Gallifrey: Time War

Gallifrey #9

by David Llewellyn, Tim Foley, Scott Handcock

Four new chapters in the Gallifrey saga.

The Time Lords and the Daleks have opposed one another across millennia. But now, their conflict tips into an all-out Time War, and nowhere across the universe of spacetime is safe.

Battle plans will be drawn, allies recruited, and innocents caught in the crossfire.

Gallifrey is going to war, and the cosmos will never be the same again.

1. Celestial Intervention by David Llewellyn

The Temporal Powers are under threat. It is only a matter of time before the Daleks attack.

Now CIA Coordinator, Romana must protect the interests of Gallifrey, while dealing with demands from President Livia and an increasingly powerful War Council.

As allies are whittled away, the Time Lords are drawn into a conflict they can no longer avoid…

2. Soldier Obscura by Tim Foley

Braxiatel has always planned for contingencies. As hostilities escalate, he takes Ace into a deadly region of spacetime – The Obscura – to locate an ancient research station.

But Ace is about to learn more about Irving Braxiatel than anyone should know.

Some soldiers are ready for this fight, but some will not make it through the first round.

3. The Devil You Know by Scott Handcock

The Time War has begun in earnest, and Romana must think the unthinkable. For a most dangerous mission, she selects the most dangerous warrior – the Master.

But he will not be alone. Leela accompanies her old enemy as they begin an unusual interrogation.

What does Finnian Valentine know? And can Leela and the Master ever truly be on the same side?

4. Desperate Measures by Matt Fitton

The Dalek Emperor attacks a vital Time Lord outpost. Victory would be a devastating blow to Gallifrey.

Romana is caught in the machinations of a President who sees control slipping away. Is it time to bargain with the War Council, or perhaps to parlay with even more dangerous parties?

The Time War has barely begun, and for Gallifrey, desperate times are already here...

Written By: David Llewellyn, Tim Foley, Scott Handcock and Matt Fitton
Directed By: Scott Handcock
Cast

Louise Jameson (Leela), Lalla Ward (Romana), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Seán Carlsen (Narvin), Miles Richardson (Braxiatel), Derek Jacobi (The Master), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Livia), Paul Marc Davis (Trave), Ebony Wong (Karla), David Sibley (Valerian), Zulema Dene (Danna), Bryan Dick (Finnian Valentine), Guy Adams (Beglis) and Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks). Other parts played by members of the cast.

Producer Scott Handcock
Script Editor Matt Fitton
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

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

Audiobook

First published February 1, 2018

About the author

David 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.

Reviews

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Finish put so much time, effort and love into the Time War boxset for Gallifrey and it's paid off.

The artwork and the video trailer is gorgeous and the characters have grown so much-in both positive and negative ways and its such a wonderful strong set of stories.

I loved how on the cover you had the characters showing their battle-worn faces-the war barely begun with the horrors but yet all knowing there is more to come. The images Big finish provide as extra art work, especially Romana in her timelord robes are incredible.

I'll start off with each story, without trying to be spoilerish.

Celestial Intervention-This was a great introduction story and you get to see more of President Livia and the newly regenerated Trave from Enemy Lines and the introduction of the Death Zone. I also loved how this story continues as a whole and the development between Romana/Narvin/Leela looking out for each other is wonderful.

Soldier Obscura-By far my favourite and the strongest story out of the boxset. There is a missing scene at the end of the music credits for this one so don't skip the music!

Braxiatel is my all time favourite character in Doctor Who and Tim Foley writing him for the first time was such a treat! I loved Dana and Ace and how the teacher and student theme still rang within this story and the Daleks were brilliant. Braxiatel will always remain my favourite piece of trash character and I love him.

The Devil You know-I loved the War Master boxset so hearing the Master with Leela again, especially Jacobi's was such a treat! He's a delight to hear on audio and his voice so smooth and really sends shivers down your spine. It was interesting to see Leela working with Jacobi's Master as opposed to Geoffrey Beevers so I liked she couldn't read him as well.

Desperate Measures-The cliffhanger! What a way to go. I loved it and I love it implies there is more Time war boxsets to come.

