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Gallifrey #8
Gallifrey: Enemy Lines
Synopsis
Six brand new half-hour episodes across a three-disc set!
In the distant future, President Romanadvoratrelundar will do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her allies and friends…
In the distant past, President Romanadvoratrelundar will also do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her own life in the process…
Unfortunately for Romana, there is no easy option.
With the threat of impending war, and negotiations still ongoing, the Temporal Powers are growing restless. Every day, they find their future slipping away from them. Every decision they make proves critical. And no one can escape the fact that sacrifices have to be made…
Time is running out… and it’s running straight to Gallifrey.
Written By: David Llewellyn
Directed By: Scott Handcock
Cast
Lalla Ward (Romana), Louise Jameson (Leela), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Seán Carlsen (Narvin), Miles Richardson (Braxiatel), Celia Imrie (Livia), Tom Allen (Plutus), George Watkins (Gaal), Hannah Genesius (Trave), Eve Karpf (The Watchmaker), Nigel Fairs (Kalbez), Sean Biggerstaff (Moros). Others parts played by the cast
Six brand new half-hour episodes across a three-disc set!
In the distant future, President Romanadvoratrelundar will do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her allies and friends…
In the distant past, President Romanadvoratrelundar will also do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her own life in the process…
Unfortunately for Romana, there is no easy option.
With the threat of impending war, and negotiations still ongoing, the Temporal Powers are growing restless. Every day, they find their future slipping away from them. Every decision they make proves critical. And no one can escape the fact that sacrifices have to be made…
Time is running out… and it’s running straight to Gallifrey.
Written By: David Llewellyn
Directed By: Scott Handcock
Cast
Lalla Ward (Romana), Louise Jameson (Leela), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Seán Carlsen (Narvin), Miles Richardson (Braxiatel), Celia Imrie (Livia), Tom Allen (Plutus), George Watkins (Gaal), Hannah Genesius (Trave), Eve Karpf (The Watchmaker), Nigel Fairs (Kalbez), Sean Biggerstaff (Moros). Others parts played by the cast
Audiobook
First published June 30, 2016
42 people want to read
About the author
David Llewellyn
111 books33 followersDavid Llewellyn is a Welsh novelist and script writer. He grew up in Pontypool and graduated from Dartington College of Arts in 2000. His first novel, Eleven, was published by Seren Press in 2006. His second, Trace Memory, a spin-off from the BBC drama series Torchwood, was published in March 2008. Everything Is Sinister was published by Seren in May 2008. He has written two novels for the Doctor Who New Series Adventures: The Taking of Chelsea 426, featuring the Tenth Doctor, and Night of the Humans, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond.
In addition to writing novels, Llewellyn wrote the Bernice Summerfield audio play Paradise Frost and the Dark Shadows audio drama The Last Stop for Big Finish Productions.
Llewellyn lives in Cardiff.
In addition to writing novels, Llewellyn wrote the Bernice Summerfield audio play Paradise Frost and the Dark Shadows audio drama The Last Stop for Big Finish Productions.
Llewellyn lives in Cardiff.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 19, 2020
Narvin acting like Ace's half-exasperated, half-proud stepdad is everything I didn't know I needed.
I also just wanna take a moment to appreciate the music and production quality of this boxset, because it was INCREDIBLE. I've always wanted Gallifrey to have an epic Game of Thrones-esque soundtrack to match the quality of the writing and performances, but I've got to admit I've been won over by how very 'sci-fi' this new score is, especially with its echoes of Mass Effect and Blade Runner.
I also just wanna take a moment to appreciate the music and production quality of this boxset, because it was INCREDIBLE. I've always wanted Gallifrey to have an epic Game of Thrones-esque soundtrack to match the quality of the writing and performances, but I've got to admit I've been won over by how very 'sci-fi' this new score is, especially with its echoes of Mass Effect and Blade Runner.
