Doctor Who: Frozen Time

Big Finish: Monthly Range #98

by Nicholas Briggs (Author/Narrator)

In 1929, Lord Barset's expedition to the Antarctic is lost without trace. Or so it seems…

Nearly a century later, his grandson funds a much-publicized return to the icy wastes. His mission: to discover what happened to the original expedition. But what he finds instead is an enigma – a battered London police box frozen in ice millennia old.

But something else lies in wait in this awful place, something from an era before humankind set foot on the continent's cold soil. A menace frozen in time.

Until now.

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

Audio CD

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Nicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs. Some of Briggs' earliest Doctor Who-related work was as host of The Myth Makers, a series of made-for-video documentaries produced in the 1980s and 1990s by Reeltime Pictures in which Briggs interviews many of the actors and writers involved in the series. When Reeltime expanded into producing original dramas, Briggs wrote some stories and acted in others, beginning with War Time, the first unofficial Doctor Who spin-off, and Myth Runner, a parody of Blade Runner showcasing bloopers from the Myth Makers series built around a loose storyline featuring Briggs as a down on his luck private detective in the near future.

He wrote and appeared in several made-for-video dramas by BBV, including the third of the Stranger stories, In Memory Alone opposite former Doctor Who stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He also wrote and appeared in a non-Stranger BBV production called The Airzone Solution (1993) and directed a documentary film, Stranger than Fiction (1994).

Briggs has directed many of the Big Finish Productions audio plays, and has provided Dalek, Cybermen, and other alien voices in several of those as well. He has also written and directed the Dalek Empire and Cyberman audio plays for Big Finish. In 2006, Briggs took over from Gary Russell as executive producer of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio range.

Briggs co-wrote a Doctor Who book called The Dalek Survival Guide.

Since Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, Briggs has provided the voices for several monsters, most notably the Daleks and the Cybermen. Briggs also voiced the Nestene Consciousness in the 2005 episode "Rose", and recorded a voice for the Jagrafess in the 2005 episode "The Long Game"; however, this was not used in the final episode because it was too similar to the voice of the Nestene Consciousness. He also provided the voices for the Judoon in both the 2007 and 2008 series. On 9 July 2009, Briggs made his first appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood in the serial Children of Earth, playing Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Rick Yates.

Reviews

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit, this kind of started off slow for me but once the Doctor showed up, it picked up a lot quicker. I liked how the story started in the middle of the Doctor's adventure, but from the perspective of the
people exploring Antarctica. I thought that Genevieve would have made a good permanent companion for the Doctor, but I also like these one-off characters that fill that competent companion role for just one story too. The whole thing felt paced really well and the Ice Warriors were used wonderfully. If it wasn't for the slow start, this would have been a full five stars. As it is, it's 4.5. Still very recommended.

[Jonathan Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A seventh Doctor adventure . A A rich man goes hunting to solve the mystery of the fate of his fathers expedition and runs into The Doctor who is solo at the time and aliens that look in the form of reptiles who intend to conquer the Earth but first intend to make the Earth suitable themselves .Story is fun scary and adventuresome

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, I get it. It's a third rate Second Doctor plot with the Seventh Doctor stuck in.
But boy do they write the Seventh Doctor well here! Sylv is delightful and handled with a light touch in a way that Big Finish doesn't always get right.
I'm a Seventh Doctor guy. If you're a Seventh Doctor guy, this is fun.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 7th Doctor faces the Ice Warriors. This is very similar to the second Doctor’s adventures with the Ice Warriors. The main difference is that this is another attempt at a companionless episode. Dr Who stories always work better with companions.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

For whatever reason, I found this very engaging right from the start. I suppose it was predictable that the Ice Warriors would be involved. It was interesting having The Doctor trying to remember who he is.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another case of great opening half with a creepy atmosphere that falls apart once the threat shows up. I was also shocked when I realized this was an ice warrior story, don't know why since it's got an icy them.

[Tom Scharf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story not terribly original however executed very well, with great voice acting and production as always from Big Finish.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some decent lines. Started out a bit slow but improved near the end.

[Melenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF @ 13% - The audio is rough.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gets off to a bad start when you realise that part of the basic set up is that the Doctor can survive more or less unharmed frozen in a block of ice for several million years. To be honest, this is a bit silly, and the story doesn't quite recover from it.

It's not that the story is entirely without merit, and there's some decent interplay between the Antarctic explorers that the Doctor encounters. (This is another companion-less story, presumably set shortly before the 1996 TV movie). There's also some tension as to exactly which of two classic alien monsters it is they've discovered - something that wouldn't work on TV, since you'd be able to see them - although I suspect most listeners will have worked it out long before the reveal.

It's the second half that really lets it down, consisting largely of running about on the snow, and an ending that is somehow both predictable and not terribly believable. There's enough good material elsewhere to earn it three stars instead of two, but, overall, I'd have to call it "average".

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An expedition to the Antarctic to recover the remains of a lost one encounters something entirely different when they find the Seventh Doctor frozen in the ice. He's been trapped there for millions of years, but he was not frozen alone....

I'm not going to get into spoilers, but suffice to say the first two episodes pack some solid punches and twists to make for a highly entertaining story. Sadly the second half sags a bit, as the third episode is largely stalling to get a few pieces into place and the fourth's resolution isn't very surprising.

All in all, a worthwhile well executed adventure, just something that might have been done better in a shorter period of time.

[Nicholas Whyte]

Frozen Time revives the Ice Warriors for the first time in ages, and also the Seventh Doctor who appears to have been frozen in with a consignment of criminal Martians only to be unfrozen in a somewhat amnesiac state. The idea of the amnesiac Doctor is just as annoying when it is Seven compared to Eight, and the plot is really a retread of the original Ice Warriors story, but the cast is stellar - Bond girl Maryam d'Abo plays a French scientist, Nicholas Calf plays Lord Barset, doomed and deluded leader of the expedition. Some great scenes here, and generally good stuff.

[Leela42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio adventure with the seventh Doctor. A good choice for the newcomer but artfully sprinkled with little things for the longtime fan too. At first I felt whiplashed by the rather clever characters alternating with the rather dense ones, but it was nice to encounter a story with characters who have reasons behind their actions other than 'the author makes me do it'. The plot itself is a standard one.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1929, Lord Barset's expedition to the Antarctic is lost without trace. Nearly a century later, his grandson returns to discover what happened to the original expedition. Instead he finds a police box frozen in ice millennia old. But something else lies here from an era before humankind, frozen in time.

[Debra Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expedition to the Arctic to discover what happened to a 1920's expedition discovers the Tardis in the frozen tundra. When they melt the ice and the Doctor, they discover lizard creatures. The doctor tries to get the expedition to leave before the Ice Warriors come alive but unfortunately the are stuck. Can they stop the Ice Warriors from taking over the planet.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first half of this very much. It's part HP Lovecraft part original ice warriors. The scientists are a fun mix and it's nice to have a woman in an artic base (even if sad it is only one). I must admit it did become a bit too action driven in the 2nd half but I still found it a good adventure. It was different and quite nice to have McCoy on his own and quite befuddled.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very well done. The writing even fooled me at one point. I really enjoyed listening to this.

Angela

[Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Companionless amnesiac thawed-out Seven encounters the Ice Warriorssssssssss...