The Boy That Time Forgot

"You've changed. You're not the Adric I knew."

Writer: Paul Magrs
Format: Audio
Released: July 2008
Series: Main Range 110

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Adric

Synopsis

A lost world. A prehistoric civilisation. A dark secret.

The Doctor and Nyssa find themselves transported from Victorian London back to the dawn of time, accompanied by debonair adventurer Rupert Von Thal and no-nonsense novelist Beatrice Mapp. Together these unlikely heroes must brave primitive jungles and battle ravening insects as they make their way to the city of giant scorpions, ruled over by... The Boy That Time Forgot.

Verdict

The Boy That Time Forgot was a brilliant audio adventure in the Main Range of Big Finish stories! It was completely unexpected regarding who was the titular character and made for a wonderful cliffhanger at the end of part one. I couldn't quite believe it when it was revealed that Adric was still alive. I never in my wildest dreams would ever have thought there would be an Adric story that was a sequel to Earthshock, but Big Finish keep on pulling gems out of the hat. It was extraordinary. The following on from The Haunting of Thomas Brewster was very good with the Doctor and Nyssa without the TARDIS, which would obviously change their relationship and lifestyle quite drastically. The Doctor was doing everything he could to try and get it back and the next step was block transfer computation. That has always been a concept that has fascinated me ever since Logopolis and seeing it utilised in depth here was terrific. I really enjoyed it and the whole process of the power of numbers is just great. Adric was not the boy we knew who travelled with the Doctor here. He was the Scorpion King. His Excellency. This was his realm and his little insects did his bidding. He was after revenge on the Doctor for letting him die and he also wanted Nyssa to be his new bride. That made for uncomfortable listening but I liked the realism as surely there would be sexual tension on board the TARDIS. Nyssa made it clear that she'd never liked him in that way though. He was hurt, but aggressive and not taking no for an answer which added to the discomfort. Adric would come around towards the end so it wasn't all bad. The Doctor hearing of how close his companion was to solving the numbers on board the freighter was an emotional moment and I thought it was unfair when Adric had blamed the Doctor for his 'death'. That guilt had stuck with the Doctor as during the seance experiment, he'd actually been sleepwalking in time and had helped Adric stay alive. I thought the idea of sleepwalking in time was superb and whilst I'm sure many fans would not have liked the idea of retconning that impactful ending to Earthshock, I'm more than happy for this to have occurred because it's clear it was a one-off. Adric would end the story dead, but having lived a fruitful life in his own reality shaped by Star, the computer programme that the Cybermen had left in charge of the crashed freighter. They didn't know the power they possessed but Adric had utilised it to gain control of the scorpions who were an interesting element of the story. Rupert and Beatrice were fantastic characters in their own right and I thought their engagement was oddly timed, but very nice. I was surprised by Nyssa's disapproving reaction though! I thought the ending was really heartwarming with Adric using his last breaths to retrieve the TARDIS for the Doctor. He used his calculations and block transfer computation to find a helpless Thomas Brewster in the TARDIS and return them both to Victorian London. It was tremendous. A fitting way for Adric to truly depart. The joy in the Doctor's voice when he heard the TARDIS returning was something special too. They really are inseparable! Overall, a brilliant adventure!

Rating: 9/10