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The Eighth Doctor: Time War #4
Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor - Time War, Volume 4
The Eighth Doctor and Bliss are dragged into the Time War as the Daleks replenish their army, using Davros himself.
4.1 Palindrome Part 1-2 by John Dorney
In an alternative universe, Davros lives in peace, until the Doctor and Bliss arrive, and the Daleks emerge in a new reality.
4.2 Dreadshade by Lisa McMullin
The Time Lords, including the General and the Twelve, adjust to life after the Time War, until the Doctor and Bliss return with a warning.
4.3 Restoration of the Daleks by Matt Fitton
The Dalek Time Strategist restores the Dalek armies to the universe, but wants to dispense with Davros.
4.1 Palindrome Part 1-2 by John Dorney
In an alternative universe, Davros lives in peace, until the Doctor and Bliss arrive, and the Daleks emerge in a new reality.
4.2 Dreadshade by Lisa McMullin
The Time Lords, including the General and the Twelve, adjust to life after the Time War, until the Doctor and Bliss return with a warning.
4.3 Restoration of the Daleks by Matt Fitton
The Dalek Time Strategist restores the Dalek armies to the universe, but wants to dispense with Davros.
6 pages, Audiobook
First published September 16, 2020
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 18, 2020
Another Time War set!
So far, these did not quite reach the quality for me that Dark Eyes or Doom Coalition or Ravenous did.
So I did not expect too much going in.
This time, we get three stories in the set, the first being a two-parter.
Palindrome.
I am blown away.
I had not expected this level of awesome.
This was clever on so many levels and will gain from re-listening.
The story was interesting, using the timey-whimey elements to it's strength.
I also liked that the Doctor and Bliss basically became side- characters.
The main emphasis was Davros.
This could have failed miserably. It could have just become an overacted, shouty mess.
But I am happy that BF has so many great and enthusiastic actors at hand, and Terry Molloy give his all in this. He switches perfectly between all the different versions of Davros and it just works.
I am stunned on how well this was done.
It also works as a great character study, and becomes horrific and tragic and you really do care.
And honestly, who does not really love to hate Davros?
This story alone elevated the set and makes it worth it.
A clever use of the audio medium, a clever use of the concept of "time", and some great characters to breathe life into the story.
Dreadshade-
first thought:
okay....
so the Eighth Doctor has amnesia. How novel.
Luckily it was getting better after that.
However, after Palindrome, anything would have been a step down.
This one is much more in line with the other stories in the range- a "Weapon of the Week" type of story.
I am a bit disappointed that the Twelve did not have a bigger part, she feels a bit wasted in this.
And I definitely hope we have not seen the last of her.
So in conclusion, this was not a bad story, but also nothing really amazing.
Restoration of the Daleks-
this was a satisfying finale.
A bit too heavy on the Dalek screaming for my taste, but that just is the nature of the thing.
The story itself did not really surprise me, but it was still enjoyable to speed along with it.
I again think Terry Molloy was amazing in this.
To be honest, this set has, for me, the best Davros appearances for me yet.
As for the ending-
Looks as if there might be a prospect that the companion situation is shaken up a bit in the potential future...
might even breath some fresh air into the character of Bliss.
In conclusion-
this is easily my favorite set of the range, yet.
But this is not thanks to 8 and Bliss, but to Davros.
Involving him was a fantastic idea.
So far, these did not quite reach the quality for me that Dark Eyes or Doom Coalition or Ravenous did.
So I did not expect too much going in.
This time, we get three stories in the set, the first being a two-parter.
Palindrome.
I am blown away.
I had not expected this level of awesome.
This was clever on so many levels and will gain from re-listening.
The story was interesting, using the timey-whimey elements to it's strength.
I also liked that the Doctor and Bliss basically became side- characters.
The main emphasis was Davros.
This could have failed miserably. It could have just become an overacted, shouty mess.
But I am happy that BF has so many great and enthusiastic actors at hand, and Terry Molloy give his all in this. He switches perfectly between all the different versions of Davros and it just works.
I am stunned on how well this was done.
It also works as a great character study, and becomes horrific and tragic and you really do care.
And honestly, who does not really love to hate Davros?
This story alone elevated the set and makes it worth it.
A clever use of the audio medium, a clever use of the concept of "time", and some great characters to breathe life into the story.
Dreadshade-
first thought:
okay....
so the Eighth Doctor has amnesia. How novel.
Luckily it was getting better after that.
However, after Palindrome, anything would have been a step down.
This one is much more in line with the other stories in the range- a "Weapon of the Week" type of story.
I am a bit disappointed that the Twelve did not have a bigger part, she feels a bit wasted in this.
And I definitely hope we have not seen the last of her.
So in conclusion, this was not a bad story, but also nothing really amazing.
Restoration of the Daleks-
this was a satisfying finale.
A bit too heavy on the Dalek screaming for my taste, but that just is the nature of the thing.
The story itself did not really surprise me, but it was still enjoyable to speed along with it.
I again think Terry Molloy was amazing in this.
To be honest, this set has, for me, the best Davros appearances for me yet.
As for the ending-
Looks as if there might be a prospect that the companion situation is shaken up a bit in the potential future...
might even breath some fresh air into the character of Bliss.
In conclusion-
this is easily my favorite set of the range, yet.
But this is not thanks to 8 and Bliss, but to Davros.
Involving him was a fantastic idea.
September 28, 2020
As the (originally intended) final volume, I thought it curious that the box set opens with a two parter and ends on a single disc story. The reasons will be apparent when listening but it does mean that this set opens with the strongest story dips, a little for disc 3 and then ends on an explosive...ish (ish... ish... ish... (big finish ref there 😂)) climax. Terry Molloy is the star of the show in this box and more McGann is always welcome. Looks like, as much as he doesn't want to be here, the eighth Doctor's interactions with the Time War are far from over...
November 3, 2020
4.1 Palindrome Part 1-2 by John Dorney
L'ottavo Dottore torna nell'ultimo box set (forse) per la sua parte della Guerra del Tempo.
In un universo alternativo Thals e Kaled vivono in armonia e Davros è un tranquillo scienziato.
Ma il Dalek Time Strategist non vuole perdere la Guerra, a costo di creare un paradosso da cui nessuno sembra poter uscire.
4.2 Dreadshade by Lisa McMullin
La Guerra del Tempo sembra essersi conclusa, ma solo perché i Time Lord non si ricordano più contro chi stavano combattendo.
Ma con The Twelve in giro nulla può andare per il verso giusto.
4.3 Restoration of the Daleks by Matt Fitton
Il titolo dice tutto, quello che era stato dimenticato nel capitolo precedente torna all'ennesima potenza, con Davros, l'Imperatore e il Time Strategist che cercano di farsi le scarpe a vicenda.
Per essere l'ultimo capitolo della Time War dell'ottavo Dottore, c'è una presenza preponderante di Davros, interpretato dal sempre ottimo Terry Molloy.
La presenza di Twelve serve per distrarre un po' l'attenzione nel secondo audio, ma non le rende merito.
Ci sono tanti riferimenti, sia alla serie madre che ai precedenti audio, e il finale lascia il solito cliffhanger che potrebbe portare ad un quinto cofanetto o a una nuova serie.
L'ottavo Dottore torna nell'ultimo box set (forse) per la sua parte della Guerra del Tempo.
In un universo alternativo Thals e Kaled vivono in armonia e Davros è un tranquillo scienziato.
Ma il Dalek Time Strategist non vuole perdere la Guerra, a costo di creare un paradosso da cui nessuno sembra poter uscire.
4.2 Dreadshade by Lisa McMullin
La Guerra del Tempo sembra essersi conclusa, ma solo perché i Time Lord non si ricordano più contro chi stavano combattendo.
Ma con The Twelve in giro nulla può andare per il verso giusto.
4.3 Restoration of the Daleks by Matt Fitton
Il titolo dice tutto, quello che era stato dimenticato nel capitolo precedente torna all'ennesima potenza, con Davros, l'Imperatore e il Time Strategist che cercano di farsi le scarpe a vicenda.
Per essere l'ultimo capitolo della Time War dell'ottavo Dottore, c'è una presenza preponderante di Davros, interpretato dal sempre ottimo Terry Molloy.
La presenza di Twelve serve per distrarre un po' l'attenzione nel secondo audio, ma non le rende merito.
Ci sono tanti riferimenti, sia alla serie madre che ai precedenti audio, e il finale lascia il solito cliffhanger che potrebbe portare ad un quinto cofanetto o a una nuova serie.
June 8, 2021
Quest'ultimo cofanetto della serie è un degno successore degli altri. Le storie sono in un qualche modo molto correlate tra di loro e pongono come protagonista indiscusso Davros, che in alcuni punti sembra anche più centrale del Dottore stesso. Strano che l'avventura in due parti non fosse l'ultima ma comunque molto gradita. Consigliato certamente agli amanti di Davros e sopratutto di Molloy che si presenta con una interpretazione vocale fenomenale in tutte le sue sfaccettature.
March 19, 2025
I'm really sad that Bliss doesn't appear anymore after this. I like her better as a companion than Liv or Helen, to be honest. I liked seeing pre-Dalek Davros in this set, and of course, the Twelve was fabulous.
