Enemy Lines

"When one sees her with one's own eyes, it is already too late."

Writer: David Llewellyn 

Format: Audio

Released: May 2016

Series: Gallifrey 08

Featuring: Romana II, Leela, Ace

Synopsis

In the distant future, President Romanadvoratrelundar will do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her allies and friends...

In the distant past, President Romanadvoratrelundar will do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her allies and friends...

Unfortunately for Romana, there is no easy option.

With the threat of impending war, and negotiations still ongoing, the Temporal Powers are growing restless. Every day, they find their future slipping away from them. Every decision they make proves critical. And no one can escape the fact that sacrifices have to be made...

Time is running out... and it's running straight to Gallifrey.

Verdict

Enemy Lines was a really great story to comprise the eighth series of Gallifrey! I am really in love with this spinoff range and I'm so glad to now be in a position to tackle the Time War series, something I have been waiting to get for a very long time now. This was a fine story and whilst it was pretty long at six parts and nearly three hours, it became quite the epic. I think it would have actually worked a little better as three single episodes with then cliffhangers as they were, but it was no issue from me in getting it all done in a day! I enjoyed how things started with Narvin and Ace seemingly being executed and the continuity from Intervention Earth was unexpected and very clever. We hear Ace in a much earlier point in her timeline having been dropped off by the Doctor and not reached the point we saw her in the Omega affair in the aforementioned seventh series story. I do hope we can get more of a relationship built between Romana, Leela and Ace based on their experiences of travelling with the Doctor, and that was just one minor thing was that without that common ground Ace felt slightly out of place in a Gallifrey story. It was lovely to hear Romana and Leela together again and their relationship really is the bedrock for this range. Alongside Narvin, the trio have been through a considerable amount together. Having Braxiatel sent from the future incarnation of Romana to prevent the timeline leading to war was brilliant and the issues of whether he could actually be trusted were good to present. Romana getting a future memory feeling knowing that it was the truth though was a nice touch. Romana going to the extent of resigning as President in order to try and prevent the future worked well, and her appointing Livia as her successor was fun, but not as fun as naming herself as Coordinator of the CIA and reducing Narvin to Deputy. He didn't take well to that at all. The cliffhanger of part two with Narvin being murdered by the Watchmaker was outstanding and really made me sit up and take notice. She was an intriguing villain and her place in Gallifreyan history and mythology was fun to explore. Romana was initially dismissive of her presence, but it just couldn't be denied as time went on and even Ace saw her in space without a suit. Livia and Plutus were an odd couple and the plotting of the latter was a little predictable but in a way that didn't take away from the story. The scheme with Kalbez and the continuing issues between the Temporal Powers was excellent and really strong continuity across what is now eight series. The Moros threatening to leave Gallifrey and even concocting their own murder themselves was great and I liked the political tension that pose. Livia had an incredibly eventful first day as President with all that had occurred with powers leaving and Narvin dying, but she took it in her stride and was determined to discover Romana's endgame. I thought the sacrifice that Romana was prepared to make in triggering her own rewgernation to use the energy to power the Moros ship was fantastic, and the way she tricked Leela was something the savage did not appreciate. Braxiatel coming to the rescue was not expected, but it was all in vain by the time of the conclusion as both Romana and Leela were a paradox on this world and courageously sacrificed themselves to ensure the timeline moved forward and correctly. That was an emotional end to a story ravaged with Gallifrey politics amongst scheming and manoeuvring. Narvin having never actually died in the first place is a clever way to bring him back, and I'm glad it was four parts later as the impact of his death was felt in a very strong way. The scene at the end with the Watchmaker and Braxiatel was intriguing as he finally had to decide on his own right path, and the whole story of her myth was fascinating. I hope we haven't heard the last of her. But for now, one war is averted but I get the sense another is looming. Overall, a great audio!

Rating: 8/10