Time War: Desperate Measures

"How long can Gallifrey resist the inevitable?"

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: February 2018

Series: Gallifrey 9.04

Featuring: Romana II, Narvin

Synopsis

The Dalek Emperor attacks a vital Time Lord outpost. Victory would be a devastating blow to Gallifrey.

Romana is caught in the machinations of a President who sees control slipping away. Is it time to bargain with the War Council, or perhaps to parlay with even more dangerous parties?

The Time War has barely begun, and for Gallifrey, desperate times are already here...

Verdict

Desperate Measures was a very good adventure to conclude the Time War ninth series of Gallifrey! I thought this did a brilliant job as a finale whilst setting up the future of the Time War from a Gallifreyan perspective in a very exciting way! It does appear that the fates of Ace and Leela are sealed which is extraordinary and something I would definitely be on board with, but with the temporal nature of this series there is always the potential for time to be rewritten. I liked the focus on the Time War here and just hearing Romana in conversation with the Dalek Emperor was incredible. I wouldn't have expected that from the CIA Coordinator and her efforts at diplomacy soon came back to bite her in an extraordinary way. The continuation from the early days of the Monthly Adventures with Romana referred to as Agent 117 was terrific and I liked her plea and offer to let the Daleks go on expanding their Empire if it meant they would stop the War and not destroy the Web of Time. When that message was relayed at the final speeches of the Presidential election then it was clear there was only one victor. Livia standing down as President was unexpected and it was clear that she was up to something more than just protecting her reputation amidst being a wartime leader, and when that came into fruition I was very excited! Karla actually being a double agent for the President was very good and she was a fun character alongside Narvin as they headed to try and protect Project Revenant. The concept of the Daleks trying to capture that and the dead Time Lords was superb and the potential if they obtained it was off the charts. It was a little easy for the self destruct to see them off, but this episode really wasn't about the Daleks. It was very political amidst the backdrop of war which I enjoyed. Gallifreyan politics is so interesting and almost archaic at times with the President naming a successor, this time in the form of Valerian who was a soldier of the House of Rassilon. During war, a warrior was needed as President at that seemed to resonate with the Time Lord electorate. Romana being willing to regenerate to become President again showed how much she desired it, but the War Council were one step ahead at all times. The election was already won and a much bigger game was in play. Once the Rod and Sash of Rassilon were accepted, the link with the Matrix for Valerian became quite a struggle. It was torment and the power being drained was unparalleled. Karla was using the core of the Revenant project to splice the data and take the resurrections to the extreme. The Doctor had refused to help and now the Master was gone too. There was only one President that could lead the Time Lords into war against the Daleks now, and going that far back in the Matrix meant a genetic match was needed. Rassilon was resurrected in a tremendous cliffhanger and the prospect of future boxsets with the First Lord President in charge is so exciting! Overall, a really good political episode with fine Dalek involvement in the background that sets us nicely for the future! 

Rating: 8/10