Gallifrey will always have a special place in my heart and I love how much it has grown over the years. Its absolutely wonderful.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Celestial Intervention by David Llewellyn
Ultimo capitolo della serie Big Finish Gallifrey, dedicata al pianeta natale dei Time Lord... ed agli intrighi e macchinazioni degli stessi.
Il non aver mai ascoltato nulla prima non mi ha impedito di gustare questa prima parte della Time War vista da Gallifrey.
Romana capo della C.I.A., Leela e Narvin suoi colleghi.
Un buon inizio, che si innesta direttamente su...
2. Soldier Obscura by Tim Foley
Ace e Braxiatel inviati presso una zona temporalmente instabile per bloccare i Dalek... forse... perché i piani di Braxiatel non sono sempre chiari.
Finale scoraggiante per Romana, che si vede costretta a richiamare un vecchio nemico. Chiamata a cui assistiamo alla fine della prima storia nel box set del War Master.
3. The Devil You Know by Scott Handcock
Leela e il War Master sono incaricati da Romana di interrogare un sopravvissuto particolare, che potrebbe firnire informazioni utili contro i Dalek.
Posizionato tra i due primi capitoli del cofanetto del War Master e prima del secondo audio del quarto cofametto del War Doctor.
Complicato? Avendoli ascoltati da poco entrambi no... ma potrebbero confondere le idee comunque.
4. Desperate Measures by Matt Fitton
Con quasi tutti gli alleati scomparsi, Romana si offre come candidato per la presidenza, in opposizione al generale proposto dalla Presidente Livia... e dal Consiglio di Guerra.
Complotti e contro complotti, una toccata e fuga nella Death Zone, soliti doppiogiochi e l'assurda illusione covata da Romana, che spera di impedire la guerra dialogando con l'Imperatore Dalek, ci portano al finale cliffhanger del primo cofanetto della Gallifrey Time War.
Rassilon redivivo ci aspetta nel prossimo volume?
Con Timothy Dalton?

Il risultato finale della serie è più che buono. Molti riferimenti e le dinamiche tra i vari personaggi sarebbero stati più chiari se si fosse ascoltato prima il resto della serie, ma i dettagli importanti e i collegamenti con le altre serie BF sulla Time War si apprezzano tutti.
È certo che la Big Finish sa come prendere all'amo il cliente.

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally inching my way into the Time War when it comes to these audio adventures. Good stuff so far! The bits with The Master are the strongest of the 4 sections.

[Mikes Dw Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soldier Obscura:
For a time war set story, or a set up story. I really did enjoy this. More so with the arc of the characters we spent time with than the obscura plot. Having a small cast really allows you to dig deeper into these characters which is something I strongly believe the time war sets usually forgets to develop. All the characters here are really enjoyable and I loved seeing the little arcs and there motivations. Even for characters that already have such a rich and long history like Ace and Braxiatel. But even the time plot of the obscura was really interesting too.

Ive listen too a few audios featuring Braxiatel and more recently with the dark eyes plot. I've always loved the actor and liked his character, so this story gave me a great chance to really get in his head and see what his deal is. Throughout the story we see his usually really cunning and quite manipulative but a gentleman nature. It's really horrible how he's tricked and forced the old woman who trained him to use the weapon in the obscura. But towards the end I really don't think he did have bad intentions, he trusted her and he's the type of person who likes to know people who will be useful and trustful, even if he does horrible things. Such as with Ace, he loses his trust for her towards the end because she takes no crap. We get an interesting scene were he makes her see the pain he's been through and throughout the final act you do get this feel he's quite scared of this war. For a bad guy he does save Ace from this war in the end, I loved that. Good subtext.

Ace is excellent here, although she probably has the least to do. She still is very enjoyable and I loved seeing how (possibly from the doctor) shes learnt she must stand up for herself and call out people. I love that shes now on Gallifrey and learning about this society, and slowly understands why the timelords often treat people the way they do.

Danna is our last main character, I loved her arc and backstory. I felt so sorry for her, she helped train and teach these young timelords and look what they do to her. Very subtly showing us how bad timelords could be before the war, which I really liked. She's been stuck up in a messed up corner with dying Daleks to be used as a weapon one day. I really appreciate that we got to see and hear how she passed the time, with painting and locking up Daleks. We even get a tragic reveal behind the paintings, it's all just for a better view. Although towards the end her Character becomes the usual techno babble enigma I did like how see got to kill some Daleks and really make Braxiatel think about his actions.

The Daleks are great here too, we see just how far they'll go to break through the obscura (a gateway to different universes) and even effect there purity. Id of love to have seen some art on the Daleks with batwings. We also get an incredibly creepy Dalek that's been so damaged mentally and so it starts singing "3 blind mice" it's so odd and yet great fun. Overall a very enjoyable story in the time war era.
Rating 3/5 7/10

Desperate Measures:
I have mixed feelings about about this story, while I'm really interested and really enjoying seeing how timelords act and what there willing to do to win or stop a war, this does often feel like listening to bumbling politicians fight for presidency for an hour, it does get alittle boring.

