Time Works

"The Clockwork Men come for us when we can no longer keep time."

Writer: Steve Lyons
Format: Audio
Released: March 2006
Series: Main Range 80

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis

"You want to know about the Time Keepers?"

"We work in their shadow, every tick and tock of our lives. We hear them in the workings of the Great Clock. We work hard, turn our hands - but we all wind down in time, and that is when they come for us: when our time is up."

The TARDIS lands in between times, in a time where there is no time. A time in which nothing can possibly be. But something is...

The Doctor, Charley and C'rizz are rats in the wheelwork, a threat to the schedule of a world where timing is everything. And the seconds are counting down to a fateful future that has already happened. Unless they can beat the clock.

Tick, tock.

Verdict

Time Works was an outstanding audio adventure and definitely ranks as one of my favourite stories from the Main Range of Big Finish audios. It was excellent from start to finish and I actually had a very good feeling that it would be when I read the synopsis. It seemed intriguing and a story centred around time is something that instantly appeals to me. Despite the fact that we've had five new Doctors since Paul McGann's brief tenure as the Eighth Doctor, this still very much seems new given how little we had of this fantastic Doctor. And given that I am unaware as to what happened during the life of this incarnation, just about anything can happen and very little is off limits so that is exciting! This trio of the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'rizz have been through a lot and I really am now enjoying them since they exited the Divergent Universe. Things are much better and this story was simply wonderful. From the very moment the TARDIS arrived, time was still. The Doctor though found his way around an hour into the past but Charley and C'rizz were stuck in one moment. It was 17.00.08 and after some wondering around, the Doctor's companions found that he was about to die at the hands of a royal figure. This was inevitable but the build up to this moment was terrific and even though we knew the result, it was still brilliant to know where the story was heading. The Clockwork Men, not to be confused with the Clockwork Droids of The Girl in the Fireplace, were a very intriguing enemy and the way they had positioned themselves as gods over Industry was brilliant. Their subjects' striving towards completion was good and I liked the ambiguity surrounding that for much of the adventure. I thought the Doctor's trust in his companions was terrific and it really was great to hear just how much he values them. I liked the royalty appearance in this story and it was quite different to hear of a royal family not of Earth's history. Kestorian made a good holder of the crown and I liked his relationship with his son, the Prince, Zanith. The latter was an excellent character and I really liked how he was immune to the control of the Clockwork Men. He was sceptical of the Doctor as anyone might be but his father placed some trust in him which really interested me. The Clockwork Men's ability to shock once they had predicted the probability of an individual's future actions was great and I liked how that came back to prove their weakness. Vannet and Revnon had an intriguing relationship and I really liked what he was doing for her in not wanting to have it realised that she was expendable. Her love for Collis was quite emotional at times and that was good to hear. I thought the cliffhangers were good and I also thought the pace of the climax was very well done. The Doctor had started the revolution against the Clockwork Men and took on the Figurehead. She was defeated and the Great Clock was stopped and Industry could return to normality again. People no longer needed to live in fear of time. And it even seemed that quite uncharacteristically, the Doctor was going to stick around once the enemy was defeated. He had enjoyed his time with Vannet and I liked that he was going to continue it for a little while longer. Overall, a superb audio adventure from start to finish! The first to achieve full marks in 18 stories.

Rating: 10/10