March 7, 2024
Not the most satisfying wrap up for this “season” of Gallifrey, but it was interesting to get the “deaths” of Romana, Leela, and Ace. But knowing that they’d be back during the “Time War” really weaken the impact, and then having them return in this story just made me question why have this story anyway. So this was entertaining, but it still feels so futile and pointless.
May 23, 2022
I genuinely don't know what I just listened to in terms of plot but honestly loved it.
February 23, 2018
I enjoyed it but I found it hard to follow at times. And Brax's timeline still confuses the ever-loving shit out of me.
September 21, 2019
This three-hour story follows on directly from the open ending of the previous, rather weak, offering... by immediately retconning it out of existence. Which is rather easier to do in a story about time travel than it might be elsewhere.
That, however, is just in the first few minutes of the story. What follows is a return to form for the series, with the original characters returning and the plot once again resembling a political thriller more than an action adventure - although there are elements of the latter. Time travel is also a key element, enabling some events to occur out of sequence from the perspective of the main characters.
In fact, there's quite a lot going on here, using the unusually long running time to tell a complex story, with political skullduggery, assassinations, and time paradoxes all playing their part. What you don't get, and which might be implied by the cover, is anything to do with the Time War (beyond a few hints that it's on the horizon) or with Daleks - perhaps the strongest reference to anything in the new series is a throwaway line about the Sycorax. It may also be worth mentioning that this is primarily Romana and Leela's story, with Ace playing a relatively minor role, although she is key to one of the six 30-minute segments.
For me, neither of these things detracted from the story, which is far more reminiscent of the first couple of seasons than anything that's happened since. That's a good thing from my perspective, although it does mean that it's the kind of story you'll want to pay close attention to, given how much is happening, and it isn't one for those who want straight-up action with monsters. The story wraps up with a good ending that leaves no obvious loose ends, and, while there are plenty of references to earlier releases in the series, it's largely self-contained.
That, however, is just in the first few minutes of the story. What follows is a return to form for the series, with the original characters returning and the plot once again resembling a political thriller more than an action adventure - although there are elements of the latter. Time travel is also a key element, enabling some events to occur out of sequence from the perspective of the main characters.
In fact, there's quite a lot going on here, using the unusually long running time to tell a complex story, with political skullduggery, assassinations, and time paradoxes all playing their part. What you don't get, and which might be implied by the cover, is anything to do with the Time War (beyond a few hints that it's on the horizon) or with Daleks - perhaps the strongest reference to anything in the new series is a throwaway line about the Sycorax. It may also be worth mentioning that this is primarily Romana and Leela's story, with Ace playing a relatively minor role, although she is key to one of the six 30-minute segments.
For me, neither of these things detracted from the story, which is far more reminiscent of the first couple of seasons than anything that's happened since. That's a good thing from my perspective, although it does mean that it's the kind of story you'll want to pay close attention to, given how much is happening, and it isn't one for those who want straight-up action with monsters. The story wraps up with a good ending that leaves no obvious loose ends, and, while there are plenty of references to earlier releases in the series, it's largely self-contained.
August 30, 2024
So here we are at the end of the 'standard' Gallifrey audios before we're thrown into The Time War. Since I had listened up to here and previously listened to Gallifrey Time War 1, I decided to give this a go, meaning my next audio in this series will be Gallifrey Time War 2, which I'm excited about.
Braxiatel has saved Romana at the request of a future version of herself and now her next incarnation ceases to exist. Gallifrey is going through a complex time, Romana has relinquished her position as president and the temporal powers are at one another's throats. Someone has been playing the long game and their plans are coming to fruition. But something far more disturbing is hiding in the shadows and one by one Romana and Leela's friends are being taken out of the equation, it's up to them to put this madness to an end.
David Llewellyn has written a terrific script that's a wonderful character piece for Romana and Leela, they are very much the main characters of this story but it's nice to see Brax, Ace, and Narvin have a place as well. It's an intense 6-part political drama that gets incredibly timey-wimey, complex, and disturbing. The Watchmaker is such a creepy concept and character and I would love to see her come back because she was brilliant.