But I will say this story does a good enough and enjoyable way of showing how some timelords will stop at nothing. Making Romana being the only sane and realistic timelord was very well done. I really did feel for her as she tries to stop her people for becoming like the Daleks, which this story does slowly throughout. Not quite as well as others have but a good enough example of what it was like at the very beginning. There becoming obsessed with power and weapons to win. We get to see and explore so many different types of timelord deceit and it paints a great picture.

We have president livia who miniuples Romana for going up for presidency, she's scared of the war and we see how she feels. How she just isn't ready for it. She hasn't got the power or fire needed. So she allows Romana and Valerian to go for presidency. Romana wants to let the Daleks live but to stay away from Gallifrey. It's an interesting and honest answer but it's the exact lines/offer the 8th Dr gives the Dalek time strategest in "Restoration of the Daleks" written by the same man. Valerian is a perfect fit for what this time war is, full of fire and passionate about being a great timelord. Very clever it's there own purity and bigotry that will end them, the war will kill them and Romana tries her absolute best to stop it. Especially when you start wondering what kind of callus timelord would deliberately step down any get someone else to do the dirty work, like Livia did. Is very political not very subtle at times but it's very enjoyable drama.

I also really enjoyed the tie ins this story has to other time war boxsets, such as the emperor working with the Dalek time strategest from "Restoration of the Daleks" and the weapon of resurrecting dead timelords in the war doctor "Legion of the lost". I also loved how the emperor constantly references Romanas prison number from "The apocalypse element". There's some great scenes between the two. Lalla ward has the perfect balance of sassiness and anger. It's just lazy how it was reused for the 8th Dr time war finale in set 4.

There's a great idea too with the the resurrection of dead timelords, the Daleks want it so they can in a nutshell make timelord Daleks, I'd love to see this in the future. Its great idea for them, something new. We finally learn that this whole plot has been a deceit and ploy to secretly resurrection Rassilon who comes into play later. Overall it's an okay story and the boxset while being abit weak for me did do a good job at setting up the timelords involvement and various other famous companions and characters who come back later.
Rating 3/5 6/10

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“CELESTIAL INTERVENTION”

Scritto da DAVID LLEWELLYN
Con LALLA WARD, LOUISE JAMESON, SEÁN CARLSEN, PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER, PAUL MARC DAVIS, SOPHIE ALDRED e MILES RICHARDSON.

I Poteri Temporali sono minacciati. È solo questione di tempo prima dell'attacco dei Dalek.
Ora Coordinatore della CIA, Romana deve proteggere gli interessi di Gallifrey, mentre si occupa delle richieste della Presidente Livia e di un Consiglio di Guerra sempre più potente.
Poiché gli alleati sono ridotti al minimo, i Signori del Tempo sono trascinati in un conflitto che non possono più evitare...

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Ah, quanto amo questo range! Ci scommetto fin da subito che Gallifrey: Time War sarà la mia serie preferita tra tutte quelle ambientate durante la Guerra del Tempo, a mani basse. C'è qualcosa nella chimica dei personaggi che la rende scoppiettante, gli intrighi politici sono sempre affascinanti e permette di avere uno scorcio della società gallifreyana e delle sue istituzioni unica nel suo genere.
In questo primo episodio, possiamo assistere all'inizio ufficiale dell'Ultima Grande Guerra del Tempo. C'erano già state delle schermaglie tra Signori del Tempo e Daleks, naturalmente, e in particolare la stagione 6 di Gallifrey già ci ruotava attorno, collegandosi con “Genesis of the Daleks”; ma finalmente possiamo vedere l'escalation definitiva che ha portato alla dichiarazione di guerra.
Quando uno degli alleati più importanti di Gallifrey viene annientato, i rapporti tra Alto Consiglio, CIA e Consiglio di Guerra si fanno più tesi, soprattutto a causa della segretezza di quest'ultimo. Romana, ora a capo della CIA, è determinata a scoprire cosa nascondono, con l'aiuto di Narvin e Leela, mentre nel frattempo una votazione decreterà se i superstiti di Phaidon otterranno asilo oppure no.
Con l'eccezione di Pippa Bennett-Warner che ha sostituito Celia Imrie nel ruolo della Presidente Livia, appena rigenerata, i personaggi sono più o meno dove li abbiamo lasciati in “Enemy Lines”. Romana come al solito persegue i suoi ideali con determinazione e drasticità, con affianco Narvin che le consiglia una maggiore moderazione. Leela si trova in una situazione particolarmente politica, come liaison tra la CIA e il Consiglio di Guerra, e anche se il suo spirito Sevateem è ancora forte, è incredibile come si sia evoluto il suo personaggio dagli inizi della serie. A loro si aggiunge il Generale Trave come antagonista, il genere di militare insensibile che è facile da odiare tanto quanti i Dalek. Insieme sono in perfetto equilibrio, con un cast d'eccezione che ci dona delle interpretazioni magnifiche e una grande tensione.
Anche se poco succede sulla carta, vengono poste le basi per tutte le storie di guerra successive, dall'implementazione delle difese alla costruzione dei Tardis da Battaglia, per non parlare dell'inizio di un progetto che cambierà da qui in avanti la politica di Gallifrey...
Un inizio sublime per questo volume, che infonde fin da subito il tono della serie.
---------------------------------
“SOLDIER OBSCURA”

