Out of Time

"I knew you'd cause trouble."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: 26 August 2020

Series: Out of Time 01

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

The Cathedral of Contemplation is an enigma, existing outside time. It turns through history, opening its doors across the universe to offer solace to those in need.

Occasionally, the Doctor drops in – when he's avoiding his destiny, it's an ideal place to get some perspective. Only this time he's already there from several lives earlier, so when dimension barriers break down, his past and present collide.

And the Daleks invade and commandeer the Cathedral, two Doctors must unite to stop them – or face extermination twice over!

Verdict

Out of Time was an outstanding audio adventure that was just so much fun! I have been anticipating this release since it was announced and actually went ahead and pre-ordered the bundle, so I was able to listen to this on its release day and it was just wonderful from start to finish. I liked how things started with the Tenth Doctor arriving at the Cathedral of Contemplation looking for the little shop, but the Doctor was known there and came when he was troubled, something that was clear for this incarnation of the Doctor as we head towards The End of Time. The concept of the Cathedral was superb and I loved how it was existing outside of time and causality and was used to keep history on track. The idea of the Doctor coming just to play with their space-time visualiser was very humorous. The Fourth Doctor's start of the story by painting was intriguing and we were soon introduced to Jora who would serve as a sort of semi-companion for the adventure which was fun. The Abbess being a time sensitive was excellent and I liked how she was part of the Cathedral that was keeping things apart in time. The idea of trans temporal architecture and how the Cathedral was a fine example of that art was brilliant. The meeting between the two Doctors was so much fun and getting a fully performed clash of Doctors from the Classic and modern eras of Doctor Who is just so good. We got Time Crash, but this just felt more genuine. The humour that came with the Michelangelo discussion was wonderful and I loved how the Tenth Doctor's meddling saw him break through a temporal barrier and inadvertently bump into his past self. His disguise being John Tyler rather than the usual Smith was terrific and I liked how he also hid the name of the sonic screwdriver as a rather vague sonic scientific instrument. The soldiers arriving into the adventure quite abruptly was good and they had come for Jora, the fugitive and daughter of Captain Zella who headed the force. The Tenth Doctor talking to the Abbess about his feelings was interesting and I liked how he was telling of how he was avoiding a meeting. He just wasn't ready to go. Her being unhappy about the two Doctors meeting was great though! The Tenth Doctor was confident he had played the tourist act well though which was very good. Something we haven't always seen in multi-Doctor stories is the later incarnation starting to remember events his younger self experienced with his future self, so that happening here was really good fun. Finding out how Jora had ran from a war and was referred to as a coward was intriguing and the way we found out that the Daleks were who the war was fought against was excellent. It was clearly established that the setting was the 26th century and we were basically amidst the events we saw in Frontier in Space with the Draconian war involvement as well. I thought the music behind the Dalek emergence was sublime and I loved how they invaded via a time corridor. The return of the Supreme Dalek was brilliant and the voice from Nicholas Briggs boomed in authority which was marvellous. The Cathedral offering the Daleks the opportunity of invasions anywhere and anywhen, providing instant slaughter was quite the predicament, so much so that we needed two Doctors! The Tenth Doctor showing his appreciation for his former self was just delightful and I loved how he realised that the Fourth Doctor now knew who he really was. The 'pinstripe' comment to describe the Tenth Doctor was also just brilliant. It was also wonderful to get the Tenth Doctor fanboying about the retro vibe of the Fourth Doctor's sonic screwdriver. So much joy! It was good that the Fourth Doctor wanted a say and wanted to know that his future self was here as well. Jora realising that both men were the same man was great and I loved how she trusted both of them with confidence. The battle of words between each Doctor on who would confront the Daleks was really well done and the classic referral of the air vents as a means of evading discovery was majestic. Kivall made a decent character as the apprentice hiding and I liked how he returned the sonic screwdriver that was confiscated by the Abbess before her extermination which was quite brutal and instant. The reveal that Zenna was actually a Dalek agent and had completed its mission before being exterminated was unexpected and worked really well. I adored the Fourth Doctor's comment about his predecessor's shoes and there was just the right amount of Doctor banter. The Fourth Doctor being subdued by the Daleks was interesting, especially with the Tenth Doctor then demonstrating effects of the damage. The Daleks having the ability to freely change history regarding the Doctor because they were outside causality was fantastic, but in exterminating the Abbess they had doomed themselves which was great stuff. She was a crucial part of the architecture that kept the trans temporal building together. The Supreme Dalek putting another Dalek counterpart out of its misery was excellent and I loved how it realised that there were two incarnations of the Doctor present with a very simple deduction. The doors of the Cathedral leading to the Magellan world for evacuation was good, but the Daleks were headed for Earth. The Doctors using contact to clearly put a plan in place together was marvellous and just when it appeared the Daleks were in control, the Doctors flooded their route with solar energy that almost saw a supernova reach Skaro! The Doctor had set the time coordinates to when the Earth was engulfed by the sun as seen in The End of the World which was just terrific and led to the Daleks quickly aborting their mission to save their home world. The clash between Doctors with the Fourth not thinking the Tenth should ever need stopping and that people should keep him going was tremendous stuff and quite powerful. Their providing a distraction for Jora to shoot the Supreme Dalek from behind was also great. I loved how the Doctors synchronised their sonic screwdrivers to get the added power needed to trap the remaining Daleks in the collapsing cathedral, and from there we got a lovely dialogue conversation to see out the story. The Fourth Doctor mentioning recently coming from Gallifrey following the events of The Deadly Assassin was great and I enjoyed how he told his future self he should have a companion. The little conversation about Sarah Jane Smith and the reference to The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith was outstanding, and I also loved how the Tenth Doctor phrased how his past self would meet a nice Time Lady and soon settle down with a dog. Just delightful. Overall, a joy to listen to!

Rating: 10/10