Overall: It's a brilliant story that does remove Intervention Earth from the timeline, but the consequences of it are very much present. 9/10
Braxiatel has saved Romana at the request of a future version of herself and now her next incarnation ceases to exist. Gallifrey is going through a complex time, Romana has relinquished her position as president and the temporal powers are at one another's throats. Someone has been playing the long game and their plans are coming to fruition. But something far more disturbing is hiding in the shadows and one by one Romana and Leela's friends are being taken out of the equation, it's up to them to put this madness to an end.
David Llewellyn has written a terrific script that's a wonderful character piece for Romana and Leela, they are very much the main characters of this story but it's nice to see Brax, Ace, and Narvin have a place as well. It's an intense 6-part political drama that gets incredibly timey-wimey, complex, and disturbing. The Watchmaker is such a creepy concept and character and I would love to see her come back because she was brilliant.
Overall: It's a brilliant story that does remove Intervention Earth from the timeline, but the consequences of it are very much present. 9/10
June 3, 2020
This series of Gallifrey picks up right after the cliffhanger ending of the last one. In series 8, Romana II, Leela, and Ace try to rewrite history to prevent the events depicted in series 7: Intervention Earth. As much as I enjoy Juliet Landau's Romana III, or Trey, I do so enjoy Lalla Ward as Romana II, and not having her in the last series was detrimental, in my opinion. I think that Romana II, Leela, and Ace make a great team; having Ace join the cast was a brilliant idea. I thought that the mysterious Watch Maker was a great "villain" and would love to see her return again in the future. All in all, not a bad series.
November 22, 2017
I always find stories set on Gallifrey to be both more complex and far less complex than they should be. This one is a bit confusing but still enjoyable and always good to hear Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward doing their thing.
September 3, 2021
I'm a gallifrey fan through and through. But I love that Leela and Romana really get a chance to have some real conversations here. Also Ace!! Especially the Ace/Leela interactions is everything I need.
September 30, 2020
Aaaaaaaaa
February 27, 2021
A very good time-wimey Gallifrey story that sort of explains what all happened with Third Romana.
July 16, 2024
One of the better installments in the series. The acting for Leela and Romana were very good, and I liked the alternate timeline angle.
March 2, 2018
Two years later and I remembered nothing about this! But I did enjoy it a lot this time. Even if the story was a bit pointless. Celia Imre was great to have as the new president! Lots of nice Leela and Romana moments, as well as Brax and Narvin and Ace. Still not quite up to the first two seasons but one of the best things they've done in awhile. Thank gods Trey is gone!
This was WONDERFUL! It was SO good to have Lalla, Louise, and Miles back! Intervention Earth was fun, but this actually felt like Gallifrey again! It's hard to give a big review without spoilers because there were SO many wonderful moments in this. I really liked the scenes with Romana and Leela, it was nice that their friendship had returned. And Brax's arrival was perfect. It was wonderful to have the continuing adventures of Ace and Narvin! There were some very sad and disturbing moments, some brilliant moments, and quite possibly the best ending ever. Definitely one I will be listening to many more times!!!
This was WONDERFUL! It was SO good to have Lalla, Louise, and Miles back! Intervention Earth was fun, but this actually felt like Gallifrey again! It's hard to give a big review without spoilers because there were SO many wonderful moments in this. I really liked the scenes with Romana and Leela, it was nice that their friendship had returned. And Brax's arrival was perfect. It was wonderful to have the continuing adventures of Ace and Narvin! There were some very sad and disturbing moments, some brilliant moments, and quite possibly the best ending ever. Definitely one I will be listening to many more times!!!
May 31, 2016
Intricate, multi-dimensional and cross-temporal story lines.
October 10, 2016
Very time-wimey. Loved this this next instalment in the Gallifrey series, and looking forward to what happens next.
July 26, 2020
In this adventure of Romana, Leela, Ace and Brax Gallifrey is under attack and they can't figure out who.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews