves all the praise it can get.

Huge TW for self-harm and suicide.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, scary and bizarre. A whodunit turned upside-down and around and injected with a big dose of Who.

The Doctor and Charley are greatly hampered in their effort to solve a murder mystery, not in the least by the victims who keep coming back to life. As the story progresses the atmosphere goes from bizarre to downright creepy. I wasn't wholly convinced by the "solution" to this story, but it really didn't hamper my enjoyment. A recommended listen.

[Emilija · Rating 5 out of 5]

2019 52 Book Challenge - 17) Set During A Holiday

This is one of my all time favourite Doctor Who novels. It was a locked room mystery and a time loop all rolled into one, and it made you think about your impact on other people. It was just very good.

I finished this book and wanted to listen to it again straight away. It was just so good.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally listened to this Big Finish Eighth Doctor Audio Play when it came out. I decided to re-listen to it over Christmas, and I'm glad I did - it is a very good story to listen to around Christmas.
The Chimes of Midnight features Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as his companion, Charlotte (Charley) Pollard. The play feels like Upstairs, Downstairs (the original from the 1970s featuring Jean Marsh as the Lady's Maid, Rose) crossed with Sapphire and Steel with a dash of a 1920s British Murder Mystery thrown in. The story takes place on Christmas Eve as well. It's one of the best conceived and realised audio plays that Big Finish have done. It's also full-cast audio drama, not an audiobook.
The Doctor and Charley land at what appears to be an abandoned Edwardian House. But soon they are pulled into the House in an earlier period: 1906. In 1906, the staff below stairs are busily getting ready for Christmas. The scullery maid, Edith, is murdered and the staff quickly assume that The Doctor, as a guest of his Lordship, is from Scotland Yard. Or maybe he's a famous amateur sleuth. And the servants think Edith's death was suicide - when it was clearly murder.
As the story develops - a death occurs every hour as the Grandfather Clock chimes; but at midnight the entire story loops around and resets. Edith is always the first victim, but other servants are murdered as the loop goes around and around again. The murders also always represent the particular servant's job and become more and more bizarre as the loop goes around and around.
But the top of the loop is always different, allowing the Doctor and Charley to gain more information about just what is going on - and to learn from it. The Doctor even gets so frightened by the paradox and time loop that he tries to leave - only to be caught in the trap again.
I won't reveal exactly what's happening, because I don't want to spoil it - but it's an excellent story, with a wonderful conclusion, and I recommend it. Also, the atmosphere really works. It's helpful to have listened to Charley's first story, Storm Warning prior to listening to Chimes of Midnight. Still, very highly recommended.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audio adventure sees the Doctor (Paul McGann) & his travelling companion Charley (India Fisher) arrive at an old Edwardian mansion where the servants are being murdered. As they attempt to solve who is behind the killings time starts running out-& faster than they think.
Writer Robert Shearman creates a good murder mystery which reminded me very much of the classic sci fi series Sapphire & Steel. Had the story been written for Joanna Lumley & David McCallum it would have made a very decent Sapphire & Steel adventure.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fantastic. One of the strongest stories of the 8th doctor.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pardon my language but what a fucking twist! This was absolutely brilliant! A perfect Christmas ghost story and also did something with a companion we wouldn't see until the revival. But this is the only one to do it in this smartest, cleverest way I didn't see it coming! Soooo good 👍 👌

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know, 3-stars? 4-stars? The bulk of this story was great; the time loop, the recurring deaths, the creepy characters with creepy catchphrases and the spiralling mystery. I really enjoyed all of that.

But the causality of the "paradox" not so much and the "paradox" itself really isn't a paradox by definition. I don't think I can say much more without spoiling, so I won't.

[ShamNoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the best 2 hours of audio I’ve ever listened to

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full cast audio adventure of the 8th Doctor.

One of those stories that superlatives are not enough for. The Doctor and his companion Charley arrive at an early 20th century house in time for Christmas. And then like an Agatha Christie someone dies now and then..

To give more away would ruin the plot, but all the other reviews of this must give some idea of how strong this is as a production. Would stand well with the rest of the Doctor Who universe and beyond.