August 8, 2021
Palindrome part 1:
After the last boxset ended with an exciting set up we now see the pay off story that's all focused around Davros. I was both incredibly excited and worried about this story, I had alot of fans telling me how good it was and it was partially the reason I started the Dalek marathron. I have to say what an incredible part one it was. I utterly loved and enjoyed every minute.
The story is both a race against time and a backwards telling of time, clues in the name. The Dr and Bliss must get to Davros before the Dalek time strategest can help him be Davros and create the Daleks again. However Davros is living life backwards seeing what is to happen and trying to change it before the final day right at the start. I really appreciate and loved the way this was written more as Davros character piece than a doctor who story one. To really care and understand the stakes and drama we need as much time as possible with this Davros.
I was expecting to see Davros living his life as a what if he was a good scientist and if he helped people, a hero even. While some maybe disappointed by that I was totally relieved we got something completely different and normal. Davros does a few experiments but he's just a normal Kaled living his normal life with his wife. The relationship between them is really well done for the short moments we see them, there just like an old couple who love each other but bicker playfully. I really liked the running joke of finish cereal she gives him and her joke about having a secret young toyboy when he's out. It just feels real and you understand him and his feelings for her.
It was quite heartbreaking to show Davros watch her die in all these future days as the Daleks attack and thals are killed, you slowly get a beautiful Shakespearean descent of desperation for saving her life. It was also a clever little nod/idea to have his wife be a thal. We start to see the Dr and Bliss to be killed many times which is revealed why in part two.
There is just so much fascinating ideas and alternative timelines here. Here the kaleds and thals worked out there war and now live in peace and actually helped stop the war of the timelords. I'd definitely love to see a story about that please. It's both horrific and exciting as a fan to hear the Daleks deliberately attack the thals to trigger an event, another war, this could also cause alot of drama with his wife too. Which does slightly get expanded on but turns to a more how to manipulate Davros in part two that was incredibly tragic.
Finally in the end Davros Mets his future/alternative self. In one my favourite scenes/twists in the story. The future Davros actually warns and gives Davros a chance to stop both the Dr and the Dalek time strategest from coming through. The subtext drama is so tragic and brilliant. Proving that there is a part of Davros who is good and wanted better for himself. Absolutely loved that scene. It does slightly be contradicted in part two when it's revealed that is an alternative Davros but also has every memory and event from the real Davros in his mind. It gets incredibly techno babble annoyingly and it does all depend on what you think is happening. This does eventually cause a slight problem with the finale too as it's carefully and slowly rewritten.
Rating 4/5 9/10
Palindrome part 2:
Despite having mixed feelings on the second part of the story I will say that John Dorney does an incredible job at tieing all this pieces and past scenes together in a very clever and fascinating way. It both shows you just how evil, minupluting and determined the Daleks are and can be. It also gives a rare glimpse into what our Davros feels and what a tragic character he'll always be. Regardless of what universe he is in he will always be a lost soul, someone who's actions really do come back to haunt him, how he is at the heart a character you do feel alittle sorry for. This second part does a bloody job of showing us a slow decent into madnes of Davros. But what makes this Davros much more tragic, is that it was a good person, had a wife, and it's quite horrible to hear him slowly lose his grip on his past self.
But where there is some incredible stuff there is alot of stuff that really let this down. I really liked this story but there is too much that gets in the way and too much could of been stuff that it really does hamper my enjoyment at times. The plot is all "schroders cat". All alternative timelines connected to one, meaning there's is a day where the Dr and Bliss die and another were they are alive. The story becomes very techno babble heavy at times and has alternative timeline reveals, which for me I just don't always like. I know it's a time program and I do love a good time plot but sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I did like this it was just towards the end I did start to lose interest as I can't feel/engage with something that isn't real and is real at the same time, I can't trust myself, I'll just like things that aren't real or make connections that aren't there. But I think it's due to how I work as an actor.
My problems is that this spends way too much with Davros and showing us how clever it is connecting the pieces. Once Davros becomes Davros he's nothing more just doing what Davros does so all the drama is gone and build up with it. There's lots of great ideas here that sadly don't really go anywhere because the puzzle pieces have to connect. Such as Davros's wife, she does nothing and I was really looking forward to seeing her reaction to her husbands final form and see what Davros would do. There's a great build up of him struggling to control his self while become the Davros we know and this really needed a scene were his wife and him get to both see what's happened. By the finale of this set she kinda forgotten, which is a shame as id of liked to of seen 8th use it as a way to snap this Davros out if it. But as you'll see in the finale a big hole is starting to shape within the story.
There's another idea which I was so hopefully to see but we never did, when Davros is tricked and starts seeing his future or alternative selfs he sees one were his wife leaves him and becomes apart of the thal resistance group agasnt the kaleds. Imagine how incredibly dramatic and amazing it would of been to follow her journey too and the end were both sides used to love each other. Both innocent people manipulated and corrupted by the Daleks. In fact we don't see any of the Daleks taking over the planet like we keep getting told, we only see Davros cheer with joy watching them and it's such a shame to not show his other self be horrified by it. It just feels like Davros becomes Davros way to quickly and then forgets what just happened.
I also don't really like the easily way the story takes with how the Dalek time strategest tricks him, promising good Daleks and later we hear of Daleks being built. But we see non of this or it doesn't really develop or go anywhere. There's an incredible scene between the two, and I do really love the fact that this Dalek minuplutes this Davros to change all by using his wife as bait to safe her. But she needed to be a constant thread throughout not just a throwaway line/character in part two. I do also think that the time strategest basically filling Davros up with past Darvos or future Davros stuff was way to quick. Even though I did really enjoy those moments between them. Its exciting but there are noticeable problems.
There's a lots of great stuff with Davros as he slowly becomes trapped in his casing. It's quite horrible to hear him lose his legs and eyes and be trapped in this casing. All in all this a difficult story for me to review. It's incredibly creepy and enjoyable and horrific how the Dalek make a new Davros and it's bloody good stuff. However there is just alot of stuff that let it down by no pay offs or development and that's all because it needs to fit the puzzle together.
Rating 3/5 7/10
Rating as both part 1 & 2: 4/5 8/10
Restoration of the Daleks:
The timewar series has been a very mixed bag for me. We've been able to see the effect on each group of our main players and see how bad the timelords can be during it and how bad the doctor can be even though the drs involvement hasnt worked very well. Infact I still believe that 8th really didn't need to be this series, however I did love what we got with him and as he is my favourite Dr I loved seeing him face the Daleks/Davros. One thing I feel has been lacking is showing us the Daleks, the strength, cunning, horrific slaughters and just how bad they have been during the war. Finally we get just that.
The finale has alot to do and yet still adds more things in the bag, but still keeps the Daleks alive because of course they still have a lot to do in this war and it's only 8th here. I'm not a fan of Matt Fittons work so I was expecting this to be nothing more than techno babble laziness. But I will take my hat of and say well bloody done because that was a great finale. It's full of hype of course but I got what I wanted, to see the Daleks finally kick ass back. Its kind of frustrating to see just how good boxset 4s set and Dalek stories have been compared to other sets, both 8th and war drs. Both series have good stories but the structure has been lacking, the hype not build up and just didn't quite hit that "oh my god this a timewar" feel or really felt that like a strong end, just an okay and satisfying enough one. This set is by far my favourite of the timewar both Daleks and the war.
There is a lot happening here to enjoy and follow the journey off. We have Davros creating an early version of the nightmare child, a monstrous being which can consume all things and makes them stick together, creation a mass of horror. It's what will later consume him, which I desperately hope big finish do next. It's incredibly cruel to see that he's been making this for years and decided to use Bliss and these people's trust to try it out, it also shows you subtly just how angry and tragically he wants his childrens approval. Which in turn gave Bliss some great lines and we got an excellent final scene with Davros also going insane because his children will always need him. It's sad yet quite terrifying and Terry Molloy plays his beautifully evil. Davros had been used by the Dalek time strategest as a gateway to every past Dalek. Having seen all the pain he was put through in the first two stories, this make it an incredible horrible idea, all that pain for be used as a way to bring Daleks back and have Davros stowed away in the corner. Even though it sadly doesn't work as well as it could of done due to part two drifting away from his wife's arc etc. But it still has an effect.
Oftenly with these over the top finales there's always a really rubbish techno babble ending but here we actually get a straightforward answer and I Love the way the Dr decided to use his cunning and slight manipulation against the Dalek time strategest. In away just like David Whitaker would brilliantly do. He's very similar to the Daleks.
In one of my absolute favourite scenes in the whole boxsets. The Dr honestly, gives the Dalek time strategest an opportunity to live, to let each other live, they will continue to fight, the doctor and the Daleks but no one else gets hurt and the timewar stops. He tells the time strategest that both our sides won't know it will be there secret. It's an incredibly chillingly and beautifully played scene, with some great writing. This was an honest confession/plea with the time strategest, no fakeout out no second plan just yet. This is all you needed to show us to makes us see just how bad the time war has gotten for the doctor, you don't need over the top arcs of the doctor being made to press the button or make a choice of who lives, this scene right here nailed it perfectly without all that. The Dr tries to help the Daleks, which is already bad enough but here it's for a different reason. It's not so it will allow them to live so others can join forces, but to keep reminding himself what the doctor must do, fight the Daleks and stop innocents dieing, even if he can't stand them Gallifrey must be saved too. It's just brilliant stuff. What's the Dalek time strategests reply? He laughs and it fills him with ego as he's cribbled the doctor.
