The Relics of Time

"The prophecies of the history book were coming to life."

Writer: Paul Magrs

Format: Audio

Released: September 2010

Printed in: Demon Quest 01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Mrs Wibbsey

Synopsis 

The Doctor's return to Nest Cottage lands him in trouble when a key component from the TARDIS disappears. Mrs Wibbsey is inadvertently responsible, but all she can offer in recompense is a bag containing four curious objects. It seems that each one is a clue, and the beginning of a chase through time.

In ancient Sussex they are apprehended by primitive tribesfolk, and mistake for wizards. Can the revered goddess Wibbsentia get them out of hot water?

Who is the fearful wizard in the neighbouring village, and why is the countryside littered with bodies?

The Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey are about to discover that all is not right with history...

Verdict

The Relics of Time was an excellent start to kick off the Demon Quest anthology of AudioGo adventures for the Fourth Doctor! I didn’t know what to expect from this series as they’re really quirky and Hornet’s Nest was fun if not a little strange, something that definitely continued here! I thought this was brilliant though which was a delight! The Doctor had returned to Nest Cottage one year after his previous departure and I imagine that was a fun nod to when the audio was released. The quick recap of events was a good reintroduction to Mrs Wibbsey and before we knew it she was quickly established as a companion! She wasn’t happy in the 21st century being from the 1930s which was fair enough and she instantly provided humour when it seemed that she had sold a vital component for the TARDIS as part of a sale in aid of orphans. The Doctor’s reaction was magnificent and I have to say I thought Tom Baker did a fantastic job in the role here. The chemistry between the Doctor and Wibbsey was magical and even the way the former said the latter’s name was wonderful. Wibbsey having done a part exchange for the TARDIS component was fun stuff and items within the bag she was given mysteriously bore the face of the Fourth Doctor! Well, that just couldn’t be possible according to the Time Lord as it seemed that at this point in his timeline, at least in this body, he hadn’t been to the Roman era. So how had it all happened? Couple that with the fact that the objects were deemed as sacrifices of the goddess Wibbsentia and we had a brilliant archaic paper trail on our hands! I really liked that without the TARDIS component, the Doctor’s time and space machine could only move in time. That was unique and the Doctor didn’t react well to being stuck on Earth again! He and Wibbsey being greeted by a Celtic tribe was really good and I loved how they were thought of as Druids, quickly realising that displaying magic may be the only chance they had of being kept alive. Wibbsey seemed at home acting as a goddess which took the Doctor by surprise, as did her spiel that really geared up the tribe to declare war on their neighbouring counterparts! That was delightful and the Doctor and Wibbsey were soon instructed to act as assassins! Their target was the other tribe’s wizard which was good stuff and the comedy that came from his elephant was terrific ridiculousness. I liked the format of shared narration between the Doctor and Wibbsey to make up for not a full cast and it really worked well in highlighting both characters. The wizard in question claiming to be Emperor Claudius was certainly unexpected but the Doctor deduced it because of his stammer which was fine detail! The risk Claudius presented to history when he claimed he no longer wished to continue as Emperor was fantastic. Would britain never actually be invaded by the Romans? How things could be different! The cameo return of Mike Yates was nicely done even if he was just on the other end of the phone, but that was utilised well to sell the fact that the Doctor and Wibbsey were truly from the future. Claudius was far from what he seemed though, that was obviating from the get go. His escape in the dematerialisation chamber was fascinating and he did just seem like a quirky character! Obviously, there are still four episodes to go in this anthology but my gut reaction says he would be the Monk! I’m not sure if that will happen, but I sure hope so as this would be a fine return for him! Meddling at its finest here and it would certainly be up his alley to send the Doctor on a lengthy trail. The revelation that the page in the history book was actually a fake was more ingredients to the intrigue, especially as the Roman artefact was real. Now the clues lead to Paris! Overall, an excellent episode to kick off the series!

Rating: 9/10