Only thing that was annoying was "plump pudding" must have been mentioned anywhere between 50-100 times and I got sick of it, but this story is brilliant.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun Whodunit (aha!) with a time loop that makes the most out of the audio premise, Shearman is a great writer and this is a brilliant script that weaves the atmosphere superbly and really gets the most out of its narrative. The time loop allows for plenty of twists and turns, and there's some great pitch black humour that's used superbly here. Top-tier Who, really - audio or not - the best Big Finish understand that they're an audio drama first and foremost and revel in the format rather than trying to tell a novel or an episode of the show on script and this is no exception.

[elise barber-wixtrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

"everyone has a right to know if they're alive or dead."

"i will live, crushed in one eternal moment, as long as it means that i can say that i am fully alive."

"we are not alive. we should not pretend."

the chimes of midnight creeped me the hell out and made me sob and made me feel a million other things besides. i think i can genuinely say that this story is better than 90% of doctor who content. i think big finish is the only showrunner that has accurately/satisfyingly (??) dealt with the paradoxes that must follow when time is broken.

[Kate Sherrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better "closed loop in time" stories, with an added inside-out country house murder mystery thrown in for very good measure. A great Christmastime listen!

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s absolutely criminal that Paul McGann never played the Doctor on TV

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without my plum pudding!

[James Bojaciuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There is probably a smell of roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things all the time, for we are telling Winter Stories—Ghost Stories, or more shame for us—round the Christmas fire.”~Charles Dickens, “Telling Winter Stories.”

The greatest problem with reviewing Chimes of Midnight is that it’s impossible to talk about without spoiling it—not in the “I know the plot now” way, but in a way that materially reduces the first impact. It doesn’t hurt you to know Rocky loses. It hurts The Prestige to have its carefully constructed magic trick revealed beforehand. One is plot. The other is theme, construction, and design.

To reveal the workings of a magic trick is to ruin it.

But allow me to give you a context for enjoying Chimes of Midnight. A framework for Shearman’s story to slip inside.

We love our Victorian Christmases, so long as they aren’t too Victorian.

We will gladly take the wrapped gifts, the carolers who match our conception of just what carolers should be, the trees dressed just as we think trees should be dressed, the dinners and guests and party games. We may dispense of some dishes too wild for our processed tastes, and we might have passed from candles to fairy lights, but those traditions have survived unchanged.
Doctor Who Magazine comic preview for The Chimes of Midnight

But there is another tradition, dead in America and all but dead and dying in Britain, of the Christmas ghost story. References in old books are puzzling, to say the least.

When Henry James wrote, “The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child”…

We are left to wonder why Christmas Eve in an old house would be gruesome.

When M.R. James wrote he mainly produced his ghost stories “at long intervals…and mostly at the season of Christmas”…

We are left with the puzzle of why anyone but a Scrooge would be handing out horror for the holidays.

Even the American songbook gets into the act. Andy Williams tells us “scary ghost stories” are part of “the most wonderful time of the year.”

We are often unconvincingly told it is specifically and only a reference to A Christmas Carol, or The Holy Ghost (who, at any rate, isn’t scary in that sense).

All of that is patent nonsense. To the Victorians, and still to the Edwardians, Christmas was a time for ghost stories. The entire season was rich with goblins and poltergeists, as October is for us, but the season’s zenith was Christmas Eve. It’s more naturally suited to it than the last day of October. There are historical reasons October 31st was selected, but it carries no thematic weight. But the ghost story tradition benefited from being moored to Christmas Eve—

There is no reason you should stop being haunted on November first, unless your ghost is a very well scheduled ghost. There is an excellent and obvious reason you should stop being haunted on December twenty-fifth, plain as the writing on your calendar.

Late at night, the hearth warm but just starting to die down, family and guests would gather and tell stories. It was good form to tell a true story, or at least a “true” one made up of distant relations and friends of friends. Chestnuts would roast. The material world would be comfort, while the mental landscape would run to terror…

When the family gathered ‘round the fireplace on Christmas Eve, the stories could be terrifying—the horror had an expiration date; the tales could be gruesome—the gore washed away rather effortlessly with the coming sun; any panoply of fright could be presented without it sticking. Murder, violence, the hungry dead, spectral monsters—their magic couldn’t resist the “deeper magic” of Christmas Day.

This is, incidentally, what Philip Sandifer misses in his essay on Chimes of Midnight. Ignorant of the Victorian ghost story tradition, he thinks it an exceptionally mean-spirited story that’s lashing out against society, Christmas tale morals, and Doctor Who itself. He takes the horror at face-value, absent any notion of the genre and themes backing it, and only sees angry nihilism.