The Dr later is blackmailed about his future, the dalek strategest knows he's important to the war and can't be killed, so he also trys to trigger and spoil his pain that he will go through in the 9th & 10th drs era. With many references to many new series Dalek stories, like the cult of skaro, Dalek Cann and even the paradigms. In a nasty way this Dalek agrees with the doctors idea, it knows he must live and could take the doctors offer to leave the timewar but still fight each other, but it refuses because in a nutshell he's having fun, he's like a god. And he also pushes alittle Futher with the body of his great great grandchild, Alex. He can be saved. It actually laughs in his horrible mutant way at the Dr, it's quite chilling. It's incredibly horrific that the Dalek that killed both his friend Lucy and his great great grandchild has brought him back as bait for the Doctor Proving yet again that this is what makes a Dalek scary, there horrible manipulation before they kill you. Which is why I liked the idea of Alex being brought back more than I usually would, it can be incredibly annoying and slightly mess with this doctors canon/arc, Alex and Lucy was the main reason he looks for hope and gets minupluted by this Daleks past self "the Dalek time controller". But here the Daleks are just messing around with his hope, so it works.
In away it's a massive shame this isn't the last story for 8th, it would make a perfect ending if it was slightly re-written and somehow ended with the Dalek time strategest forcing him in the ship that crashes on Karn. I don't think big finish realised just how strong this boxset was.
I also loved the way 8th remains strong and fights fire with fire. He allows Davros to be freed to go to the Dalek emperor and let the Daleks own ridiculous hypocritical obsession with purity kill most of them. Davros asks the Daleks who will stand with him. Some do and a fight begins. It's a very tense and honestly epic moment and I can magine how incredible it could look on screen. This is a story is lost my mind over as a kid, a story that should of been instead that awful journeys end one. But Davros too in this scene is still so sly, telling the Daleks he's very proud of them. It's full of many great moments and diologue. The 8th then does what of course a finale would do and creates a bomb for the time strategest but I'm so glad it was just for him and destorys only him, no techno babble of everything being erased just him. And the Daleks aren't defeated.
I also loved bliss here too, as she fights with Rasmus to save the planet and people, there's some great chemistry between them. Bliss has been really good here in boxset 4 and Ive really enjoyed actress Rakhee Thakrar, even though she's nothing more than a time enigma, but I loved how she tries to do what the Dr couldn't, fight back and nearly kill Davros and try to save these people, which she does. I really liked how nearly every character gets a victory, but alot of them also are similar to Daleks which is a nice subtle theme here. The story ends also like a cliffhanger, bliss stays with the Dr and Alex is resurrected. I wonder if more sets are on the way?
Overall boxset 4 is possibly the best timewar boxset, strong ideas and stops telling and starts showing and finally let's the Daleks be the main star. The only thing that doesn't quite work is the schrodinger's cat timeline with Davros at times, it's makes you wonder if this is the real timeline were listening to, or if this is the first nightmare child Davros has created. It's alittle convoluted but just try to think this is the only timeline but there are possibly others. But skip "Deadshade" as it's has no relevance to this set, waste of an hour and nothing happens, I'd of complete cut that story and made a 4th continuing the story of this, maybe the final days of Davros and the jaws of the nightmare child. If you place "The war Valeyard" here instead of "Dreadshade" it would make on hell of a boxset. I've re-listened to Palindrome and restoration all in one with no interruptions and it's a far stronger story and boxset that way.
Rating 4/5 9/10
3 parter rating 4/5 8/10
Boxset rating 4/5 8/10
Boxset ranking: 4, 2, 3, 1
Story ranking (Best to least favourite):
Restoration of the Daleks
Palindrome part 1
The war Valeyard
Planet of the ogrons
The lords of terror
Palindrome part 2
Echoes of war
Fugitive in time
The starship of Theseus
Jonah
One life
The famished lands
In the garden of death
Dreadshade
State of bliss
The conscript
After the last boxset ended with an exciting set up we now see the pay off story that's all focused around Davros. I was both incredibly excited and worried about this story, I had alot of fans telling me how good it was and it was partially the reason I started the Dalek marathron. I have to say what an incredible part one it was. I utterly loved and enjoyed every minute.
The story is both a race against time and a backwards telling of time, clues in the name. The Dr and Bliss must get to Davros before the Dalek time strategest can help him be Davros and create the Daleks again. However Davros is living life backwards seeing what is to happen and trying to change it before the final day right at the start. I really appreciate and loved the way this was written more as Davros character piece than a doctor who story one. To really care and understand the stakes and drama we need as much time as possible with this Davros.
I was expecting to see Davros living his life as a what if he was a good scientist and if he helped people, a hero even. While some maybe disappointed by that I was totally relieved we got something completely different and normal. Davros does a few experiments but he's just a normal Kaled living his normal life with his wife. The relationship between them is really well done for the short moments we see them, there just like an old couple who love each other but bicker playfully. I really liked the running joke of finish cereal she gives him and her joke about having a secret young toyboy when he's out. It just feels real and you understand him and his feelings for her.
It was quite heartbreaking to show Davros watch her die in all these future days as the Daleks attack and thals are killed, you slowly get a beautiful Shakespearean descent of desperation for saving her life. It was also a clever little nod/idea to have his wife be a thal. We start to see the Dr and Bliss to be killed many times which is revealed why in part two.
There is just so much fascinating ideas and alternative timelines here. Here the kaleds and thals worked out there war and now live in peace and actually helped stop the war of the timelords. I'd definitely love to see a story about that please. It's both horrific and exciting as a fan to hear the Daleks deliberately attack the thals to trigger an event, another war, this could also cause alot of drama with his wife too. Which does slightly get expanded on but turns to a more how to manipulate Davros in part two that was incredibly tragic.
Finally in the end Davros Mets his future/alternative self. In one my favourite scenes/twists in the story. The future Davros actually warns and gives Davros a chance to stop both the Dr and the Dalek time strategest from coming through. The subtext drama is so tragic and brilliant. Proving that there is a part of Davros who is good and wanted better for himself. Absolutely loved that scene. It does slightly be contradicted in part two when it's revealed that is an alternative Davros but also has every memory and event from the real Davros in his mind. It gets incredibly techno babble annoyingly and it does all depend on what you think is happening. This does eventually cause a slight problem with the finale too as it's carefully and slowly rewritten.
Rating 4/5 9/10
Palindrome part 2:
Despite having mixed feelings on the second part of the story I will say that John Dorney does an incredible job at tieing all this pieces and past scenes together in a very clever and fascinating way. It both shows you just how evil, minupluting and determined the Daleks are and can be. It also gives a rare glimpse into what our Davros feels and what a tragic character he'll always be. Regardless of what universe he is in he will always be a lost soul, someone who's actions really do come back to haunt him, how he is at the heart a character you do feel alittle sorry for. This second part does a bloody job of showing us a slow decent into madnes of Davros. But what makes this Davros much more tragic, is that it was a good person, had a wife, and it's quite horrible to hear him slowly lose his grip on his past self.
But where there is some incredible stuff there is alot of stuff that really let this down. I really liked this story but there is too much that gets in the way and too much could of been stuff that it really does hamper my enjoyment at times. The plot is all "schroders cat". All alternative timelines connected to one, meaning there's is a day where the Dr and Bliss die and another were they are alive. The story becomes very techno babble heavy at times and has alternative timeline reveals, which for me I just don't always like. I know it's a time program and I do love a good time plot but sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I did like this it was just towards the end I did start to lose interest as I can't feel/engage with something that isn't real and is real at the same time, I can't trust myself, I'll just like things that aren't real or make connections that aren't there. But I think it's due to how I work as an actor.
My problems is that this spends way too much with Davros and showing us how clever it is connecting the pieces. Once Davros becomes Davros he's nothing more just doing what Davros does so all the drama is gone and build up with it. There's lots of great ideas here that sadly don't really go anywhere because the puzzle pieces have to connect. Such as Davros's wife, she does nothing and I was really looking forward to seeing her reaction to her husbands final form and see what Davros would do. There's a great build up of him struggling to control his self while become the Davros we know and this really needed a scene were his wife and him get to both see what's happened. By the finale of this set she kinda forgotten, which is a shame as id of liked to of seen 8th use it as a way to snap this Davros out if it. But as you'll see in the finale a big hole is starting to shape within the story.
There's another idea which I was so hopefully to see but we never did, when Davros is tricked and starts seeing his future or alternative selfs he sees one were his wife leaves him and becomes apart of the thal resistance group agasnt the kaleds. Imagine how incredibly dramatic and amazing it would of been to follow her journey too and the end were both sides used to love each other. Both innocent people manipulated and corrupted by the Daleks. In fact we don't see any of the Daleks taking over the planet like we keep getting told, we only see Davros cheer with joy watching them and it's such a shame to not show his other self be horrified by it. It just feels like Davros becomes Davros way to quickly and then forgets what just happened.
