Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor - Time War, Volume 1

The Eighth Doctor: Time War #1

by John Dorney, Matt Fitton, Paul McGann (Narrator)

The Eighth Doctor battles for survival in the early stages of the Time War:

1. The Starship of Theseus by John Dorney

The Doctor and his companion, Sheena, land the TARDIS on the glamorous luxury space-liner Theseus just as it’s about to leave the Jupiter space-port. An opportunity for a holiday presents itself – and it’s one they’re very glad to take.

But when a disturbance catches their attention, they realise sinister events are taking place on board. Passengers are vanishing on every trip. And unless they’re careful they may be next.

Can the Doctor and Emma solve the mystery? Or is there something else they should be worrying about?

2. Echoes of War by Matt Fitton

Colliding with the full force of the Time War, the Doctor crash-lands on a jungle world with a ragtag band of refugees.

To stay alive, they must cross a landscape where time itself is corrupted. A forest which cycles through growth and decay, where sounds of battle are never far away, and where strange creatures lurk all around.

Luckily, the Doctor has friends: not only plucky scientist Bliss, but another, much more unlikely ally. Its name is ‘Dal’…

3. The Conscript by Matt Fitton

Cardinal Ollistra has a new tactic to persuade the Doctor to join his people’s fight. With his friends locked away, he has been conscripted alongside fellow Gallifreyans to train for the front lines of battle.

Commandant Harlan has a reputation – his camp’s regime is harsh. He believes the Time Lords must adapt to win this war, but the Doctor is not easily intimidated.

Can there be any place for dissent when the Time War looms so close?

4. One Life by John Dorney

As the full force of the Time War crashes down around the Doctor and his friends, a desperate battle for survival ensues.

But not everyone is playing the same game. Ollistra is after a weapon that could end the war in a stroke and she’ll sacrifice anyone or anything to take it back to Gallifrey. Even the Doctor.

Surrounded by Daleks, and on a tortured planet, only one man can save the day. But he doesn’t want to fight.

A special run of prequels to Doctor Who: The War Doctor.

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor Ken Bentley
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Written By: John Dorney, Matt Fitton
Directed By: Ken Bentley
Cast

Paul McGann (The Doctor), Olivia Vinall (Sheena), Nimmy March (Rupa Maguire), David Ganly (Quarren Maguire), Sean Murray (Captain Darvor), Hywel Morgan (Koloth / Jefferson), Laurence Kennedy (Purser Lunney / Aymor / Chancellor), Rakhee Thakrar (Bliss), Karina Fernandez (Captain Tamasan), Jacqueline Pearce (Ollistra), Nick Brimble (Commander Harlan), Katy Sobey (Veeda), Okezie Morro (Norvid), and Nicholas Briggs (Dal / Dalek Commander / Dalek Drone / Daleks)

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature

6 pages, Audio CD

First published October 1, 2017

About the author

John Dorney is a British writer and actor best known for stage roles including the National Theatre, the BBC Radio 4 sitcom My First Planet; and his scripts for the Big Finish Doctor Who range. His script 'Solitaire' was rated the most popular Doctor Who Companion Chronicle of 2010 on the Timescales website and was the runner up in Unreality Sci-fi net's poll for Story of the Year 2010-11.

As well as Doctor Who, he has written for Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel series and on radio co-wrote three series of BBC Radio 4's Recorded for Training Purposes. He won the BBC Show Me the Funny 'Sketch Factor' competition, was a finalist in the BBC 'Laughing Stock' competition, and has performed in Mark Watson's Edinburgh Comedy Award winning long shows as 'The Balladeer'. On stage, he has written plays for the Royal Court Theatre, Hampstead and Soho Theatres.

He trained at LAMDA.

Reviews

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there'd been more of a bridge in the gap between Stranded 4 and this set, especially since this one was released years prior to Stranded. I liked the impending doom of the Time War, but wasn't overly fond of Bliss as a companion.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.1 The Starship of Theseus by John Dorney
Una storia di apertura che ti butta già nell'azione.
Non si può dire tanto senza compromettere lo svolgimento dell'azione.
Una partenza con il botto.