He is looking at Christmas, and Chimes of Midnight, the wrong way around. The story can be nasty because the nastiness is overwritten (literally, in this case) with the coming of Christmas Day—not because Shearman is being hateful. It can be brutal because the brutality is undone—not because Shearman thinks brutality is all there is. It can be grim, and ghastly, and ghostly because there are more powerful ghosts at work.

It is not a spoiler, in the sense that matters, to say that Christmas Day does in fact wash away Chimes of Midnight’s darkness. What Sandifer sees as pat and misleading is entirely the point. Shearman is aware of the traditions. He is aware of the themes. Christmas Day is as surface-level a solution in Chimes of Midnight as it is in A Christmas Carol. Because Christmas Day, for Shearman and Dickens alike, is a symbol.

The Day’s victory is pat because it’s a borrowed victory, from long ago; it is also pat because it a symbol for kindness, and peace, and charity. The resolution is not different, in kind, from A Christmas Carol. The abused person is exalted; an unnecessary, future death is prevented by kindness today. Edith is not abused as a commentary on the period, to be the rot under the traditions. Edith is abused in the same way Bob Cratchet is–the same point, without the immediate social realism. Kindness, mercy, and charity change lives for the better; if you do not extend these things to others, you’re no better than a parody of life.

Chimes of Midnight, then, should not be understood as part of the cynical, modern “anti-Christmas story” trend in film and prose (“anti” here signifying “a Christmas story that runs opposite of traditional Christmas stories, usually invoking a large degree of darkness, doubt, and brutality”).

It is instead a resumption of an older, purer tradition that runs through the whole Victorian ghost story genre in text or subtext—Christmas Day, if only you can reach it, overrules all the misery and terror Christmas Eve can offer. Christmas Day overrules all misery and terror.

There are two ways to make your audience cry.

The first is the easiest. Manipulate their emotions. Present them with something sad. It’s cynical; a desperate attempt to invest the audience by abusing them. Consider Joss Whedon’s penchant for killing developed characters when it’s necessary to retain the audience’s interest, or for an easy way of moving the plot forward. It’s cheap.

The second is the hardest. Present your audience with a situation, not necessarily a sad one, and let the emotional depth and the situation’s reality settle upon them. I don’t think I know a single person who isn’t made at least misty at the final episode’s extended fade-out. It’s far from sad. It’s triumphant. And yet…

When they visited, recently, I had my family listen to Chimes of Midnight.My father stared off into the middle distance, visibly moved. My mother cried. It was earned emotion. Something very few stories do well.

If we may briefly turn to the episode itself:

Personally, I rank Chimes of Midnight as not merely one of the greatest Big Finish episodes to date, but one of the five best Doctor Who stories yet made. I rank it perhaps second or third. But more than that, for something so self-consciously reviving a dead genre and tradition, Chimes of Midnight outdoes itself as one of the finest Victorian ghost stories. It outpaces the majority of the genre in weight, meaning, characterization, and style. Only the great handful still retain their holly crown.

Chimes of Midnight is a story you owe yourself to pick up.

Download it tonight, and listen to it this Christmas Eve.

And remember you are safe from the dead, and the terrible, because of the day that’s swiftly coming.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd listen
I got a copy to listen to over xmas and then forgot about it. It is a nice story with a lovely ending. The importance of companions. How you can effect people deeply without even realising it. While all hidden away in a little spooky story of cliches and stereotypes. The importance of people we'd quickly dismiss as nothing.

First listen
This was a much improved version of Shearman's The Holy Terror. While it was another setting where the people weren't real and were caricatures it was done better. It was much less ridiculous and much more spooky. It reminded me a lot of a Saphire and Steel type adventure. Oddly though Charlie seemed to have been written so different to the other adventure I'd heard her in that it took me till almost the third section that I realised she was the same companion. I continue to like the Eighth doctor more and more as I listen to more of his audios.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite tickled to find one of my fav new (to me) horror authors has also written for Dr. Who! And this one has been voted Best Ever Dr. Who Audio Drama. Loving it so far!

Now that I've heard the whole show, I have to say it's one of the best Dr Who stories I've come across. Right to my tastes. Works perfectly as a audio drama. Very enjoyable. I hope to find more as good as this one in my new explorations of these Big Finish productions of Doctor Who.