Scritto da TIM FOLEY
Con SOPHIE ALDRED, MILES RICHARDSON, ZULEMA DENE, LALLA WARD, SEÁN CARLSEN e NICHOLAS BRIGGS as the Daleks.

Braxiatel ha sempre pianificato gli imprevisti. Mentre le ostilità si intensificano, porta Ace in una regione mortale dello spaziotempo - L'Obscura - per localizzare un'antica stazione di ricerca.
Ma Ace sta per imparare di più su Irving Braxiatel di quanto chiunque dovrebbe sapere.
Alcuni soldati sono pronti per questa battaglia, ma alcuni non supereranno il primo round.
-
Braxiatel è come una scatola di cioccolatini: non sai mai quello che ti capita. Una volta può essere il tuo migliore alleato e salvarti la vita con arguzia, altre può pugnalarti alle spalle quando meno te lo aspetti. Spesso, riesce a fare entrambe le cose contemporaneamente.
Mentre su Gallifrey continuano i maneggi politici, Brax ed Ace partono per una missione più “esoterica”, addentrandosi in una regione devastata dalle antiche battaglie temporali dei Tempi Oscuri, che solo a guardarla può ucciderti in un'istante. Atterrati in un'antica stazione custodita da una vecchia mentore di Brax, potrebbe celarsi una potente arma, ma i Dalek sono più vicini di quanto si pensi.
Si cambia quindi completamente di tono rispetto all'episodio precedente, aggiungendo mistero, azione ed horror, con solo tre personaggi che cercano di sfuggire al pericolo in una base derelitta. Ma il punto focale della storia sono le macchinazioni di Brax, che rimangono nascoste fino alla fine, e il modo in cui Danna (la sua mentore) e soprattutto Ace reagiscono ai suoi tiri mancini.
Il rapporto tra Ace e Brax inizia in maniera amichevole, quasi come se la prima stesse avendo una delle sue normali avventure con il Dottore, tra battibecchi e battute, e sono rimasta catturata dal modo in cui a poco a poco tale rapporto si sgretola, all'aumentare della paranoia – totalmente giustificata - di Ace nei confronti delle azioni di lui.
Ho adorato inoltre sapere di più sulla formazione di Brax direttamente dalla sua mentore, aggiungendo sfaccettature che non avrei immaginato alla sua personalità (che comunque è così poliedrica che potrebbero benissimo dirmi che è stato un sicario o un ballerino di tip-tap e credere ugualmente a entrambi).
Fedelmente al titolo, la situazione si fa sempre più oscura a mano a mano che la minaccia dei Dalek si avvicina e i piani di Brax si fanno più chiari. Forse qui non tocca esattamente il fondo della sua spietatezza (quello era successo in Bernice Summerfield stagione 8), ma ci va molto vicino in alcune scene che mi hanno lasciata di stucco, e culmina in un monologo in cui si riconferma lui stesso non come eroe ma come antieroe, uno stratega più incline a manipolare nell'ombra piuttosto che agire direttamente o sacrificarsi. Un momento carico di pathos che lo mostra in tutte le sue sfumature di grigio, quasi più tendente al nero ora che Gallifrey sta per entrare nel suo periodo più buio, ma che rivela anche il peso che tali azioni hanno sulla sua coscienza. Dopo un tale tuffo nei suoi meandri più oscuri, è facile credere al peggio, se non fosse per una scena post-credit che fa tirare un sospiro di sollievo.
Questa introspezione psicologica è coadiuvata da un'interpretazione da far venire letteralmente i brividi (so che lo ripeto spesso, ma con attori di questo calibro che altro si può dire?), che innalza di diversi livelli quella che in fondo è una trama abbastanza semplice.
E quindi dico solo “chapeau”.
------------------------------------
L'ANGOLO BIG FINISH: “DESPERATE MEASURES”

Scritto da MATT FITTON.
Con LALLA WARD, SEÁN CARLSEN, PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER, PAUL MARC DAVIS, EBONY WONG, DAVID SIBLEY, MILES RICHARDSON, e NICHOLAS BRIGGS as the Daleks.