1.2. Echoes of War by Matt Fitton
Una visione di come la Guerra del Tempo può colpire un pianeta innocente.
Bel racconto, situazione già vista per quanto riguarda l'alleato anomalo, ma offre dettagli concreti sul tenore della politica di guerra dei Time Lord.
Il Cardinale Ollistra migliora ad ogni apparizione.

1.3. The Conscript by Matt Fitton
Vita di caserma, con addestramenti e scenari visti in qualsiasi film a tema.
Le schermaglie tra il Dottore e i vari superiori sono divertenti, ma le cose si fanno interessanti solo verso la fine.

1.4. One Life by John Dorney
Sembra che il modo migliore per vincere la Guerra del Tempo sia utilizzando armi fuori dal comune.
Anche nel capitolo finale del primo cofanetto siamo in cerca di questa arma che, come capita spesso con le armi gallifreyane, si rivolterà contro i Time Lords.

Quattro storie ben congegnate, collegate tra loro da un solo filo conduttore e senza episodi filler.
I personaggi già conosciuti mantengono le aspettative, quelli nuovi sono adeguati alla situazione.
L'Ottavo Dottore continua ad essere una certezza.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better the 2nd time. I really appreciated Bliss and Rupa and Quarren a lot more going through it. And knowing all the twists and turns made the stories even better.

It did take me awhile to get into this series. When it started there was a lot of action, a generic companion and a lot of confusion, but it settled down into another lovely tale by John and Matt. The stories were all interconnected, refugees, time distortions, the idiocy of war, and how relationships are the most important things. With some absolutely wonderful lines from Olistra thrown in for added amusement. Now I've finished I want to go back and listen to it all over again. While I did miss Liv and Helen and it was a great box set. Definitely one of the best things BF have done this year. And at the end there was a little trailer for Derek Jacobi's Master series, which gave me chills! Definitely recommended.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really more of a prequel to the War Doctor audio series than it is a continuation of the regular 8th Doctor stories. It's also a single four-hour story, albeit with the two authors taking turns in writing the hour-long 'chapters', each of which has a different setting.

It starts out in the style of any typical DW story, with the Doctor stumbling across sinister goings-on on a luxury cruise liner in space. Subtle hints that the apparent mystery is merely a sideshow build up until the effects of the Time War arrive, and everything completely changes direction. From there on, we're pretty much just dodging Daleks in a story that's focussed on the Doctor trying to get a group of refugees to safety.

Much of this is fairly standard Dalek fare, although Eight's personality is strongly contrasted with that of the War Doctor, doing everything he can to avoid fighting and getting involved in the larger conflict. The third segment of the story, set on a Gallifreyan army base, is the strongest, with the Doctor standing up for individuality in the face of the dehumanising nature of military training.

It's really only that, and a few decent twists in the story, that raise it up to the 4-star level, although anyone who's a big Dalek fan may well find more to enjoy. Apparently, it was originally intended as a companion-free story although one of the characters does end up travelling with the Doctor at the end. That this hadn't been planned at the time of writing probably explains why she's missing for long chunks of the narrative, although she seems heroic and capable, the sort of companion that's going to be useful in a series about a war. If anything, it's the other guest characters who stand out more, making this more a story about the effects of war than about the war itself.

Which is a good thing.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Time War finally catches up with the Doctor, and all hell breaks loose in this epic box set.

"Starship Of Theseus" does a horrifyingly great job at conveying just how much damage the Time War will cause, with people and events who aren't even a part of it changed and erased from history because of, not just the Daleks, but the Time Lords too.

"Echoes Of War" invoked a surprising amount of emotion from me. This story is atmospheric and ghastly and really blurs the moral boundaries of the Daleks and the Time Lords - You'd think it is a given which side is good and which is bad, but this story will make you think again about that. Bliss also takes the spotlight here and does a good job at shaping her up as a companion candidate.