I'm liking the 8th Doctor but his personality hasn't had much room to quite shine yet. But this is only the 2nd audio drama I've heard him in, after the TV film. I'm already starting to reconsider my cherry-picking only the best of the 8th Dr. and considering instead that I should hear them all in order... Hmmm.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tight complex tale set entirely on one floor of an Edwardian house. I had some difficulty not knowing the back story of the 8th Doctor's companion Charley who seems non-contemporary and to have been rescued from an airship disaster in the first half of the 20th Century (I think we are supposed to know this from other episodes)

It works well atmospherically and with the five servant characters (types we know well), and the ideas 'make sense' even though the 'resolution' seems somewhat slight and unsatisfying. The humour, especially the assertions that a particular death was obviously suicide, was particularly fine, yet horrific too.

[Taksya · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'ottavo Dottore e Charley Pollard, imprigionati in un loop temporale, devono lottare contro un nemico misterioso, mentre il paradosso creato della mancata morte di Charley (raccontata il Doctor Who: Storm Warning) inizia a farsi sentire.
Rispetto alla storia precedente (Doctor Who: Invaders from Mars), questa è un piacere da seguire.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor and Charlie land in a kitchen where they discover a dead body. Then things get complicated with time resetting itself. This is a very spooky and atmospheric murder mystery. The listener is constantly working out what is going to happen next, and you find out a bit more about Charlie. This is the CD that has won all the awards, and they are deserved. It is a good stand alone adventure that could be a good starting point for listeners. A very good listen.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an audio classic. I really had to listen to so much more of the Eighth Doctor and realize the connections and references to other things to really appreciate it. A proper British Spooky Christmas Mystery that also manages to be quite funny. The story also goes back to that recurring theme in Doctor Who of, "I've never met anybody who wasn't important."

[Paweł Dembowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 2002 Doctor Who audio Christmas Special, featuring the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard, is just as good and as creepy (and as full of time paradoxes) as the best Moffat episodes. One of the best I've heard so far from Big Finish Productions.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing like a Doctor Who horror tale to really make me think of Christmas! For a long time The Christmas Doctor Who episode/special has been something I look forward to every year – shame they have been happening less and less now. While not marketed as a special in any way, and only vaguely being Christmas related, I’d rank this with any of the big TV events for it’s quality.

Doctor Who The Chimes of Midnight is an audio drama that I’ve previously listened to, but it was honestly something like a decade ago when I used to listen to them while walking to work each day and my brain can only retain so much. I roughly remember the plot, but knew that a re-listen was in the cards when it came time to doing reviews. looking at my notes, I think I dropped off somewhere around Zagreus when I first plowed through a bunch of these, so I’m not too far from completely new territory. I remembered liking this chapter, as I do with any of the Eighth Doctor stories, and not a whole lot else. Let’s see if my hazy opinion still holds up.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring… But something must be stirring. Something hidden in the shadows. Something which kills the servants of an old Edwardian mansion in the most brutal and macabre manner possible. Exactly on the chiming of the hour, every hour, as the grandfather clock ticks on towards midnight. Trapped and afraid, the Doctor and Charley are forced to play detective to murders with no motive, where the victims don’t stay dead. Time is running out. And time itself might well be the killer…"- Publisher’s description

This story continues the theme of Charley being destined to die in the R101 airship crash, but by not being dead, keeps creating weird paradoxes and time disruptions wherever she goes. While I don’t feel the exact explanation for the emergence of the villain of this episode was properly explained, what we do get is understandable and makes sense with some minor hand-waiving. It seems that, much like the Stone Tape Theory, time can do weird things when something big or traumatic happens in a place. In this case, an old house gains sentience due to a suicide only to be brought to supervillain levels simply because the paradox of a dead person not being dead anymore sets foot into said house. In many ways it reminds me of some of the stuff that occasionally happened in Moffatt Doctor Who where one would just have sit back and accept it.

The biggest highlight of this serial, for me, was something surprising this time around – the sound design. Here it was pretty awesome – filled with moody music that has one foot in Christmas cheer, and the other in dreary sadness. Moreso than some previous chapters in the Big Finish “Main Line”, these Eighth Doctor Adventures (EDA’s to borrow a term fans use from the book line) feel more like TV episodes than others. Some episodes have small issues like weird echoes, zany accents, or weird mistakes, but this is a big jump in quality, in my honest opinion of course.