I also don't really like the easily way the story takes with how the Dalek time strategest tricks him, promising good Daleks and later we hear of Daleks being built. But we see non of this or it doesn't really develop or go anywhere. There's an incredible scene between the two, and I do really love the fact that this Dalek minuplutes this Davros to change all by using his wife as bait to safe her. But she needed to be a constant thread throughout not just a throwaway line/character in part two. I do also think that the time strategest basically filling Davros up with past Darvos or future Davros stuff was way to quick. Even though I did really enjoy those moments between them. Its exciting but there are noticeable problems.
There's a lots of great stuff with Davros as he slowly becomes trapped in his casing. It's quite horrible to hear him lose his legs and eyes and be trapped in this casing. All in all this a difficult story for me to review. It's incredibly creepy and enjoyable and horrific how the Dalek make a new Davros and it's bloody good stuff. However there is just alot of stuff that let it down by no pay offs or development and that's all because it needs to fit the puzzle together.
Rating 3/5 7/10
Rating as both part 1 & 2: 4/5 8/10
Restoration of the Daleks:
The timewar series has been a very mixed bag for me. We've been able to see the effect on each group of our main players and see how bad the timelords can be during it and how bad the doctor can be even though the drs involvement hasnt worked very well. Infact I still believe that 8th really didn't need to be this series, however I did love what we got with him and as he is my favourite Dr I loved seeing him face the Daleks/Davros. One thing I feel has been lacking is showing us the Daleks, the strength, cunning, horrific slaughters and just how bad they have been during the war. Finally we get just that.
The finale has alot to do and yet still adds more things in the bag, but still keeps the Daleks alive because of course they still have a lot to do in this war and it's only 8th here. I'm not a fan of Matt Fittons work so I was expecting this to be nothing more than techno babble laziness. But I will take my hat of and say well bloody done because that was a great finale. It's full of hype of course but I got what I wanted, to see the Daleks finally kick ass back. Its kind of frustrating to see just how good boxset 4s set and Dalek stories have been compared to other sets, both 8th and war drs. Both series have good stories but the structure has been lacking, the hype not build up and just didn't quite hit that "oh my god this a timewar" feel or really felt that like a strong end, just an okay and satisfying enough one. This set is by far my favourite of the timewar both Daleks and the war.
There is a lot happening here to enjoy and follow the journey off. We have Davros creating an early version of the nightmare child, a monstrous being which can consume all things and makes them stick together, creation a mass of horror. It's what will later consume him, which I desperately hope big finish do next. It's incredibly cruel to see that he's been making this for years and decided to use Bliss and these people's trust to try it out, it also shows you subtly just how angry and tragically he wants his childrens approval. Which in turn gave Bliss some great lines and we got an excellent final scene with Davros also going insane because his children will always need him. It's sad yet quite terrifying and Terry Molloy plays his beautifully evil. Davros had been used by the Dalek time strategest as a gateway to every past Dalek. Having seen all the pain he was put through in the first two stories, this make it an incredible horrible idea, all that pain for be used as a way to bring Daleks back and have Davros stowed away in the corner. Even though it sadly doesn't work as well as it could of done due to part two drifting away from his wife's arc etc. But it still has an effect.
Oftenly with these over the top finales there's always a really rubbish techno babble ending but here we actually get a straightforward answer and I Love the way the Dr decided to use his cunning and slight manipulation against the Dalek time strategest. In away just like David Whitaker would brilliantly do. He's very similar to the Daleks.
In one of my absolute favourite scenes in the whole boxsets. The Dr honestly, gives the Dalek time strategest an opportunity to live, to let each other live, they will continue to fight, the doctor and the Daleks but no one else gets hurt and the timewar stops. He tells the time strategest that both our sides won't know it will be there secret. It's an incredibly chillingly and beautifully played scene, with some great writing. This was an honest confession/plea with the time strategest, no fakeout out no second plan just yet. This is all you needed to show us to makes us see just how bad the time war has gotten for the doctor, you don't need over the top arcs of the doctor being made to press the button or make a choice of who lives, this scene right here nailed it perfectly without all that. The Dr tries to help the Daleks, which is already bad enough but here it's for a different reason. It's not so it will allow them to live so others can join forces, but to keep reminding himself what the doctor must do, fight the Daleks and stop innocents dieing, even if he can't stand them Gallifrey must be saved too. It's just brilliant stuff. What's the Dalek time strategests reply? He laughs and it fills him with ego as he's cribbled the doctor.
The Dr later is blackmailed about his future, the dalek strategest knows he's important to the war and can't be killed, so he also trys to trigger and spoil his pain that he will go through in the 9th & 10th drs era. With many references to many new series Dalek stories, like the cult of skaro, Dalek Cann and even the paradigms. In a nasty way this Dalek agrees with the doctors idea, it knows he must live and could take the doctors offer to leave the timewar but still fight each other, but it refuses because in a nutshell he's having fun, he's like a god. And he also pushes alittle Futher with the body of his great great grandchild, Alex. He can be saved. It actually laughs in his horrible mutant way at the Dr, it's quite chilling. It's incredibly horrific that the Dalek that killed both his friend Lucy and his great great grandchild has brought him back as bait for the Doctor Proving yet again that this is what makes a Dalek scary, there horrible manipulation before they kill you. Which is why I liked the idea of Alex being brought back more than I usually would, it can be incredibly annoying and slightly mess with this doctors canon/arc, Alex and Lucy was the main reason he looks for hope and gets minupluted by this Daleks past self "the Dalek time controller". But here the Daleks are just messing around with his hope, so it works.
In away it's a massive shame this isn't the last story for 8th, it would make a perfect ending if it was slightly re-written and somehow ended with the Dalek time strategest forcing him in the ship that crashes on Karn. I don't think big finish realised just how strong this boxset was.
I also loved the way 8th remains strong and fights fire with fire. He allows Davros to be freed to go to the Dalek emperor and let the Daleks own ridiculous hypocritical obsession with purity kill most of them. Davros asks the Daleks who will stand with him. Some do and a fight begins. It's a very tense and honestly epic moment and I can magine how incredible it could look on screen. This is a story is lost my mind over as a kid, a story that should of been instead that awful journeys end one. But Davros too in this scene is still so sly, telling the Daleks he's very proud of them. It's full of many great moments and diologue. The 8th then does what of course a finale would do and creates a bomb for the time strategest but I'm so glad it was just for him and destorys only him, no techno babble of everything being erased just him. And the Daleks aren't defeated.
I also loved bliss here too, as she fights with Rasmus to save the planet and people, there's some great chemistry between them. Bliss has been really good here in boxset 4 and Ive really enjoyed actress Rakhee Thakrar, even though she's nothing more than a time enigma, but I loved how she tries to do what the Dr couldn't, fight back and nearly kill Davros and try to save these people, which she does. I really liked how nearly every character gets a victory, but alot of them also are similar to Daleks which is a nice subtle theme here. The story ends also like a cliffhanger, bliss stays with the Dr and Alex is resurrected. I wonder if more sets are on the way?
Overall boxset 4 is possibly the best timewar boxset, strong ideas and stops telling and starts showing and finally let's the Daleks be the main star. The only thing that doesn't quite work is the schrodinger's cat timeline with Davros at times, it's makes you wonder if this is the real timeline were listening to, or if this is the first nightmare child Davros has created. It's alittle convoluted but just try to think this is the only timeline but there are possibly others. But skip "Deadshade" as it's has no relevance to this set, waste of an hour and nothing happens, I'd of complete cut that story and made a 4th continuing the story of this, maybe the final days of Davros and the jaws of the nightmare child. If you place "The war Valeyard" here instead of "Dreadshade" it would make on hell of a boxset. I've re-listened to Palindrome and restoration all in one with no interruptions and it's a far stronger story and boxset that way.
Rating 4/5 9/10
3 parter rating 4/5 8/10
Boxset rating 4/5 8/10
Boxset ranking: 4, 2, 3, 1
Story ranking (Best to least favourite):
Restoration of the Daleks
Palindrome part 1
The war Valeyard
Planet of the ogrons
The lords of terror
Palindrome part 2
Echoes of war
Fugitive in time
The starship of Theseus
Jonah
One life
The famished lands
In the garden of death
Dreadshade
State of bliss
The conscript
June 14, 2021
“PALINDROME”
In un universo alternativo, Davros vive in pace, fino a quando il Dottore e Bliss arrivano, e i Dalek emergono in una nuova realtà.
PARTE 1
Il gentile scienziato Davros vive un giorno dopo l'altro sul pacifico mondo di Skaro, con la sua amata moglie Charn. Ma quando quei giorni iniziano a scorrere all'incontrario, e due misteriosi stranieri entrano nella sua vita, Davros viene attratto verso un terribile futuro. Oppure è un terribile passato?
PARTE 2
Il Dottore e Bliss combattono il piano del Dalek Time Strategist per far rinascere i Dalek nell'universo – dentro ogni universo.
Davros deve opporsi al suo destino e provare a salvare tutto ciò che ha di più caro. Le sue creazioni stanno ritornando...
-
Dopo il fantastico finale del volume 3, ci ritroviamo ora in un universo alternativo in cui Davros è un pacifico scienziato e in cui i Kaled e i Thals vivono in armonia su Skaro. Davros e sua moglie sono una coppia normale e molto dolce, con cui si può empatizzare facilmente. L'unica cosa che li distingue è quella di aver inventato un portale extra-dimensionale, e questo porterà conseguenze catastrofiche non solo su di loro, ma anche sul multiverso.