"The Conscript" shows us the grim reality of what it takes to be a soldier in the Time War - Indeed, a soldier at all. The Doctor sticks to his morals, but in a situation such as this, no one really wins. It's a slow burner of a story, but I like it that way as it gives us time to properly explore and understand the brutal reality of how serious the Doctor and Cardinal Ollistra's opposing viewpoints are. Bliss and the other humans take a backseat in this one - Which kind of makes me wonder why they were even included in this story, but oh well.

"One Life" is a story masterfully able to pull of two very contrasting themes: Melancholy and action. Somehow, both fit. This was a decent finale, though I do think the script slightly pulls short of the other three in terms of quality. It incorporates several overdone tropes in fiction such as a deus ex machina and the twist being drip fed and dragged out.

Overall, I highly recommend it if you can grab it in a BF sale. £35 is too much for this set in my opinion, so if you can get it for even £25 or less I would say it's worth it as the stories are strong but not premium by any means.

[Adam Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

E1 - 9/10 An inventive great introduction to time war with the starship fading from a cruise liner to a refugee ship and a companion changing names gives to an eerie and mysterious story that throws the eighth Dr into the war.
E2 - 8.5/10 A changing jungle, a Dalek with amnesia and an unwilling alliance. Palpable tension throughout the story with a sense that anything can go wrong at a moment. Nick Brigg’s as Dal, is probably the best Dalek performance since 2005’s ‘Dalek’
E3 - 4/10 Well this is a really disappointing story, it’s serviceable but bad in comparison to the first two stories. It takes the standard pacifist in a training camp story and is as predictable as that sounds. I guess we had to have a story like this to show how bad the time war drives 8 to become the war doctor. But it is predictable and kills the pacing of the overall box set. But there are a few scenes I enjoyed of the soldiers being taught to think outside the box by 8.
E4 - 6/10 I overall enjoyed this story and how it does throw an unexpected twist at the listener. The flashback scenes were quite touching, but it did broadcast the twist a bit too early. A nice resolution at the end of the story, tying up most of the loose ends. But I honestly think I'm going to forget most of it soon.

Overall the box set is pretty good, the first half really carries the set and if more of those stories lie ahead then I am excited for the rest of the Time War stories.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor - The Time War Series 1 is easily one of my favorite box sets from Big Finish. It's one of the best Time War stories told so far and it's a great showcase of how talented Paul McGann is and the range his Doctor possesses. It goes from being funny and whimsical to dark and emotional in the blink of an eye. It really explores just how devastating a Time War can be and how unimaginable the destruction from one would be. It features a lot of really well written and well-acted characters, some truly clever stories, and a lot of brilliant sound design and music. It's a great jumping on point for fans of the new series who want to explore some of the Eighth Doctor's adventures as it requires no knowledge of his previous Big Finish outings. I can't say enough good things about this box set. Just do yourself a favor and listen to it. It's great.

Full review on my blog.

[Samael Kovacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had so much fun with these for stories.
The first three were the best, last one was a bit of a letdown for me but that doesn't take away from all the other great moments.

The Doctor and his female companion on a space ship were things seem to go wrong, standard enough right?
No. The Companion changes her name every five minutes or so, confusing the doctor and us. Brilliant idea.

The idea of the second story was amazing but perhaps could have worked better for a novel as charcaters were telling what they saw for about half the runtime. The end of it was amazing.


The Doctor being drafted and just refusing every single order was amazing. Him building a screwdriver instead of a gun. All of the third story was hilarious.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given that this came out several months after John Hurt's death and the last instalment of his War Doctor series, The Eighth Doctor: The Time War feels like it's there to fill the void. It's interesting hearing the Eighth Doctor within the context of the Time War, which is something quite different from what we're used to with him. The conflict really does test him, and I'm curious to see what else he goes through between this and his inevitable regeneration in The Night of the Doctor.

