The Forbidden Time

"We are the Vist! Time belongs to us."

Writer: David Lock

Format: Audio

Released: March 2011

Series: Companion Chronicles 5.09

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie

Synopsis

Time Walkers have descended upon the Earth. The alien race, known as the Vist, has claimed an area of time for itself - sky species entering into the immediate future will pay the most terrible forfeit. 

The human race is in a state of panic, but one woman knows the truth. Her name is Polly Wright and she visited that future manly years ago, with the Doctor, Jamie and Ben. 

She has stepped into the Forbidden Time - and this is her story...

Verdict 

The Forbidden Time is an excellent audio adventure! Having one of my all time favourite companions, Polly, as the narrator and main character for the story was brilliant. I really loved the idea of having Polly, a former trustee companion of the Doctor, giving a news conference to assure people that things were fine after a threatening telepathic message swept through the world. The idea of most of the attendees of the conference having some detailed knowledge of the Doctor and his capabilities was terrific! The enemies of the story, the Vist, once introduced after a good build up, were certainly unique in appearance and intriguing in their life form. As described in the story and seen on the CD cover, the tall, thin somewhat messed up creature didn't look all that threatening. It just looked wrong, as Polly pointed out. But it's voice was very commanding and aggressive and sparked fear on the planet. Their attempts to block off the Earth years 2011-2019 was outstanding, and anyone that passed through (yes, the time periods, unavoidable for humans) would have to pay with half of their life energy, on which the Vist fed. The way that time was just another direction, literally, for these creatures was incredible and somewhat hard to comprehend. Going from the Bronze Age to the distant future could be done as easy as going up the stairs for us human folk. Quite an incredible concept! The atmosphere of the story was extremely tense and eery after the apparent death of Ben. Polly's reaction was heartbreaking and made me think of her reference to him in the 2011 news conference. I found it rather sad how, after everything they went through together, Polly said she only occasionally saw Ben. Surely the pair must've gotten together after they departed the TARDIS? A missed opportunity in my eyes. The references to The War Machines and The Dalek Invasion of Earth were very much welcomed, as are any references in any story! The humour between Ben and Polly about them subtly wanting to learn of cars and fashion developments in their future was great! Jamie's reaction to the voice recording machine was brilliant and I really liked its use in the story. It served a terrific purpose! The climax was excellent and the Doctor's genius in defeating the Vist was just superb. I thought it was extremely intriguing how, despite not name-dropping or mentioning by name, that the Second Doctor referrered to the Time Lords and how they were the masters of time. In a chronological sense from the Doctor's perspective, was the first detailed mention of his own people? Polly's reaction was great and I was further intrigued by the Doctor's shunning, almost shameful reaction when asked why he doesn't talk of his people. I can't bring it about me to think that he regrets for one minute leaving his home planet! The Doctor lying about his people though to send the Vist to a time before time existed, therefore making their existence null, was just wonderful and expertly explained. A very precise and clever audio adventure! But the only main let down for me was the cliffhanger. Polly telling the attendees to have a tea break halfway through? Please, something better! 

Rating: 9/10