L'imperatore Dalek attacca un avamposto vitale dei Signori del Tempo. La vittoria sarebbe un colpo devastante per Gallifrey.
Romana è intrappolata nelle macchinazioni di una Presidente che vede sfuggire il controllo. È il momento di negoziare con il Consiglio di Guerra, o forse di parlare con partiti ancora più pericolosi?
La Guerra del Tempo è appena iniziata, e per Gallifrey, i tempi disperati sono già qui...
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Dopo due episodi che deviavano dalla trama principale, ecco che torniamo al centro della politica gallifreyana.
Con l'inasprirsi della Guerra, la presidente Livia ha intenzione di dimettersi per lasciare il posto a qualcuno più qualificato (o forse solo un burattino del Consiglio di Guerra), portando a una corsa alla presidenza che ha molto il sentore delle prime stagioni, ma ora decisamente più aggravata a causa del conflitto.
Nel mentre, Romana deve giostrarsi tra un'azzardata strategia per affrontare i Dalek e il caos delle elezioni. Ma tutto ciò potrebbe essere l'ultimo dei loro problemi se i Dalek riusciranno ad appropriarsi del progetto Revenant...
Matt Fitton fonde in questa storia gli intrighi politici e lo spionaggio che sono da sempre il punto di forza di “Gallifrey”, con le tematiche proprie dell'era di RTD. L'imperatore Dalek, immenso, quasi divino, è in tutto e per tutto quello visto in “The Parting of the Ways”, e il suo scontro di volontà contro Romana è forse una scena anche più pregnante. Quest'ultima è determinata a tutto per porre fine alla Guerra, anche seguendo le strade meno ortodosse, ma la sua influenza politica è sempre più debole con la CIA che perde rilevanza rispetto al Consiglio di Guerra e i suoi alleati che si riducono sempre di più. Il suo tentativo di riprendere in mano le redini della situazione è ambizioso, ma tristemente le sue doti diplomatiche non sono ben viste in tempo di Guerra, a favore di approcci più diretti e populisti che sembrano un'allegoria della politica degli ultimi anni (sfido chiunque ad ascoltare i discorsi di Valerian e non paragonarlo a Trump), ma lasciandolo comunque abbastanza vago da non andare ad intaccare l'attenzione dell'ascoltatore dagli aspetti più fantascientifici.
Nel frattempo Narvin è in missione segreta, andando ad aggiungere azione al mix. Ancora una volta non posso che sottolineare l'enorme evoluzione che ha avuto il suo personaggio dalla prima stagione fino ad adesso, arrivando a mettere al primo posto i suoi valori morali rispetto alla legge che un tempo riteneva sacrosanta.
A completare l'atmosfera di questo boxset, non posso non parlare della musica di Ioan Morris, assolutamente epica ed eterea. Riprende molti temi da “Intervention Earth” ed “Enemy Lines”, aggiungendone altri di pura bellezza, come quello per l'Imperatore Dalek, con una sinfonia di organi e cori, gotico e sublime. Il pathos che dona ad ogni singola scena è indescrivibile, e adoro ascoltarla anche singolarmente, senza dubbio una delle mie composizioni preferite.
Con “Desperate Measure” si chiude il primo volume della serie, ed è stato assolutamente brillante. È un ottimo punto di partenza per i nuovi fan, che nel voler approfondire la Guerra del Tempo possono scoprire questo fantastico spin-off. Tuttavia è anche una grande soddisfazione per i veterani, che possono ritrovare numerosi collegamenti, tra cui anche all'episodio “The Apocalipse Element” (tra i primi Main Range e di molto antecedente a “Gallifrey”), e altre menzioni interne. Per non parlare dei riferimenti alla serie nuova, andando a chiudere con un cliffhanger che va a incastrare un altro pezzo del lore al suo posto.
Ho solo apprezzamenti per questo volume, non ci troverei una critica neanche volendo.

[TheTimeScales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Big Finish Time War 1.1 Celestial Intervention.

A bit boring with a refugee theme that one can't help think of a possible current Earth politics regarding refugees and a one-note globalist agenda perspective. Pretty pathetic like the majority of other Doctor Who media in 2018. Another release by obsessed BBC/Big Finish writers with firebrand preaching and distorting context of real world events with allusory comparisons, both sympathetic and elevating their own deluded bigoted politics, ruining this set out of the gate.

The first half of the first story 'Celestial Intervention' was painfully, pathetically and obviously toned with misandry (like the BBC Doctor Who 2005 TV Series 11) with either weak-willed or scornful, evil whites males including an subversive attack-commentary towards America ("President Hilary" leftist fantasy versus Trump and warmonger general).

The second half was a very drawn out and boring hunt for corrupt War Council facilities --- another paranoid fantasy allusory model, which obviously served as the writer's template of caricaturization. Caricature with political motive or propaganda, like I have noted in many other reviews is the sign of a total hack writer and displays intent.

Beyond criticism towards the propaganda, sound production OK, writing tends toward flaky portrayals of cheesy boot camp militaristic Gallifreyans, but worse all pretty bland and considering an impending massive Dalek threat, very dry and not exciting. But this was bound to happen due to writer's subversive intent. Unexpectedly (I was really looking forward to starting this set), 55 minutes crawled slowly by.

Hack pawn propagandist writer Llewellyn strikes again, who [irregardless of how well the other stories in this set fare] has essentially sabotaged the stage and greater set. For me it's already going to the recycle bin. Another Big Finish disgraceful nightmare of recent days.

In tandem with the BBC show whom Big Finish (writers, producers) are allies and associates from production to the non-diverse writing department, it's all gone downhill and to crap. Warning. And some advice for people looking to fill the void with audio releases, you really have to sift heavily through to find the good releases. Bad politics and bias extend back to producer Briggs and cohorts since the 1990s releases. But it's priority #1 of late.

I have listened to BBV (pre-dating Big Finish) way back, grew up on Doctor Who and have followed to the day. I own, have listened and reviewed a large number of Big Finish. Unfortunately at times bad political bigotry and also outright falsification of history, attack on a variety of common free world norms have reared their head, but you could place more of the blame on writers, now it's simply a foundation. It's interesting, you might want to research the limited writers group and producer and then affiliation with current people in charge of the BBC licensing and franchise. Just a tip.

In fact, as much as I was looking forward to hearing Ward and Aldred in particular for this set, after all the Doctor Who garbage in 2018, I don't even want to continue on with set. Entertainment ruined. Tired of looking for the old classic stories and science-fiction (naturally) in a audio company purportedly representing classic era Doctor Who and enjoying all the great old characters --- but I guess all on board are simply interesting in going on Twitter, stirring of garbage that is the anti-thesis of timeless, benign or simply respectful of the writers,actors and fans of Doctor Who.

Time War, indeed. Word of warning, the Daleks have taken over Doctor Who. There no excuse or escape via Tardis now into either TV or Audio. 2018 RIP. The Truth.

For the record, I am simply a long-time reader and lover of science-fiction and fantasy. It it is disappointing and exasperating to constantly be rubbed and nudged with lousy writers and politicos, fourth wall exploding. I have honestly have not seen such bad writing ---> ever.

NOTE: This review and thoughts were only relative to the first crucial story of the set: Time War 1.1 Celestial Intervention by David Llewellyn (not a first-time offender).

1/5.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is marketed as a new spin-off series, it’s more of a soft relaunch and you certainly do need to know who the main characters are and at least the broad outline of what they’ve been doing in the previous audios. While it forms a single arc about the earliest days of the Time War proper from the Gallifreyan perspective, episodes two and three are effectively ‘side-quests’ with a different combination of leads in each part.

• Celestial Intervention – The story starts off as what’s basically a continuation of the previous Gallifrey series, only set in the run-up to the official declaration of war against the Daleks (for what such a thing is worth, considering the nature of the enemy). The focus is on some of the dubious preparations being made by Gallifrey’s military command and their political feud with the Celestial Intervention Agency. It’s the sort of political plotting that the series has done well and a relatively low key start to events (there are no Daleks in it, for one), setting up the situation that the Time Lords are in in a way that’s low on action but strong on character. 4 stars.

• Soldier Obscura – The action switches from the series’ usual leads to Ace and Braxiatel, heading to an abandoned station in the search for a superweapon to use against the Daleks. The main theme here is Braxiatel not trusting Ace with the nature of his secret plan, putting her in the same situation she often was with the Seventh Doctor – with the added complication that the listener is less clear as to whether or not he genuinely can be trusted. There are some good segments with the main guest character and with a Dalek that’s been driven insane, but it gets confusing towards the end and I’m not really sure that the whole made much sense. 3 stars.

• The Devil You Know – The second ‘side-quest’ sees Leela accompany the Master on a mission to uncover information about a different superweapon (there’s apparently a lot of them about, as we saw in the War Doctor audios). Another similarity with the previous story is, for much of this episode, there are only three actors, although the relationship between their characters is very different here. Much of this one consists of the attempts of the two leads to interrogate an off-world soldier, both contrasting their techniques for doing so with each other and, in the Master’s case, with his own previous incarnation (it’s clear he’s only recently regenerated and that Leela isn’t quite sure what to make of this superficially congenial version). It’s a good character study and dialogue-heavy in a way that suits the audio format. 4.5 stars.

• Desperate Measures – We return to the plot of the first episode in the final one, although it’s seemingly set some time later. Everyone seems to be deserting Romana and Narvin as the Gallifreyan War Council puts its plots into motion. The story cuts between the politics of a Presidential election (where one candidate is standing on a platform of ‘draining the swamp’…) and a desperate mission to destroy something dangerous before it can fall into Dalek hands. It all ends on a cliffhanger that has connections with specific events in the modern TV series. 5 stars.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this but it's not really Gallifrey! It was an interesting start, though a little sad that Celia Imre had regenerated, her new incarnation felt a bit weaker. But the refugee crisis was a good storyline.
Ace and Brax were a great time team. The old solider was marvelous. Brax was evil. But it was much more doctor who than gallifrey. Gallifrey is supposed to be high level politics with women outsmarting each other. Not male superior time lord and weaker female companion in the subordinate role. Not much else can be said without spoilers.
Louise and Derek Jacobi were brilliant together, but the script felt a little weak, with two of them interrogating a man, twice. It really could have been any companion they'd put with him. Really the violent and direct nature of Leela didn't get highlighted, she seemed rather watered down and Leela did seem to like the Time Lords WAY more than she had at any point in the past. For a gallifrey script it was exceptionally disappointing to have it fall into the only one woman in the story category. Gallifrey has always been about equality, not male dominated scripts.
The last story was good, but it felt like going over old ground with Romana trying (though not very hard) to be President again. The little hints towards Trump seemed odd, as being the warrior president he wasn't actually similar to Trump at all. But it was a case of an inferior man getting the job that should have gone to the much more qualified woman.
For me I would have loved to have seen the gallifrey time war series come down to Romana vs Olistra. Those two battling heads over what was best for gallifrey, Leela caught in the middle. And Narvin trying to sabotage Olistra's plans. It would have all slotted in very well. I fear bringing in Rassilon just hasn't left much room for things to develop.

[Calum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great box set and introduction to the time war. I liked how each episode was stand alone but also connected. It felt like a return to the basics of the series but with the threat of the time war looming over it.

Celestial Intervention
A nice Narvin story with an interesting dilemma. I liked seeing the way the War Council and CIA played off each other.
8/10

Soldier Obscura
Having Ace and Brax in a story together is great and it's so fun seeing them interact and bounce off each other. I think story wise this might be the weakest one of the set but it's still really good.
7/10

The Devil You Know
Probably the best of the set. This one has great interactions between Leela and the Master. I like the way they interact with the other characters. I think it's fantastic that Derek Jacobi has done Big Finish stuff since he's always great.
9/10

Desperate Measures
This is a pretty good conclusion to the set and even though I saw where it was heading, it was nice seeing how it got to that point.
8/10

Overall this was a really good set and probably the best proper series of Gallifrey we've had since 3. I'm excited to see where the eight different time war sets go.
9/10

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not listened to any of the earlier Gallifrey stories, but figured Time War would be a good entry point, as that’s the era I was more curious about anyway. Nice to hear familiar characters like Leela, Romana, Ace, the War Master, and even Brax. I was a bit confused about the War Master’s placement, given what we know of his previous incarnation shown in the Eleventh Doctor comics. Maybe I missed something. The election stuff is kinda funny given that I got to the final story after rewatching the presidential election episode of Futurama. The set ends on an interesting cliffhanger, with the return of someone I already knew would be in this series. Overall, this set was fine, I suppose. I actually enjoyed the behind the scenes interviews and music suite more than the actual stories, oddly enough.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Celestial Intervention ***1/2
Soldier Obscura ****
The Devil You Know - impossible to give a star rating to. very nearly is one of my favourite episodes except for the fact that it isn't. is the most interesting study of Leela's character that Gallifrey has done in a long time except it doesn't really commit to what it's saying about her as someone who fits neither as a warrior nor as a Gallifreyan. flip flop on whether i actually even like this one or not. this time, yes.
Desperate Measures ***

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Time War has begun! I loved that each of the four main characters got their own "chapter." The surprise return of Rassilon shouldn't have been a surprise considering he was President of Gallifrey during "The End of Time" episodes, but it still was. I thought the inclusion of the War Master was a nice touch as well.

[Carol D · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome starting volume to Gallifrey's entry into the time war with the Daleks. Lots of intrigues and action in equal measures. Well worth a listen over and over.

[Brian Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Soldier Obscura" was extraordinary, but "Desperate Measures" was quite predictable. Overall, though, quite good.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je n'ai jamais écouté d'autres épisode audio de la série Gallifrey, il s'agit de mon premier, mais à part quelques personnages récurrent dans les audio comme Irving Braxiatel, qui s'introduisent bien d'eux-mêmes (au pire, aller jeter un coup d’œil sur les wikis avant de commencer la série), le restant des personnages (Romana, Leela, Ace, The Master, etc.) restent bien connus et familiers même pour les personnes qui suivent peu les audio.

Je m'attendais beaucoup à des aventures épiques au début d'une guerre du temps et c'est ce que les épisodes 2 (Soldier Obscura) et 3 (The Devil You Know) offrent. L'épisode 2 met en scène Ace et Braxiatel dans un espèce de huit-clos d'une base/forteresse avec une troisième soldate en attendant les Daleks avant de tout faire sauter. L'épisode 3 met en tension Leela et The Master (l'incarnation de Derek Jacobi) qui doivent voyager ensemble retrouver une personne et lui soutirer de l'information; je crois que c'est probablement un des épisodes les plus difficiles à écrire, le Master n'est certainement pas un personnage facile à écrire et lui donner de suffisamment bonne raison de ne pas tuer ou manipuler tout le monde à la moindre occasion doit vraiment se traduire par une excellente raison ou rebondissement; la fin de l'épisode nous l'offre définitivement. Bref, les épisodes 2 et 3 sont "plutôt" classiques en ce sens qu'on a un "Docteur" et une compagne, aussi méchant soit les "Docteurs" cependant, mais avec leur propre dynamique, motivations et rebondissement ce qui donne d'excellents épisodes innovants et avec leur esthétique propre (mettre différents personnages avec d'autres qu'illes n'ont jamais côtoyé et voir ce que ça peut donner est certainement une des forces de Big Finish Productions).

Pour ce qui est des épisodes 1 & 4 cependant, ce sont des épisodes qui filent plus entre les précédentes séries de Gallifrey et la Time War qu'on décrit dans la série après le Neuvième Docteur et qui s'attarde à tisser toutes les connections possibles et imaginables (en ce sens, la fin de l'épisode 4 n'a nullement été une surprise, je m'y attendais la minute où on a présenté la généalogie du personnage). Il s'agit aussi beaucoup plus d'intrigues politiques, que je semble comprendre est la série Gallifrey à la base, que de résolutions de conflits, d'aventures, etc. Les parallèles entre Trump et le nouveau président dans l'épisode 4 auraient pu être moins tissés serrés que ça (quand même une allusion à l'ancien président Bush, déjà mieux), on sent vraiment que le scénariste derrière voulait établir la connexion entre son programme politique, ses slogans et ses manières en plus de tisser des liens entre Romana et Hillary Clinton. Honnêtement, j'aime bien l'idée, mais il faudrait faire attention de ne pas forcer tellement le lien qu'on est juste en train de saboter l'"intrigue" (pour ce qu'elle vaut) au profit de la multiplication des références.
Les épisodes 1 et 4 sont à mon avis vraiment plus une manière de mettre en place les changements politiques, d'inscrire un contexte, de l'inscrire dans la série, de faire évoluer des personnages, etc., mais deux épisodes complets consacrés à ça, et plusieurs longueurs, sans véritables intrigues étaient peut-être de trop.

Bref, autant j'ai adoré les épisodes 2 et 3 qui offraient des dynamiques, rebondissements et actions que les épisodes 1 et 4 semblaient un peu trop se forcer à tout expliquer les personnages qu'ont retrouvent à la fin de la Time War au sein d'une intrigue politique qui est intéressante en soi, mais malheureusement trop prévisible pour qui aura vu le dernier épisode du Dixième Docteur.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romana, Leila and Ace all play leading roles in another entertaining chapter of the Dalek Time War.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed the Gallifrey series and this is no different. It's a pretty good jumping on point for those who haven't listened to the previous volumes but want to start as it doesn't heavily reference any of the events that came before it (outside of a few throw away lines).

It's also surprisingly sad, at times, for reasons that are apparent when listening to it. It's a good listen.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gallifrey is on the verge of war with the Daleks and Romanna is trying to stop it from happening. As head of the CIA with the help of her friends Ace, Leela, and even the Master she, continues to try to stop the war.

[Sidney McKidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I caught the first episode, Celestial Intervention, on the Big Finish livestream marathon thing and I know that that was totally a marketing ploy but it worked. I want the rest now. It was great aaaaaaaaa