La storia è interamente dal punto di vista di Davros: nella prima parte vediamo i suoi giorni scorrere all'incontrario, dal quinto al primo. Nella seconda il giusto andamento viene ripristinato, ma la prospettiva è diversa. Appunto come un palindromo, può essere letto sia in un verso sia nell'altro.
Questo concetto di sperimentare il passare dei giorni prima in maniera retrograda e successivamente in maniera cronologica è uno dei più affascinanti che abbia mai sentito. Perfino all'interno di una serie come Time War in cui il timey-wimey fa da padrone, qui si raggiungono tutte altre vette.
Dato che vediamo solo il punto di vista di Davros, non possiamo vedere in che modo il Dottore e Bliss sperimentano il passare del tempo, e tocca a noi collegare i pezzi. Pur avendo un ruolo quasi marginale, entrambi hanno delle battute fantastiche.
Terry Molloy fa un ottimo lavoro nell'interpretare le diverse versioni di Davros, e avere modo di scoprire un personaggio così diverso da quello che conosciamo, così dolce e sensibile nei riguardi della donna che ama e la sua disperazione via via crescente nel cercare di salvarla, rende la tragedia del suo inevitabile destino molto più toccante.
Ho apprezzato la prima parte un pochino di più rispetto alla seconda, in cui vediamo un Davros più simile a quello che conosciamo, ma anche qui ci sono delle trovate geniali che ho adorato.
Quindi certamente questo doppio episodio è addirittura meglio di The War Valeyard, che finora è stato l'apice della serie (è interessante anche il fatto che entrambi presentino due grandi villain come eroi).
Non so se il resto del boxset riuscirà ad eguagliare questo incipit, ma se anche così non fosse non importa: Palindrome da solo vale tutti i soldi spesi.
“DREADSHADE”
Il Dottore e Bliss trovano i Signori del Tempo a riprendersi da una guerra di cui non hanno alcuna memoria. Mentre il Generale decommissiona una miriade di armi terribili, la Dodici vede un'opportunità.
In un universo in cui nessuno si ricorda dei Dalek, i Signori del Tempo sono i mostri di cui tutti hanno paura.
All'inizio dell'episodio mi sono preoccupata, pensando “Oh, no: un'altra storia di amnesia per l'Ottavo Dottore e Bliss!”. Considerando che era successo da poco in The Garden of Death, e senza contare il miliardo di volte in cui è capitato a Otto in generale, temevo sarebbe stata la solita solfa.
Invece, qui questo cliché ha tutta un'altra funzione, perché non sono solo il Dottore e/o la sua companion a soffrire di perdita di memoria: bensì tutto l'universo!
I Signori del Tempo devono fare i conti con le conseguenze di una guerra che non ricordano di aver combattuto, contro un nemico di cui non sanno nemmeno il nome. Ma in tutto questo, una persona ricorda, ed è intenzionata a prendersi la sua rivincita...
In questo episodio vediamo il ritorno della Dodici, che finalmente rindossa i panni dell'antagonista in tutta la sua gloria, affiancata dalle sue altre personalità.
Ritroviamo anche altri due Signori del Tempo che conosciamo: il Generale, che abbiamo visto nella serie nuova (The Day of the Doctor, Hell Bent), di nuovo interpretato da Ken Bones; e il cardinale Rasmus, personaggio che è apparso in Ravenous, ora in un'altra incarnazione. Entrambi, seppur sempre guidati dal codice militare, sono meno spietati di Tamasan e Ollistra e creano un interessante rapporto di rispetto reciproco con il Dottore, anche se a volte si ritrovano in disaccordo.
L'ambientazione è prevalentemente su Gallifrey, ma c'è anche lo scorcio di un pianeta che è stato un campo di battaglia e che ora dopo la brusca fine della guerra è rimasto a soqquadro.
Nei volumi precedenti, e anche in altri contesti come ad esempio Doom Coalition, si è visto quali tipi di “armi” i Signori del Tempo amano collezionare, e vedere come queste vengono trattate quando non sono più necessarie ci fa quasi simpatizzare con la Dodici.
Tecnicamente, a paragone delle altre storie del set, questo dovrebbe essere un episodio “riempitivo”. Eppure, per la quantità di idee intriganti che contiene, in qualsiasi altro contesto sarebbe potuto essere uno degli episodi portanti. Giusto per indicare il livello di qualità di questo volume.
“RESTORATION OF THE DALEKS”
I Dalek stanno arrivando.
Mentre il Dalek Time Strategist restaura le sue armate dal multiverso, Davros ha un nuovo scopo, ed è molto peggio di quanto i Dalek o i Signori del Tempo possano immaginare.
Mentre Bliss fa tutto quello che può per salvare un mondo, il Dottore si trova davanti ad un confronto culminante.
E arriviamo così al finale del volume che, lo dico fin da subito, non è un finale di serie, perché si potrebbe andare avanti per altri venti boxset con la stessa formula. Ma dato che ancora la Big Finish non ha annunciato un Volume 5, per concentrarsi invece sulle origini del War Doctor (cosa che approvo assolutamente, per rinfrescare un po' l'aria) e non pare neanche intenzionata a “chiudere il cerchio” ricollegandosi a The Night of The Doctor, questo episodio è l'ultimo che vede Otto e Bliss invischiati nella Guerra del Tempo, per il momento. Poi ci può sempre essere spazio per andare avanti in futuro.
Qui si riparte con la Guerra del Tempo come la conosciamo, con le due armate pronte a scontrarsi, ma i Dalek hanno un asso nella manica. Il Dottore e Bliss come al solito cercano di limitare i danni e proteggere gli innocenti, ma così facendo si imbattono nei piani dei loro nemici.
I due rimangono separati per la maggior parte del tempo, permettendo così anche a Bliss di spiccare per il suo intelletto e il suo coraggio. Anche se nel complesso non è stata una delle companion che mi abbia appassionata di più a livello emotivo, credo sia stata una scelta azzeccata nel contesto di questa serie, dimostrando un carattere forte anche nelle situazioni più critiche.
Rasmus come al solito si riconferma come uno dei pochi Signori del Tempo decenti (formando anche una certa amicizia con Bliss), e Tamasan questa volta riesce a non risultarmi antipatica.
Sia Davros sia il Dalek Time Strategist cercano alleanze in posti inaspettati, portando il Dottore ad un confronto finale che presagisce il suo futuro coinvolgimento nella guerra.
Con ancora un altro protagonista della Guerra del Tempo che si viene ad aggiungere, i pezzi sulla scacchiera si stanno delineando, con ogni fazione che cerca di superare le altre in astuzia. In questo episodio più che in tutti gli altri, che vedevano il Dottore assistere le retrovie, qui si ha la sensazione di essere proprio al centro del conflitto, dove una piccola decisione può influenzare il destino del multiverso intero.
Ci sono diversi riferimenti sia alla serie classica sia a quella nuova, oltre che un collegamento alle precedenti avventure dell'Ottavo, e fa sempre piacere vedere questa continuità, come pezzi di puzzle che si vanno ad incastrare. Vecchi dissapori ritornano a galla e cupe previsioni di quello che avverrà vengono menzionate.
Un finale decisamente grandioso e su larga scala, quindi, ma non mi stupirei se annunciassero un volume successivo. Dopo tutto, quel cliffhanger dovranno pur continuarlo da qualche parte...
In un universo alternativo, Davros vive in pace, fino a quando il Dottore e Bliss arrivano, e i Dalek emergono in una nuova realtà.
PARTE 1
Il gentile scienziato Davros vive un giorno dopo l'altro sul pacifico mondo di Skaro, con la sua amata moglie Charn. Ma quando quei giorni iniziano a scorrere all'incontrario, e due misteriosi stranieri entrano nella sua vita, Davros viene attratto verso un terribile futuro. Oppure è un terribile passato?
PARTE 2
Il Dottore e Bliss combattono il piano del Dalek Time Strategist per far rinascere i Dalek nell'universo – dentro ogni universo.
Davros deve opporsi al suo destino e provare a salvare tutto ciò che ha di più caro. Le sue creazioni stanno ritornando...
-
Dopo il fantastico finale del volume 3, ci ritroviamo ora in un universo alternativo in cui Davros è un pacifico scienziato e in cui i Kaled e i Thals vivono in armonia su Skaro. Davros e sua moglie sono una coppia normale e molto dolce, con cui si può empatizzare facilmente. L'unica cosa che li distingue è quella di aver inventato un portale extra-dimensionale, e questo porterà conseguenze catastrofiche non solo su di loro, ma anche sul multiverso.
La storia è interamente dal punto di vista di Davros: nella prima parte vediamo i suoi giorni scorrere all'incontrario, dal quinto al primo. Nella seconda il giusto andamento viene ripristinato, ma la prospettiva è diversa. Appunto come un palindromo, può essere letto sia in un verso sia nell'altro.
Questo concetto di sperimentare il passare dei giorni prima in maniera retrograda e successivamente in maniera cronologica è uno dei più affascinanti che abbia mai sentito. Perfino all'interno di una serie come Time War in cui il timey-wimey fa da padrone, qui si raggiungono tutte altre vette.
