The Mists of Time

"We're seeing their final days played out over and over again."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: August 2011

Series: Companion Chronicles: The Specials 02

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

Many years ago, when she was travelling with the Doctor, Jo Grant visited Zayin Eight. Now, suddenly and inexplicably, she is back on that ravaged planet, and reunited with a human called Newton Calder. What happened to the missing members of Calder's team? What is the secret of the vast ruined city? The answers will lie in the dark and distant past of the Time Lords themselves...

Verdict

The Mists of Time was an excellent Companion Chronicles audio! I thought this was a really strong story from start to finish and a really good use of the Third Doctor era. It felt authentic of later in the run of the Doctor and Jo Grant, and having Katy Manning back performing is never a bad thing. She was excellent in the narration/performance here and I was impressed with how this didn't quite feel like there were only two actors present. It had more of a full cast feel which is definitely a compliment. The more the merrier when it comes to actors in a performed story in my opinion! Calder as the other character alongside Jo was intriguing and I loved the way the telling of the story came full circle as part of the story itself. It was a very clever twist. The title was something I was fascinated by and whilst it wasn't quite what I expected, I thought the premise of the ghosts worked very well. I always enjoy the Doctor's dismissal of the existence of ghosts and hearing that once again here was fantastic and the writing of the Third Doctor was very impressive. It was magnificent characterisation and more than made up for the absence of Jon Pertwee or even Tim Treloar in the role. I wasn't expecting us to divulge into Time Lord history but hearing how they came to be a society of non-intervention and just observance was really intriguing. It was quite a monumental revelation when you think about it! The role of the Memesin (excuse the spelling as I'm sure that's completely wrong!) was very good and their representation as a memento here was terrific. The malfunction was causing ghosts to be created pretty much at sheer will which was in of itself a brilliant concept. Jo having inadvertently brought back her own grandfather was an emotional moment, although I was quite amused by how much he sounded like the Doctor! Jo's reference to Day of the Daleks with her freedom fighters comment was marvellous and a favourite moment in the story of mine, and I liked her interaction with Calder both in terms of the story and from the perspective it was being told. Zayin Eight worked well as a setting and the eery atmosphere definitely matched the story's title. The light background music gave this a creepy feel which I thought worked tremendously. I thought Tomis made for a good villain as the archaeologist and whilst he wasn't really the story, he served his purpose well. This was all about the journey of Calder though and how Jo came to be back with him. Hearing how she took advantage of being in the future to dream up the Brigadier and Benton to save her was outstanding and I was fascinated that she had even concocted her own self! Finding out that it was this ghostly apparition that was alongside Calder all along and he was still waiting for the rescue shuttle was superb. I was a big fan of that. Jo's argument against that being that the ghosts only stayed manifested for around an hour was magnificent, because the audio was about an hour and as it finished she faded away. A wonderful ending to what was a great listen!

Rating: 9/10