Echoes of War

"It's like the trees have aged a thousand years in two minutes."

Writer: Matt Fitton
Format: Audio
Released: October 2017
Series: The Eighth Doctor: The Time War 1.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Bliss

Synopsis

Colliding with the full force of the Time War, the Doctor crash-lands on a jungle world with a ragtag band of refugees.

To stay alive, they must cross a landscape where time itself is corrupted. A forest which cycles through growth and decay, where sounds of battle are never far away, and where strange creatures lurk all around.

Luckily, the Doctor has friends: not only plucky scientist Bliss, but another, much more unlikely ally. Its name is 'Dal'...

Verdict

Echoes of War was an excellent story and a brilliant continuation of the Eighth Doctor's Time War boxset. After a solid start, I was glad to see the Time War take full effect on a story here and the Doctor was involved in all of it. It was clear that he was taking no part in the battle between the Time Lords and the Daleks but the conflict had clearly been raging for some time by this point. The planet was in chronic flux and that brought with vast opportunities and I really loved how they were explored. Paul McGann was terrific as the Eighth Doctor and what appears to be the new companion in Bliss was subtly wonderful. I love the fact that she is a scientist and I do hope that she accompanies the Doctor during the Time War for more than just this boxset. But if that's all we get of her then I will cherish her whilst she's here. The little group of renegades that accompanied the Doctor was very good and I thought Rupa and Quarren were fantastic characters. Their relationship was a great addition to the story and the fact that they were loved ones really did bring an added element of emotion to the audio. Jefferson was good whilst he lasted but his death really was quite horrific. However, that just sold how dangerous this story could be and showed the full effects of the Time War. It had absolutely ravaged this planet with the forest alternating from growing to decaying. It really was quite complex to comprehend. Dal was magnificent and the idea of a Dalek forgetting its identity and purpose is just marvellous and it was explored in sublime detail during this adventure. The remnants of its true self were there and when comments of the Doctor and a blue box were made, Dal recognised them as familiar. Even when it saw other Daleks, it recognised the familiarity but still wanted to help its newfound friends to reach the planet's safe zone. The Doctor trying to conceal his identity to prevent Dal from remembering who and what it really was put a smile on my face because he knew immediately that he could use this Dalek to the group's advantage. The technology was all still there and the Doctor utilised it fully. The comments from Quarren about wanting to get away from the Time War, he was a refugee after all, but being in close proximity of a Dalek and a Time Lord was excellent and I really did feel that the Time War, at these earlier stages than we have experienced in previously released audios, was rampaging and causing havoc across the universe. The ending was quite sudden and rather shocking, especially when Tamasan just killed Dal with no compassion whatsoever. Despite the Doctor's plea and reasoning, the fact that a Time Lady did that, with the approval of Cardinal Ollistra, showed just how evil the Time Lords had become because of the Time War. Just what Ollistra has planned for the Doctor and his group will be made clear in the next story, but I like how this audio set that up by showing us the ruthlessness of the Time Lords. Overall, a fantastic story!

Rating: 9/10