Causeway: The Time You Never Had

"I devour impossibilities."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: November 2025

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures 15.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, Audacity

Synopsis

The yesterday of opulence

Tomorrow soft and ironclad

Beyond the merry Oculus: 

The time you never had.

Verdict

The Time You Never Had was an excellent story to conclude the Causeway series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! I am unsure if this is the end of the Causeway story arc because things were left open which I liked, but it does also serve as a strong finale to basically the entire run of Audacity as companion so far. She took centre stage again given the temporal issues at play which meant the Doctor couldn't Charley too close to the action given that she was meant to die during the events of Storm Warning as was referenced. Charley being aware that she was the only survivor is great and I am loving returning to the early days of her travels. I'm still adjusting to Audacity as a companion as I do find her a little boring but that might just be because of her status and where she is from. There needs to be something more engaging for her and this story did a good job in getting that by having two versions of her! I was excited by the name of the episode and the writer because Tim Foley does some magnificent stuff, especially when things get complicated with time. This wasn't actually all that complicated despite having two converging timelines but it certainly gave depth to Audacity with one version of her having been around for years. Mr Barabbas being the supervisor was a strong reveal and I can't believe I didn't put two and two together with the boxset's cover art! Of course it was going to be a Silurian. Well, that's how we know them by from Doctor Who and the Silurians but that name has been corrected since with a lot of contradictions ever since! The Doctor addressing that here was fun but it feels like that has come up a lot recently with the airing of The War Between the Land and the Sea. That's no bad thing of course. I thought the continuity from Lost Among the Stars was strong with Audacity still understandably reeling from the fact she literally died. That would take its toll on anybody but the Doctor was a little inconsiderate in not checking in on her for a few days. I did admire her lust for learning about the future and just information but reading an encyclopaedia cover to cover sounds a bit excessive! I loved that she had a list of where, when and who she wanted to visit whilst in the TARDIS though as that's something I would definitely do. I love a list. The TARDIS being vulnerable can only happen sparingly to have a big impact and that's exactly what happened here and it proved to be pivotal to the story with Audacity being split on a quantum level into two timelines. Her relationship developing with Barabbas was really good and it was obvious after so much time together and them both being of an intellectual persuasion that they would fall in love. After all the years together though they had never admitted it to each other which seems baffling. Audacity definitely felt the same but didn't want Barabbas to say it as an apology. He was worried about losing her when timelines converged that could see her return to the Doctor and Charley which I understood, but he was a tad too possessive for my liking. The Doctor working on a plan to keep both timelines in tact was strong and utilising the Causeway was excellent. That organisation was tremendous and I love how we were at its origins here and the Copenhagen setting in particular was very strong. It's a lovely city so it was nice to have a familiar yet unique city as the base for part of the story. The Doctor was holding nothing back when it came to Causeway and his interactions with Peter Mansfield in particular were full throttle. He was consumed with the job but not as much as he was with Veronica Hayes who intriguingly knew the Doctor was UNIT's Scientific Advisor which was good fun! Her having an allergic reaction to the Silurian tongue strike that was only meant to knock her out but actually killed her sent Mansfield over the edge in a strong way. He was devastated. The tension was high but the Doctor and particularly Charley playing their part in keeping things somewhat civil was very good. Audacity dreaming of her future with Barabbas when back in the TARDIS was poignant but a lovely suggestion that the other version of her lives on with the Silurian alternately. Overall, an excellent conclusion to the story and with the conversation between the Doctor and Annika at the end, I get the sense things might not quite be finished yet. 

Rating: 9/10