Dato che vediamo solo il punto di vista di Davros, non possiamo vedere in che modo il Dottore e Bliss sperimentano il passare del tempo, e tocca a noi collegare i pezzi. Pur avendo un ruolo quasi marginale, entrambi hanno delle battute fantastiche.
Terry Molloy fa un ottimo lavoro nell'interpretare le diverse versioni di Davros, e avere modo di scoprire un personaggio così diverso da quello che conosciamo, così dolce e sensibile nei riguardi della donna che ama e la sua disperazione via via crescente nel cercare di salvarla, rende la tragedia del suo inevitabile destino molto più toccante.
Ho apprezzato la prima parte un pochino di più rispetto alla seconda, in cui vediamo un Davros più simile a quello che conosciamo, ma anche qui ci sono delle trovate geniali che ho adorato.
Quindi certamente questo doppio episodio è addirittura meglio di The War Valeyard, che finora è stato l'apice della serie (è interessante anche il fatto che entrambi presentino due grandi villain come eroi).
Non so se il resto del boxset riuscirà ad eguagliare questo incipit, ma se anche così non fosse non importa: Palindrome da solo vale tutti i soldi spesi.
“DREADSHADE”
Il Dottore e Bliss trovano i Signori del Tempo a riprendersi da una guerra di cui non hanno alcuna memoria. Mentre il Generale decommissiona una miriade di armi terribili, la Dodici vede un'opportunità.
In un universo in cui nessuno si ricorda dei Dalek, i Signori del Tempo sono i mostri di cui tutti hanno paura.
All'inizio dell'episodio mi sono preoccupata, pensando “Oh, no: un'altra storia di amnesia per l'Ottavo Dottore e Bliss!”. Considerando che era successo da poco in The Garden of Death, e senza contare il miliardo di volte in cui è capitato a Otto in generale, temevo sarebbe stata la solita solfa.
Invece, qui questo cliché ha tutta un'altra funzione, perché non sono solo il Dottore e/o la sua companion a soffrire di perdita di memoria: bensì tutto l'universo!
I Signori del Tempo devono fare i conti con le conseguenze di una guerra che non ricordano di aver combattuto, contro un nemico di cui non sanno nemmeno il nome. Ma in tutto questo, una persona ricorda, ed è intenzionata a prendersi la sua rivincita...
In questo episodio vediamo il ritorno della Dodici, che finalmente rindossa i panni dell'antagonista in tutta la sua gloria, affiancata dalle sue altre personalità.
Ritroviamo anche altri due Signori del Tempo che conosciamo: il Generale, che abbiamo visto nella serie nuova (The Day of the Doctor, Hell Bent), di nuovo interpretato da Ken Bones; e il cardinale Rasmus, personaggio che è apparso in Ravenous, ora in un'altra incarnazione. Entrambi, seppur sempre guidati dal codice militare, sono meno spietati di Tamasan e Ollistra e creano un interessante rapporto di rispetto reciproco con il Dottore, anche se a volte si ritrovano in disaccordo.
L'ambientazione è prevalentemente su Gallifrey, ma c'è anche lo scorcio di un pianeta che è stato un campo di battaglia e che ora dopo la brusca fine della guerra è rimasto a soqquadro.
Nei volumi precedenti, e anche in altri contesti come ad esempio Doom Coalition, si è visto quali tipi di “armi” i Signori del Tempo amano collezionare, e vedere come queste vengono trattate quando non sono più necessarie ci fa quasi simpatizzare con la Dodici.
Tecnicamente, a paragone delle altre storie del set, questo dovrebbe essere un episodio “riempitivo”. Eppure, per la quantità di idee intriganti che contiene, in qualsiasi altro contesto sarebbe potuto essere uno degli episodi portanti. Giusto per indicare il livello di qualità di questo volume.
“RESTORATION OF THE DALEKS”
I Dalek stanno arrivando.
Mentre il Dalek Time Strategist restaura le sue armate dal multiverso, Davros ha un nuovo scopo, ed è molto peggio di quanto i Dalek o i Signori del Tempo possano immaginare.
Mentre Bliss fa tutto quello che può per salvare un mondo, il Dottore si trova davanti ad un confronto culminante.
E arriviamo così al finale del volume che, lo dico fin da subito, non è un finale di serie, perché si potrebbe andare avanti per altri venti boxset con la stessa formula. Ma dato che ancora la Big Finish non ha annunciato un Volume 5, per concentrarsi invece sulle origini del War Doctor (cosa che approvo assolutamente, per rinfrescare un po' l'aria) e non pare neanche intenzionata a “chiudere il cerchio” ricollegandosi a The Night of The Doctor, questo episodio è l'ultimo che vede Otto e Bliss invischiati nella Guerra del Tempo, per il momento. Poi ci può sempre essere spazio per andare avanti in futuro.
Qui si riparte con la Guerra del Tempo come la conosciamo, con le due armate pronte a scontrarsi, ma i Dalek hanno un asso nella manica. Il Dottore e Bliss come al solito cercano di limitare i danni e proteggere gli innocenti, ma così facendo si imbattono nei piani dei loro nemici.
I due rimangono separati per la maggior parte del tempo, permettendo così anche a Bliss di spiccare per il suo intelletto e il suo coraggio. Anche se nel complesso non è stata una delle companion che mi abbia appassionata di più a livello emotivo, credo sia stata una scelta azzeccata nel contesto di questa serie, dimostrando un carattere forte anche nelle situazioni più critiche.
Rasmus come al solito si riconferma come uno dei pochi Signori del Tempo decenti (formando anche una certa amicizia con Bliss), e Tamasan questa volta riesce a non risultarmi antipatica.
Sia Davros sia il Dalek Time Strategist cercano alleanze in posti inaspettati, portando il Dottore ad un confronto finale che presagisce il suo futuro coinvolgimento nella guerra.
Con ancora un altro protagonista della Guerra del Tempo che si viene ad aggiungere, i pezzi sulla scacchiera si stanno delineando, con ogni fazione che cerca di superare le altre in astuzia. In questo episodio più che in tutti gli altri, che vedevano il Dottore assistere le retrovie, qui si ha la sensazione di essere proprio al centro del conflitto, dove una piccola decisione può influenzare il destino del multiverso intero.
Ci sono diversi riferimenti sia alla serie classica sia a quella nuova, oltre che un collegamento alle precedenti avventure dell'Ottavo, e fa sempre piacere vedere questa continuità, come pezzi di puzzle che si vanno ad incastrare. Vecchi dissapori ritornano a galla e cupe previsioni di quello che avverrà vengono menzionate.
Un finale decisamente grandioso e su larga scala, quindi, ma non mi stupirei se annunciassero un volume successivo. Dopo tutto, quel cliffhanger dovranno pur continuarlo da qualche parte...
March 10, 2022
Palindrome by John Dorney
Amazing premise, amazing story, amazing characters and amazing acting! Davros' slow conversion to the Davros we know and love is heartbreaking. Hearing him so confused on what the write thing to do is and his relationship with Charn was excellent. The palindrome structure of the audio, although confusing, is brilliantly executed. I particularly like the explanation provided on how Davros returned after the events of Terror Firma. 10/10
Dreadshade by Lisa McMullin
Sadly, we have an Eighth Doctor memory wipe. The twist this time is that everyone in the universe has forgotten the Daleks apart from the Twelve. Speaking of the Twelve, she is very good in this story. The actual Dreadshade is a very clever creature as it grows more powerful the more it gets scared. I'd say the most notable thing I didn't like about the story was Bliss' side of the story. She gets to do stuff but honestly it doesn't contribute much to the plot. 8/10
Restoration of the Daleks by Matt Fitton
Brilliant, high stakes finale of the set! The Emperor has been revived and wants to get rid of Davros. Davros is on a planet where he has a genius plan to weaponise the inhabitants. The interactions between the Doctor and Davros are great but it isn't just the Doctor and Davros who get great interactions when Davros addresses the Emperor and the Dalek fleet was the best part of the set in my opinion. Davros brings up some good points regarding why the Daleks should be loyal to him and not the Emperor. Its just a really great section and is enjoyable to hear the Time Strategist recommending the Emperor to not let Davros speak to the Daleks and the Emperor's ego taking priority. Plus this story has a really neat reveal at the end which makes me excited for the following volume whether it be Volume 5 or a new series taking place after Volume 4 (like Doom Coalition 4 to Ravenous 1). 10/10
Overall 28/30
Amazing premise, amazing story, amazing characters and amazing acting! Davros' slow conversion to the Davros we know and love is heartbreaking. Hearing him so confused on what the write thing to do is and his relationship with Charn was excellent. The palindrome structure of the audio, although confusing, is brilliantly executed. I particularly like the explanation provided on how Davros returned after the events of Terror Firma. 10/10
Dreadshade by Lisa McMullin
Sadly, we have an Eighth Doctor memory wipe. The twist this time is that everyone in the universe has forgotten the Daleks apart from the Twelve. Speaking of the Twelve, she is very good in this story. The actual Dreadshade is a very clever creature as it grows more powerful the more it gets scared. I'd say the most notable thing I didn't like about the story was Bliss' side of the story. She gets to do stuff but honestly it doesn't contribute much to the plot. 8/10
Restoration of the Daleks by Matt Fitton
Brilliant, high stakes finale of the set! The Emperor has been revived and wants to get rid of Davros. Davros is on a planet where he has a genius plan to weaponise the inhabitants. The interactions between the Doctor and Davros are great but it isn't just the Doctor and Davros who get great interactions when Davros addresses the Emperor and the Dalek fleet was the best part of the set in my opinion. Davros brings up some good points regarding why the Daleks should be loyal to him and not the Emperor. Its just a really great section and is enjoyable to hear the Time Strategist recommending the Emperor to not let Davros speak to the Daleks and the Emperor's ego taking priority. Plus this story has a really neat reveal at the end which makes me excited for the following volume whether it be Volume 5 or a new series taking place after Volume 4 (like Doom Coalition 4 to Ravenous 1). 10/10
Overall 28/30
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2023
The three stories in this collection form a relatively tight arc, as the Time War seemingly nears a conclusion (but doesn’t really, for obvious reasons). The first story is fantastic, but after that, while the tension is building towards a climactic finale it falls back into something more typical and less remarkable. Terry Molloy is excellent as Davros and McGann and Thakrar are as good as always, but there’s only so much you can do with Daleks. It ends on a semi-cliffhanger, even though it was apparently intended as the last in the series and there’s no explanation as to why Bliss isn’t in the eventual follow-up – presumably because they didn’t know that at the time. Pity; she should have had a proper send-off, and I’m guessing she doesn’t get one.