These EDAs are always great – I’ve listened to a few more past this point in the past, and I truly loved what I consumed. Having no TV canon to go off of, or having the freedom to honestly do whatever they want makes them more free and ambitious in many ways. I think my only real problem with the story was addressed above – I honestly would have referred a straight mystery story over a high concept villain that is hard to pull off in audio form. I could see some folks may not understand what is happening if they are passive listeners. That said, I still loved it, and can’t wait to see where this storyline eventually goes and hope I get a chance to actually keep going this time!

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part1
チャーリーの本来の目的地である1930年のシンガポールを目指したつもりが、真っ暗闇の中に到着してしまった2人。
目を凝らしても何も見えず、音もしない。どうやらクリスマスの準備中のキッチンにいるらしいとわかるが、奇妙なことに誰の姿も見えない。しかも暖炉の炎がまるで凍りついたように止まっていることに気がつく。ドクターは試しにクラッカーを鳴らしてみるが、瞬時に元に戻ってしまう。ところがチャーリーの耳に歌声がきこえてき、チャーリーはイーデス・トンプソンというメイドと対峙する。彼女は自分がもうすぐ死ぬのだと言って消えていまう。しかし、イーデスの姿はドクターには見えていなかった。ドクターは謎は謎のままにしてチャーリーと共にターディスで去ろうとするが。その時、12時をつげる時計のチャイムが鳴り始め、悲鳴がきこえる。

Part2
ドクターとチャーリーはメイドのイーデスがキッチンの流し台で溺れ死んでいるのを発見する。現れた屋敷の人々はドクターとチャーリーのことをスコットランドヤードからきた刑事とその姪として認識しており捜査にも協力的だ。そのことに困惑するドクター。とりあえず与えられた役割通りイーデスの殺人事件の捜査をはじめる。ドクターは屋敷の執事ミスター・ショウネシーと話、チャーリーはミセス・バデリーと事件について話をする。ミセス・バデリーはクリスマスのために作ったプラム・プディングに最大の関心があり、チャーリーがプディングを食べるのを断るとひどく怒り出す。ドクターは次に料理人のフェデリックと話をする。フェデリックはドクターを難事件を名推理で解決する有名人として、よく知っているという。ミセス・バデリーから話をきくためにプディングを食べるチャーリー。するとプディングが大好きとメイドと話していた幼い自分のイメージが被さり動揺する。チャーリーは次に奥方付きメイドのメアリーと話す。しかし、チャーリーはイーデスの声をきいた気がし、暗闇の中に1人で佇んでいる自分に気がつく。するとイーデスが現れ、自分のことを思い出して欲しいと。死ぬのに疲れたので早く犯人を見つけて欲しいと頼まれる。さらにエドワード・ガルフが生きているといって消える。すると、時計のチャイムが鳴り響き、悲鳴が聞こえたかと思うと、ミセス・バドリーがプティングを喉に詰まらされた状態で流し台の中に沈められているのを発見される。チャーリーはドクターにイーデスからきいたことを話す。ドクターは実際の時間を知るために屋敷の時計を探す。ミスター・ショウネシーに時計を借りたいと頼むが断られ、上の階にある時計を見に行こうとすると銃を突きつけられる。

Part3
11:20から12:00に向けて時計が加速し出し、ドクターは殺人を避けるため、全員を集めるが皆仕事があると去ってしまい、時計のチャイムが鳴り悲鳴がきこえる。するとイーデスが再び床に倒れて死んでいる。ミセス・バドリーが前回と同様他の家人と共に駆けつける。タイムループの中にいるようではあるが、微妙に事態が変わっている。それは何者かが意図的にドクターにヒントを与えようとしているようであり、妨害しているようでもある。ドクターはフレデリックに車を運転して欲しいと頼むが、フレデリックもメアリーも玄関の扉を開けることは許されていないという。ドクターが扉を開けようとするとメアリーとフレデリックは与えられた役割を果たせないならドクターを殺さないといけないといいだす。その頃、チャーリーはミセス・バドリーにプディングを食べるよう詰め寄られていた。プディングを食べたチャーリーは目眩に襲われる。するとチャイムが鳴って悲鳴があがり、今度はフレデリックが死んでいる。チャーリーはイーデスに思い出せと責められるが思い出せない。酷く動揺しているチャーリーに不安を感じたドクターは、与えられた役割を果たす気はないとミスター・ショウネシーと直談判し、自分の推理を話す。すると、ショウネシーとメアリーとミスタ・バドリーがドクターを殺しにくる。チャーリーもあらわれ、チャーリーもドクターを殺そうとする。そして時計のチャイムが鳴り、悲鳴が聞こえるが、殺人は起こらなかった。チャーリーが我にかえると、ドクターは犯人はこの“家”だといい、チャーリーをつれて、すぐにターディスで去る。しかし、時計が時間を刻む音がターディス内に響きわたる。