[Ashley Beery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was weird and it feels weird that it's not finished yet or that we didn't get solid solutions to the questions this story brought up. I know we've another cd set coming up, but I would have liked some more firm answers. The cast were great though, I love them and their acting ability. They're one of the best out of all the ranges Big Finish does.

[Xander Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as engaging as the other Doctor Who stories my son and I have enjoyed recently. This was seemed a little more drawn out and the end result wasn't so much because of anything clever the Doctor did, but simply the one guy had some crazy power.

[Joseph S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic!

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the prequels to the war doctor series by John Hurt. The eigth doctor is called a coward and pulled into the beginnings of the Time War.

[AFMasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been doing a lot of listening this month.

[Jurgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.1 'The Starship of Theseus' by John Dorney: 4*
1.2 'Echoes of War' by Matt Fitton: 5*
1.3 'The Conscript' by Matt Fitton: 5*
1.4 'One Life' by John Dorney: 5*

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complaints that the 8th Doctor's adventures of late have been full of angst and sorrow may have been noticed by the producers, who kick off this new sequence of episodes with the Doctor having a bit of a lark with his new companion Emma, . . . or Sheena? . . . or is it Louise? on board a space-going luxury liner. But fallout from the Time War is messing with reality, and of course the Doctor is drawn right into it.

For this first set of episodes subtitled "The Time War," the story that emerges over the course of these four episodes feels oddly small in scope, yet that may also be its strength. After all, we know from the series that the 8th Doctor tried to avoid involving himself in the Time Lord/Dalek conflict for as long as possible. These episodes put the characters on the fringes of the conflict, dealing with one small aspect, instead of trying to cover the whole scope of the war.

There's a neat misdirection in the Doctor's belief that the Time Lords are pursuing him because he won't join their war efforts, only to learn that, no Doctor, it's not always all about you.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Starship Theseus:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended

I love how this story starts, it's an unravelling mystery but you need to pay attention to realise there's a mystery in the first place. I love how subtely it adds to it, until the characters themselves realise there's a problem. Unfortunately around half way through, the story peaks and then it becomes a more standard story about running from Daleks with characters that we don't know in the slightest, which I can't really blame the story for all that much. Unfortunately Bliss' introduction is also kind of flat as with all the 'events' happening I can't be certain she'll stick around. This is an amazing story that's hampered by having to set up future stories.

Echoes of War:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended

This is a pretty slow story on the whole, and I think it gives itself too many plotlines to fully develop any of them. The setting is your generic jungle with a time lord twist, but even then it doesn't really have that much of an effect except going 'woah ain't that neat'. Same with the monkey storyline, you could completely remove it and the story wouldn't really be affected. The reason this is a 7 instead of a 6 is because of the unravelling story with 'Daal' and their amnesia slowly fading throughout the story. Adds some great tension and stops the pacing from being completely terrible.

The Conscript:
6/10
Verdict: Recommended

Good exploration of how far the time Lords are willing to go for the time war, however this might as well be a training camp from WW2, there's very little of the Time Lord mythology in this. The side characters are dull, the setting isn't explored enough for it to be interesting and the antagonists are just irritating with how little they're actually looked into. The pacing is weird at points too, as soon as the Daleks show up it goes all over the place.

One Life:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended

Love this concept and even though the execution is a bit rushed at the end, it's still pretty effective. Revealing pretty much anything about this is a spoiler. Good flow throughout, however it's a shame certain characters didn't get developed further, it feels like some backstories were almost developed enough but not quite. Yeah pretty good on the whole.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great set of 4 stories for the first Eighth Doctor Time War Boxset! With a good companion in Bliss, excellent stories, especially the ones by John Dorney which are just bloody amazing. A very entertaining series throughout with excellent ideas!

The Starship of Theseus: 9/10
Echoes of War: 8/10
The Conscript: 6/10
One Life: 9.5/10

Overall: 32.5/40