Palindrome – It’s perhaps surprising that after so many of these stories about the Time War BF can still manage to come up with new ways to play around with time, but that’s what happens here. It’s a two-hour story taking place over the course of five days, running backwards to the beginning in the first half and then reversing to run forwards again in the second. Despite the fact that not all of the characters are experiencing things in this order, the result is a lot less confusing than one might think – and, to be fair, if you’re not into timey-wimey stories, you won’t have got this far anyway.
The subject of this palindromic story is an alternate reality in which the Kaleds and the Thals never went to war, and Davros is a benign and peaceful scientist. Until, of course, things go wrong. It’s told from Davros’s perspective, giving Molloy a wider range of character types to play than he normally does in these things – beyond an obsession with science, there’s no real point of similarity between this Davros and the regular one. It’s a dark story, as one might expect for something about the Time War, as the characters struggle to take advantage of the unusual time flow and prevent the Daleks rising again after their defeat in the previous volume. 5 stars.
Dreadshade – This a more conventional story dealing with the outcome of what appears to be the end of the War, with a Time Lord victory. Obviously, that isn’t what’s really happening, and what we get in part is a mystery to which we, the listener, know the answer but the Doctor doesn’t. In fact, it’s Bliss who mainly gets to explore this element, giving her a more important role than she had in the first story, while the Doctor is more concerned with deadly Gallifreyan weapons being liberated from storage by The Twelve. It’s a decent story, although not perhaps especially outstanding, with plenty of connections to earlier volumes in the series, tying things together more than usually happened hitherto. Bliss is good, and The Twelve perhaps slightly less so (since her previous selves are largely supressed) but it’s also a welcome break from everything being exterminated all the time. 4 stars.
Restoration of the Daleks – If you’re a fan of Daleks specifically, rather than just Doctor Who more generally, this may well appeal to you more than it did to me. The Doctor once again tries to avoid the War and ends up in the middle of it anyway, dealing with the fallout of the events in Palindrome and the struggles between different Dalek leaders. Daleks shout at one another a lot, plenty of things explode or get exterminated, and it’s basically all a big battle even if the Doctor and Bliss aren’t directly involved in the fighting. There are shout-outs to the modern series as well as to other audios and, yes, it’s all big and spectacular. On the other hand, action doesn’t work so well in a medium where you can’t see what’s happening and, honestly, the whole “lots of Daleks fighting” thing is starting to get a bit tired. Or it is for me, anyway. 3.5 stars.
Palindrome – It’s perhaps surprising that after so many of these stories about the Time War BF can still manage to come up with new ways to play around with time, but that’s what happens here. It’s a two-hour story taking place over the course of five days, running backwards to the beginning in the first half and then reversing to run forwards again in the second. Despite the fact that not all of the characters are experiencing things in this order, the result is a lot less confusing than one might think – and, to be fair, if you’re not into timey-wimey stories, you won’t have got this far anyway.
The subject of this palindromic story is an alternate reality in which the Kaleds and the Thals never went to war, and Davros is a benign and peaceful scientist. Until, of course, things go wrong. It’s told from Davros’s perspective, giving Molloy a wider range of character types to play than he normally does in these things – beyond an obsession with science, there’s no real point of similarity between this Davros and the regular one. It’s a dark story, as one might expect for something about the Time War, as the characters struggle to take advantage of the unusual time flow and prevent the Daleks rising again after their defeat in the previous volume. 5 stars.
Dreadshade – This a more conventional story dealing with the outcome of what appears to be the end of the War, with a Time Lord victory. Obviously, that isn’t what’s really happening, and what we get in part is a mystery to which we, the listener, know the answer but the Doctor doesn’t. In fact, it’s Bliss who mainly gets to explore this element, giving her a more important role than she had in the first story, while the Doctor is more concerned with deadly Gallifreyan weapons being liberated from storage by The Twelve. It’s a decent story, although not perhaps especially outstanding, with plenty of connections to earlier volumes in the series, tying things together more than usually happened hitherto. Bliss is good, and The Twelve perhaps slightly less so (since her previous selves are largely supressed) but it’s also a welcome break from everything being exterminated all the time. 4 stars.
Restoration of the Daleks – If you’re a fan of Daleks specifically, rather than just Doctor Who more generally, this may well appeal to you more than it did to me. The Doctor once again tries to avoid the War and ends up in the middle of it anyway, dealing with the fallout of the events in Palindrome and the struggles between different Dalek leaders. Daleks shout at one another a lot, plenty of things explode or get exterminated, and it’s basically all a big battle even if the Doctor and Bliss aren’t directly involved in the fighting. There are shout-outs to the modern series as well as to other audios and, yes, it’s all big and spectacular. On the other hand, action doesn’t work so well in a medium where you can’t see what’s happening and, honestly, the whole “lots of Daleks fighting” thing is starting to get a bit tired. Or it is for me, anyway. 3.5 stars.
November 21, 2022
E01/2 - Palindrome - Oh, this is the time war story I was hoping for. It's dark, twisted and uses full use of the weird changes that the time war entails. My main takeaway from this is that Terry Molloy is a powerhouse of an actor. Hearing him change from a peaceful, caring version of Davros to the twisted and demented version that we all know. The transformation scene is heartbreaking and horrifying, kudos to the acting and sound design. The idea of having this as a two-parter that follows the say events in reverse order then chronologically is a great way to structure this as this could of very easily been too complicated to follow but having the clear divisions of days really helped. After having 2 box sets of middling to good stories, to have one this excellent, gives me hope that this box set can be the best yet. 9/10
E03 - Dreadshade - So, the doctor and Bliss escape back into the main universe (N-Space), and the Time War has finished, all the Daleks have vanished with no one remembering them. No one that is but the Twelve. The doctor, Bliss and the time lords try and work out who the enemy was in the war whilst simultaneously dealing with the twelve. The twelve is using a creature called a ‘Dreadshade’ which is fueled by fear, which is a nice neat concept. The dread from the previous story hangs over the entire story and keeps you gripped every time the time lords come close and remember the Daleks. Overall, it's really good and I wish that we get to see more of the twelve in the future. 8/10
E04 - Restoration of the Daleks - The Daleks are back and are using the multiverse to make an infinite army. The doctor and Bliss find Davros and try to capture him for the time lords. But discover that the time Strategist is essentially torturing him to restore the empire of the Daleks. Towards the halfway point the Time strategists restore the Dalek empire into the universe. From this we see another mini-civil war between the emperor and Davros and in audio, it works quite well as an action set piece to end the box set. But throughout the story we a teased about who is in a status pod that the doctor is interested in, it turns out to be Alex (his great-grandson). This resurrection I am a bit hesitant about this because there is only so much you can do with a character like him. But due to the recent announcement of 2 new box sets, it will be interesting what direction they take with him. 8/10
E03 - Dreadshade - So, the doctor and Bliss escape back into the main universe (N-Space), and the Time War has finished, all the Daleks have vanished with no one remembering them. No one that is but the Twelve. The doctor, Bliss and the time lords try and work out who the enemy was in the war whilst simultaneously dealing with the twelve. The twelve is using a creature called a ‘Dreadshade’ which is fueled by fear, which is a nice neat concept. The dread from the previous story hangs over the entire story and keeps you gripped every time the time lords come close and remember the Daleks. Overall, it's really good and I wish that we get to see more of the twelve in the future. 8/10
E04 - Restoration of the Daleks - The Daleks are back and are using the multiverse to make an infinite army. The doctor and Bliss find Davros and try to capture him for the time lords. But discover that the time Strategist is essentially torturing him to restore the empire of the Daleks. Towards the halfway point the Time strategists restore the Dalek empire into the universe. From this we see another mini-civil war between the emperor and Davros and in audio, it works quite well as an action set piece to end the box set. But throughout the story we a teased about who is in a status pod that the doctor is interested in, it turns out to be Alex (his great-grandson). This resurrection I am a bit hesitant about this because there is only so much you can do with a character like him. But due to the recent announcement of 2 new box sets, it will be interesting what direction they take with him. 8/10
July 8, 2021
Palindrome Part One / Part Two:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended
This one drags quite a bit in the second half, but the creativity of this story is really something. Watching Davros' life get torn apart bit by bit and seeing him slowly lose his personality is tragic, and I think this being a two parter helped with that due to the extra development he got before his downfall. The ongoing mystery is captivating in the first part, but eventually it does get very technical and loses that somewhat. Pretty solid plot with so many twists that I'm very surprised it didn't throw me off the road entirely, though I suppose that's due to the slow speed at parts.
