Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice

Gallifrey #1.1

by Alan Barnes, Louise Jameson (Narrator), Lalla Ward (Narrator)

The Time Lords of Gallifrey were the first to map the Web of Time. Now, under the reforming gaze of President Romanadvoratrelundar, the oldest civilisation is ready to shed its monopoly, sharing its secrets with a coalition of the Temporal Powers the Monan Host, the Nekkistani and the Warpsmiths of Phaidon among them.

But the coalition is a fragile one, and despised in some quarters. When a team of Time Technology Assessors makes a horrific discovery on the barren moon of Kikrit, it seems their enemies are arming themselves to strike at the alliance. Has a terrorist group really acquired a temporal weapon so terrible the Time Lords forgot about its existence?

In search of the truth, Romana sends the woman called Leela and the robot dog K9 to the enclave of Gryben, a reception centre for temporal refugees. But the truth is war's first casualty and the fallout could destroy them all.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Media Tie In, British Literature, Fiction

Audio CD

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Alan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television. Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. Among other strips, Barnes originally commissioned The Simping Detective. He also wrote a handful of Judge Dredd stories involving alternate universes or featuring a young Dredd.

He worked for five years at Doctor Who Magazine and progressed from writing strips to becoming joint editor in 1998 and sole editor from 2000 until 2002. He subsequently contributed the ongoing Fact of Fiction series of articles to the magazine. Barnes has also written or co-written a number of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions.

He has written a number of books on cult films (including James Bond, Quentin Tarantino and Sherlock Holmes) and his book The Hammer Story, co-written with Marcus Hearn, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 1997.

Reviews

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This woman has killed herself and you think only of your evidence?"

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

01/01/25
Well, it's been a crap start to 2025. Time for comfort audios <3

-

For my Gallifrey annual relisten.

I love this one so much. It's such a great opening to Gallifrey and Alan Barnes writes Romana and Leela exceptionally well, especially after Zagreus.

I also love how much these characters were at the start of Gallifrey season 1 and how much we got to see them grow and develop; especially Narvin. Narvin was just a complete douche in season 1 which is to be expected after Vansell and Arkadian is such a good villain. Actually, one of the best villains next to Darkel big finish have done.

Absolutely love the politics and characters. Gallifrey is my favourite big finish spin off all times.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bit boring.

[Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gallifrey series from Big Finish is an excellent one, especially if you like political thrillers. It also happens to be the first spin-off I delved into (beyond the specificly Doctor Who ranges). There are a few Doctor Who stories that you should be aware of before diving in that, while not absolutely necessary, do help give this series context. The first is the TV Story "The Invasion of Time" which sees Leela staying behind on Gallifrey to marry Andred. The others form a loose Gallifrey arc in the Main/Monthly range and are (in order): Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time, Doctor Who: The Apocalypse Element, Doctor Who: Neverland and Doctor Who: Zagreus. There are prerequesites with the last two (the whole Charley Arc) and Zagreus is not for those new to Who. However, I think you can enjoy the Gallifrey series without those, though they do provide context to the series.

This story introduces our regulars going forward: Leela (Lousie Jameson), Romana II (Lala Ward), K9 Mark I and K9 Mark II (John Leeson), CIA Coodinator Narvin (Sean Carlson), Torvald (Andy Coleman) and Cardinal Braxiatel (Miles Richardson). The plot revolves around the theft of a Timonic Fusion Device by an organization known as Free Time. This story sets up a lot that will become more relevant as the series progresses. In the end, everything wraps up, though with no real answers, and Romana moves on to the next crisis. She invites Leela back to Gallifrey as her Presidential Bodyguard with K-9 Mk I as her Security Advisor.

A really enjoyable start to the series. It introduces the main characters well, both the ones we already know from televised Doctor Who (Romana II, Leela, the K-9s) and the ones we don’t (Narvin, and Brax). There’s the politics that one expects from Gallifrey but also action, intrigue and surprisingly, humor. It’s plot-driven, but also very character-driven. Overall, a very good start.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been waiting for AGES for Big Finish to offer the first few series of Gallifrey as digital downloads. I was a huge fan of both Romana II and Leela from the classic Who serials I've seen, so as soon as I found out about this series I've been dying to give it whirl. This is the series opener, where Romana has already been elected President of Gallifrey and is rocking the boat with her progressive views. Leela is tasked with investigating the Free Time Movement and discovers the Time Lords' involvement in an ancient weapon that threatens civilization. In the end, Leela surmises that the perpetrator was a Time Lord who does not share Romana's views and agrees to become her bodyguard; thus, a dynamic duo is born. Lalla Ward and Louise Jameson were stellar together and I cannot wait to see where this series goes next.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid opening story that introduces all our characters nicely whilst being instantly thrown into a political thriller where much is at stake! Romana and Leela’s bond is only starting whilst we have two K9’s, The Doctor’s interesting brother Cardinal Braxiatel and Narvin, a character I love but sometimes especially in this instance love to hate. And our villain Nepenthe who’s definitely a episode one villain but a pretty darn good one at that.

This story also begins a few plot threads that will be carried out throughout the series.

