Time Reaver

"It leaves every civilisation it touches in a blasted heath."

Writer: Jenny T. Colgan
Format: Audio
Released: May 2016
Series: TDA 1.02

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis

Calibris. The spaceport planet where anything goes. Where anyone who doesn't want to be found can be lost, and where everything has its price. Where betentacled gangster Gully holds sway at the smugglers' tavern, Vagabond's Reach.

The alien Vacintians are trying to impose some order on the chaos. Soon the Doctor and Donna discover why. An illegal weapon is loose on the streets. A weapon that destroys lives... Slowly and agonisingly.

Verdict

Time Reaver was a very good audio adventure that has continued along my listening of the Tenth Doctor stories from Big Finish rather nicely! It wasn't quite as good as the opening story of Technophobia and the nostalgia of hearing David Tennant and Catherine Tate had slightly worn off but I am glad that the quality of the story was still very high which meant I had a very enjoyable listen. I'm usually a big fan of stories that focus on time and as the title would suggest, an aspect of it appeared in this one. The time reaver was quite a horrific weapon and the Doctor's initial reaction to hearing the news of their presence on Calibris was more than enough to sell that fact. He was very concerned indeed and a routine maintenance stop would turn into something much more inconvenient. It nearly cost Donna her life and the Doctor a regeneration, but eventually normality was restored to the planet of mechanical chaos. The Doctor being reunited with his old friend of Soren was good and I like how he had clearly visited this place before. Donna was quite surprised by how comfortable he was in the rowdy tavern but I loved how she caught the Doctor out in how much he prided the TARDIS of being the greatest ship on the planet. He really does love his time machine. Cora was a very good character and I liked how it turned out that she was the one who had actually broken in and stolen the time reavers, causing much of this story's plotline. Rone was another good character and the revelation that Cora was his daughter was quite unexpected, something I always like to happen! The Vacintians as a whole were a very intriguing species and the way they adhered to law and order really reminded me of the way the Judoon acted on Earth in Prisoner of the Judoon. However, the Vacintians were very different and tirelessly followed the rules. They had come to this planet of chaos and their presence really wasn't making things better. There are some places where rules just should not be present and this was certainly one of them. The Doctor acknowledged that and I must say that once again David Tennant reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor superbly. I also thought that Catherine Tate was wonderful and this was actually a better performance for her than in the first audio of the range. The way Donna dealt with having the bomb attached to her back was terrific but that would also end up with an emotional moment for Rone and Cora as the bomb had to explode for someone. Gully was a decent villain but I must say I couldn't help think he sounded a little too similar to Sil, who we of course first met in Vengeance on Varos. Donna's complaints of the TARDIS wardrobe were wonderful and the wench comments were quite humorous, especially as the Doctor couldn't help but agree with the clothing. I really loved the mention of Donna having something on her back which would come into fruition in Turn Left. The resolution was an unexpected one with the Doctor actually shooting himself with the time reaver guns to absorb every last molecule but it seemed that his Time Lord privilege meant it didn't have quit so a disastrous effect on him. The way the story finished and led into Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead was excellent and I just love that there was some continuity between this audio and Series 4. I hope there's more of that in the final story but for now, a terrific audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10