Dreadshade:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended
An ongoing mystery where you know all the answers going in doesn't sound all that interesting, but this works surprisingly well. The dreadshade is a fun concept and works well when paired with the Twelve, especially when the Twelve is the only one who remembers what terrifies them more than anything. I really love how the Twelve has developed, since their inhibitor isn't working they are particularly more unhinged than previous stories, making them quite a capable threat. I seriously love the evil grandma thing that she has going on, that cackle makes me smile every time.
Restoration of the Daleks:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended
This is a pretty fun story with some good stakes but some iffy pacing. Love the chemistry Davros has with literally everyone in this story, everyone bounces off him so well, with maybe the exception of the other daleks. Davros makes the other Daleks look like white bread, even though the emperor should be able to go up against Davros in terms of threat level and character, it's a pretty big shame that he isn't nearly at the levels he is in series 1. The same goes for the Time Strategist, he's not at his usual levels here and he's constantly getting overshadowed by Davros. The setting for this story is very similar to ones that have been shown in the past, even one from the last boxset, but I still love this idea, especially when knights in armour are wielding laser swords. I found the ending to this story to be a bit iffy, but it doesn't hurt the story as a whole. Part of me hopes the conclusion to this boxset never properly gets a resolution and ends up as one of the mysteries of the Time War.
7/10
Verdict: Recommended
This one drags quite a bit in the second half, but the creativity of this story is really something. Watching Davros' life get torn apart bit by bit and seeing him slowly lose his personality is tragic, and I think this being a two parter helped with that due to the extra development he got before his downfall. The ongoing mystery is captivating in the first part, but eventually it does get very technical and loses that somewhat. Pretty solid plot with so many twists that I'm very surprised it didn't throw me off the road entirely, though I suppose that's due to the slow speed at parts.
Dreadshade:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended
An ongoing mystery where you know all the answers going in doesn't sound all that interesting, but this works surprisingly well. The dreadshade is a fun concept and works well when paired with the Twelve, especially when the Twelve is the only one who remembers what terrifies them more than anything. I really love how the Twelve has developed, since their inhibitor isn't working they are particularly more unhinged than previous stories, making them quite a capable threat. I seriously love the evil grandma thing that she has going on, that cackle makes me smile every time.
Restoration of the Daleks:
7/10
Verdict: Recommended
This is a pretty fun story with some good stakes but some iffy pacing. Love the chemistry Davros has with literally everyone in this story, everyone bounces off him so well, with maybe the exception of the other daleks. Davros makes the other Daleks look like white bread, even though the emperor should be able to go up against Davros in terms of threat level and character, it's a pretty big shame that he isn't nearly at the levels he is in series 1. The same goes for the Time Strategist, he's not at his usual levels here and he's constantly getting overshadowed by Davros. The setting for this story is very similar to ones that have been shown in the past, even one from the last boxset, but I still love this idea, especially when knights in armour are wielding laser swords. I found the ending to this story to be a bit iffy, but it doesn't hurt the story as a whole. Part of me hopes the conclusion to this boxset never properly gets a resolution and ends up as one of the mysteries of the Time War.
September 24, 2023
Palindrome (the two-parter) is absolutely amazing.
Stunning performance by Terry Molloy. He is the definite star in this, and completely out-shines the Doctor and Bliss.
It is heart-breaking and shocking to witness the slow transformation of a nice, gentle and loving Davros of a parallel time-line into the monster we all know and love.
This set is worth it for that story alone.
Stunning performance by Terry Molloy. He is the definite star in this, and completely out-shines the Doctor and Bliss.
It is heart-breaking and shocking to witness the slow transformation of a nice, gentle and loving Davros of a parallel time-line into the monster we all know and love.
This set is worth it for that story alone.
September 23, 2020
As always, Dorney's parts are incredible, the rest... very meeeeh :)
October 1, 2020
Wow!! What a fucking ending....
October 8, 2020
wow, what a great collection of stories, I didn't think they'd surpass the last one but this one strolls by it easily before easily setting a huge new bar for all future releases to aspire towards :)
October 18, 2020
The doctor and bliss try to help davros and the time lords during the time war.
September 2, 2022
My favorite of these Time War box sets. Excellent use of Davros how we’re not used to seeing him.
July 19, 2025
I think this is my favourite Big Finish Dr Who set so far. The stories are clever, the characters are intriguing, and it wraps up in a most satisfying fashion. I would give this 6 stars if I could.
December 17, 2025
4.1 'Palindrome Part 1-2' by John Dorney: 5*
4.2 'Dreadshade' by Lisa McMullin: 5*
4.3 'Restoration of the Daleks' by Matt Fitton: 4,5*
4.2 'Dreadshade' by Lisa McMullin: 5*
4.3 'Restoration of the Daleks' by Matt Fitton: 4,5*
January 17, 2022
Palindrome:
After the incredible finale in Time War 3 also by Dorney himself, John Dorney comes back to write a timey-wimey two-parter for Time War 4's opener that is just brilliant!
We finally get a story that does something very new and clever for Davros and ends up being an emotional piece with some tad bits of horror. This is a story of a man's life who gets ripped apart and it's both tragic and terrifying at the same time. This is a brilliant way to open up this box set and the cast especially Terry Molloy did a brilliant job bringing this two-parter to life! Part One: 10/10 Part Two: 10/10
Dreadshade:
Nowhere near as good as the opening two-parter but it's still a decent story nonetheless. The Doctor and Bliss have returned back to their universe but they don't remember one another or of The Time War...
An interesting little story that has plenty of references to previous installments in the series as well as having returning appearances from Rasmus (Ravenous 3), The Twelfth, and The General! So a fun story with really interesting ideas but I do feel unfair for giving this story such a low rating considering that I don't think anything was going to top Palindrome. 6/10
Restoration of The Daleks:
Wow, just wow! This isn't quite as good as Palindrome but it's still utterly brilliant! An epic conclusion to the set with plenty of references, action, and a shocking cliffhanger that makes me excited for Time War 5! 9/10
Overall, a fantastic set that I had believed to be the last of The Time War sets but it seems that Big Finish still has more to give and I am so looking forward to it! Everyone was brilliant in this and the writers did a great job! Considering this was my most anticipated audio this year, it did not disappoint! 35/40
After the incredible finale in Time War 3 also by Dorney himself, John Dorney comes back to write a timey-wimey two-parter for Time War 4's opener that is just brilliant!
We finally get a story that does something very new and clever for Davros and ends up being an emotional piece with some tad bits of horror. This is a story of a man's life who gets ripped apart and it's both tragic and terrifying at the same time. This is a brilliant way to open up this box set and the cast especially Terry Molloy did a brilliant job bringing this two-parter to life! Part One: 10/10 Part Two: 10/10
Dreadshade:
Nowhere near as good as the opening two-parter but it's still a decent story nonetheless. The Doctor and Bliss have returned back to their universe but they don't remember one another or of The Time War...
An interesting little story that has plenty of references to previous installments in the series as well as having returning appearances from Rasmus (Ravenous 3), The Twelfth, and The General! So a fun story with really interesting ideas but I do feel unfair for giving this story such a low rating considering that I don't think anything was going to top Palindrome. 6/10
Restoration of The Daleks:
Wow, just wow! This isn't quite as good as Palindrome but it's still utterly brilliant! An epic conclusion to the set with plenty of references, action, and a shocking cliffhanger that makes me excited for Time War 5! 9/10
Overall, a fantastic set that I had believed to be the last of The Time War sets but it seems that Big Finish still has more to give and I am so looking forward to it! Everyone was brilliant in this and the writers did a great job! Considering this was my most anticipated audio this year, it did not disappoint! 35/40
April 18, 2023
The fourth Eighth Doctor Time War boxset contains three stories and carries on directly from the end of the previous set Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor - Time War, Volume 3. The first Palindrome is probably the best. Taking place on a parallel Skaro, its main focus is on Davros who, in this universe, never created the Daleks. It very cleverly plays with time and makes great use of the palindrome structure (a word or phrase spelled the same backwards and forwards). The second story, Dreadshade, sees the Doctor and Bliss back on Gallifrey where no one remembers the Daleks. However, the Twelve (Julia McKenzie) does and has liberated/stolen the Dreadshade, a creature that feeds itself into a frenzy off of fear. It's a decent story with some interesting ideas. The final story, Restoration of the Daleks, wraps up the set bringing the Daleks and Time War back to "our" universe. This was a good set all around, but Palindrome really stands out and is memorable, even after two-and-a-half months (yeah, it's been taking me awhile to get to some of these reviews). An excellent Eighth Doctor set, but an even better Time War set.
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