Part4
タイムループの中に完全に閉じ込められたドクターとチャーリー。しかし、チャイムが鳴ったとき、エドワード・グロウがドクターの前に現れる。ドクターは自分がパラドックスとタイムループを生み出す要因になったことを聞かされる。その間に、チャーリーはイーデスから真実を聞かされる。イーデスの正体はチャーリー父親に仕えていた使用人だった。誰にも顧みられないなか、幼いチャーリーが自分の名前を覚えてくれて、微笑みかけてくれたことが唯一、イーデスに起こった幸せなことだった。イーデスは1930年の11月、飛行船が墜落し、チャーリーが死亡したニュースをきく。屋敷は悲しみにつつまれ、イーデスはクリスマスイブになろうという12:00に自殺した。しかし、チャーリーが生きて現れたため、なぜ死んだのかわからなくなってしまったという。話をきいたチャーリーに墜落した飛行船の中にいて炎に包まれ死んだ記憶が生々しく蘇る。イーデスはチャーリーが死んでくれれば自分ももう死に続けなくていいという。再びチャイムが鳴り出す。ドクターはエドワード・グロウにパラドックスの原因となった自分を殺すよう命じる。


感想
久しぶりにドクターとチャーリー、2人のお話をしっかりきけたという印象。ドクターがチャーリーと旅をすることについてどう感じているかよくわかった。チャーリー抜きではどれほど虚しい旅になっているかを語る時のドクターはちょっと切ない。ドクターと一緒だったおかげで飛行船の墜落に巻き込まれずにすんだチャーリーだったけれども、全てが解決したにも関わらず、チャーリーに死んだ記憶が残っているのが怖い。ドクターは後から説明すると言っていたけれど、どうなるのか気になるところ。

[Reggie A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best episodes of Eight’s entire run, and it’s extremely obvious as to why it’s a fan favorite. The writing is tight, the mystery is very intriguing, and the ending holds up to its premise.

The repetitive nature of the dialogue, and the specific lines being repeated adds a creepy undertone to the listening experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I love stories like these; the ones that revel in their own cyclicality.

The third act was perfectly timed; Shearman understood the necessity of dragging out the mystery as long as possible and then wrapping it quickly once the antagonist was revealed.

The only thing I didn’t love about this story was the villain explaining their motives. Personally I don’t think we needed them to lay it all out for us when the mechanics of the dialogue via the other characters made it clear what was going on. The sinking dread as you piece it together was so perfect, I didn’t need to villain to say a word.

THAT SAID: I love this type of antagonistic force and I DO think conceptually it worked so so well in this instance. It’s because of how clear and effective it was that I wish it wasn’t spelled out for me.

I’m critiquing because I can’t think of anything nice to say. It’s all nice. This episode is awesome and has earned its laurels. It’s as good as advertised. Absolutely give it a listen, but listen to Storm Warning before you do.

[AJ Foiret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is one of the most well known Big Finish audio books and is widely regarded as one of the best. And for good reason, this is one of the most incredible audio plays I've ever heard. The sound design on this is absolutely phenomenal. The script outstanding.

It loses pace and suspense as the story reaches its conclusion but that doesn't bother me too much. If you're listening in one sitting it provides a welcome moment of reduced intensity and my mind was still utterly blown anyway. Can't wait to listen to it again.

This story is one of the most well known Big Finish audio books and is widely regarded as one of the best. And for good reason, this is one of the most incredible audio plays I've ever heard. The sound design on this is absolutely phenomenal. The script outstanding.

Can't wait to listen to it again.

This story is one of the most well known Big Finish audio books and is widely regarded as one of the best. And for good reason, this is one of the most incredible audio plays I've ever heard!

Can't wait to listen to it again.

Can't wait to listen to it again.

Can't wait to listen to it again.