Overall a brilliant opening story that was slow-paced but a lot of fun. 9/10

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series picks up from the 4th Doctor Who television series when Lelia is married and living on Gallifrey where Romana is president of the high council. Lelia's husband is missing and there are two K-9s (which means he gets to always be present). The tone and substance of the plot are much darker than the source material, dealing with politics, espionage, time travel refugees, and a potential bomb. All of the actors do a good job and the story is a solid thriller. However, I found it too sparse on what Leela's life on Gallifrey was like before her husband went missing and Barnes makes her a bit robotic emotionally.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

ヴォルテックスを通過してタイムトラベルをするのはタイムロードの特権とされていたがそれに反感を持つフリータイムというテログループが不穏な動きを見せているということでロマーナはリーラとK9に偵察させる。

結局ロマーナの失脚を目論むがリフレイの何者かが仕組んだワナと発覚。
今回の件でリーラとK9はロマーナの身辺警護とそのアドバイザーに任命されるのだけれども、タイムトラベルをする権利をタイムロードだけが占有することに対して反感が起こるのも無理ないことのような気がするし。
無法状態にするわけにもいかないけれども、どう管理していくかというのは難しい問題だなと。タイムロードもタイムトラベルをしなくなればいいのではとも思ったけれども一度発見された手段がそのまま放置されることもないだろうし難しいなぁと。

こんなゴタゴタに巻き込まれないドクターの気持ちもわかるけれども、さりとてほったらかしていてもいいのかなぁと一応大統領だったわけだし...。

リーラの旦那が行方不明というのも気になるところ。

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slow-moving in a way, but everyone in this is great. I love Madame President Romana, and of course I always love that Leela is forever ready to stab anyone who trifles with her. Looking forward to continuing on with this series.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

( Grabbed during the current Gallifrey deals)

Gallifrey has been on my radar for awhile. And this is an incredible start! Romana & Leela are brilliant, and it definitely makes me curious to hear the rest

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful start to a Big Finish Audio series dear to my heart. It’s got Time Lord politics, drama, beginnings of friendship, and although it’s a bit slow and was hard for me to get into at first, it’s definitely worth the listen! ❤️

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure there was some novelty in hearing all these familiar voices when this was first released back in the day. But overall, it felt like a slow start to the series to me. There's also a dated line about how a woman needs her husband. Maybe the series improves. I'll have to see.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A smart, old-fashioned spy thriller with Romana, Leela and K9(s). What more do you want?

[Shaun Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A promising start, but mired by dangling plot threads (obviously meant to set up the rest of the box set.)

For our full thoughts visit https://travelingthevortex.com/?p=8992

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

That feeling when you realise all the doctor who audiobooks you've been binging count on goodreads ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a slow starter, different tone to quite a few of the other Big Finish releases. Nice to hear some familiar voices.

[Charles Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Political intrigue abounds.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing tangent (I know I’m coming late to the party). It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cautious four stars, but it will depend on how this series unfolds as to whether it warrants it.

[Xavier Granville · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome story and introduction to a series! As a big fan of the Classic Doctor Who series I was happy to hear that the characters of Leela and Romana go on to find their own spotlights in the audio series Gallifrey. And I must say, the first episode does not disappoint!

Every bit a high stakes political thriller as well as an adventure in time and space, Weapon of Choice throws us right in the middle of a potential skirmish between the Time Lords and the other Temporal Powers, and at the heart of it is President Romana.

Throw in Louise Jameson as Leela, who has gone through, apparently, a lot since parting ways with the Doctor to remain on Gallifrey. I greatly look forward to hearing how they reveal what all went down, and who is this mysterious husband of hers is that has been missing for some time.

All in all I thought this was great, and I'm so happy to hear both Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward bringing new life and changes to classic characters that so deserved their own series.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4th listen, this series really is perfection. Still the best thing BF have ever done.

I'm listening to this again for the third time and I still love it to bits. It is wonderful to have Leela and Romana at the centre of the story. I love the two K9s. I love the idea of K9 masqurading as an evil genius. The planet where the people who attempt to travel in time are relagated brings an unpleasant, if very realistic, side to the the time lords. Romana is a brilliant president and has all the most amazing lines. It is also lovely to see Brax and Narvin again. This does a superb job of bringing all the characters together, setting up the series as well as being a strong individual installment.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing I love about the Gallifrey series is that it makes up its own rules; it has its own style of language and has a very unique flavour unlike anything else in the Doctor Who canon. It plays with planet-sized ideas like spinning plates; it creates a world of politics, sweeping storylines and exotic locations. Having cherry picked the best elements of Doctor Who, it does its own thing with them and superlatively.

[Nicholas Whyte]

Weapon of Choice has the Time Lords dealing with a crisis on a refugee planet, and reflected interestingly on the topic of humanitarian military interventions.[return][return](Review of whole first Gallifrey series at http://nhw.livejournal.com/838410.html)

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gallifrey series is a spin-off series on Big Finish showing the political machinations and intrigue involving President Romana with offworlder Leela as a contrast. I do like how this story builds up Gallifrey and its interactions with the other worlds, allows us to see the compromises Romana is forced into. Look forward to continuing my marathon of these.

[Jadetyger Sevea · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 31/2 stars. An interesting set up, and I can see how the series will eventually evolve. Will I buy the next one? Possibly. The concept is intriguing, even though Romana and Leela aren't particularly favorites. That being said, they were interesting here

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first venture into the Gallifrey audios, this features Leela and Romana involved in the world of temporal politics. There were some great lines, including the idea of K9 and Leela going undercover with K9 as an alien criminal and Leela has his

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting adventure involving a time bomb being stolen from the Timelords and Romana sending Leela, a second K-9 and another to try a infiltrate a terrorist organization that hates the Time Lords.

[Sidney McKidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid series opening, with some great character moments.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story where President Romana sends Leela on to a world used to trap incautious time travellers.