The War Valeyard

"I'm the saviour of time."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: August 2019

Series: The Eighth Doctor: Time War 3.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Bliss

Synopsis

The Valeyard has returned to the universe amid the Time War – and the Time Lords see his potential to end the conflict for good.

When the Doctor discovers that his twisted future self has been conscripted, he sets out with Bliss to find him, braving a planet ravaged by Daleks. 

But in a world where he can finally be a hero, will the Valeyard want to leave?

Verdict

The War Valeyard was an excellent episode to conclude what has been an enthralling third Time War volume of Eighth Doctor Adventures! The episode title alone is more than enough to peak my appetite and I loved that we got to hear the Valeyard within the realms of the Time War. That's such a fun concept and it just absolutely works. A version of the Doctor that is everything on his dark side amalgamated into one. Why wouldn't the Time Lords see him as a war asset? I liked that we got two different versions of the Valeyard with them referred to as 'Doctor Valeyard' and 'Trial Valeyard' to differentiate. That's obviously also illustrated on the cover art for the story at that central image of an older version of the Valeyard adorning the attire of the Eighth Doctor is spectacular! I liked the description of how the Doctor Valeyard came to be following on from the events of Fugitive in Time with the Doctor having stepped foot through the genetic modifier and his darker alter-ego emerged. The premonition he had seeing that future version of himself was brilliant and his reveal to Bliss of just who and what he had seen was very amusing. It was completely contradictory and didn't make much sense at all, and yet it was terrific. Given where we are now in Doctor chronology and seeing seventeen different versions on screen, the existence of the Valeyard is quite clearly something that can be refuted. We know that between regenerations twelve and thirteen that the Valyeard didn't emerge, so the reveal from Tamasan regarding his fate post-The Trial of a Time Lord and how not all of the High Council wanted to see him destroyed was intriguing. It wasn't a big surprise given the sneaky nature of the Time Lords, but Bliss's reaction said a lot really for an outsider's perspective. Someone who tried to wipe out the High Council wasn't put to death? Only on Gallifrey. I thought the Doctor Valeyard was a fantastic concept and it was really interesting to hear the Valyeard embrace that inner Doctor. It was a touching performance from Michael Jayston at times and I was sad to learn after listening that this was his final appearance in the iconic role. He will forever live on in folklore and it's been a privilege to hear him bring back this character for the Time War. Truly nothing is off limits. I thought the mission he had embraced was similar to that of the Twelfth Doctor's in Hell Bent with everything continuously resetting, but thanks to his actions he was believed to have ended the Time War! Now, that's a bold claim and it's ironic that a version of the Doctor would bring this into action. The machine being used on Grahv was really interesting in that it was a wide scale version of the Eleventh Doctor at the end of Series 6 in erasing his own memory. The Valeyard was going to erase all memory of the Daleks and by default the Time War would be over. I'm not sure that was a cement method of stopping the conflict with only the Time Lords set to remember them, but I liked it. The Dalek Time Strategist would escape to ensure war would go on, but I sense that the Daleks may actually utilise a lack of memory to their advantage. The Valeyard toying with his Trial inner self was a fun moment and whilst I was glad to get an appearance for him, I was much more interested in this newer version. One that was able to sacrifice itself and be the Doctor was so different to what we saw on screen! The Time War really does strange things. The Doctor's outrage at the Valeyard fighting within the Time War because it was a version of himself was good stuff and I loved that he took Tamasan's TARDIS to break the time lock to reach Grahv. Overall, an unexpectedly emotional finale! And one in which the Daleks have received a massive setback. I look forward to picking this up in the next boxset! A terrific listen.

Rating: 9/10