War Room: Manoeuvres: Collaborators

"There is a war on your doorstep."

Writer: Katharine Armatige 

Format: Audio

Released: September 2023

Series: Gallifrey 14.01

Featuring: Leela, Narvin

Synopsis

Gallifrey and the Resistance are in a race to secure a vital alliance. But playing politics means secrets, lies and betrayal... and Leela, caught in the middle, must try to rescue honour from chaos.

Verdict

Collaborators was a strong start to the Manoeuvres second series of Gallifrey's War Room and the fourteenth series overall! I am quite impressed with myself now that in a few days' time I will have caught up with the Gallifrey series as I was actually quite daunted by the sheer depth and levels of the series when I started the first series way back when around five years ago. We've come a long way since then and Romana is trapped in a pocket dimension by the current resurrected President Rassilon. It's quite the basis for a boxset set during the Time War and it certainly has the appearance of being a desperate time on the planet of the Time Lords. Orrison would become the basis of that on both a macro and micro scale which was terrific to hear. At the front, both the War Room and the Resistance were after the planet's nutritious resource of boltaric acid. I thought that also the secret meetings between Leela and Narvin were fantastic and it's lovely to hear them together again despite them being stuck on each side. There's a vibe that they just want to be together and put the Time War behind them and rescue Romana, but the delays there are becoming frustrating for them. I do hope they will work towards rescuing her ahead of the next boxset later this year. But I'm getting ahead of myself there! I think it's wonderful that we get to hear more of the new incarnation of Ollistra and after the impact Jacqueline Pearce made alongside John Hurt's War Doctor, it's only fitting that the character lives on in a new regeneration. I thought Eris as part of the Resistance was decent and I liked the interactions he shared with Narvin. The former was very much in position as the leader but it didn't feel like he had too much seniority when the latter was around. His diplomacy was hardly respectful or confident when it came to the negotiations with Prince Ferdi about the bolt supply. The General on the other hand was much more experienced in this kind of thing and was open to their concerns. I thought the time winds seemed like a great defence mechanism as it was and whilst I do appreciate the might and force of the Daleks, especially during a time of war, the fact that even the Time Lords needed permission to be let onto the planet made me question why they were negotiating in the first place! I thought Ferdi's position as a prince and needing to gain the approval of his people before being promoted to king put him in a difficult position so it wasn't too much of a surprise when he tried to play both sides and agreed to the terms of both the War Room and the Resistance. That didn't go down well with either side! I liked that Leela and Narvin could essentially play both sides against each other and the General in particular condoling the former's behaviour and the way she talked in particular was excellent. She wouldn't lie, but he knew she was basically working against the War Room. That was a fun dynamic. I thought the War Room not settling for half of the bolt when it came to access to the planet was pretty shady and certainly cemented them as the enemies of the series. Not all Time Lords were good, even if they were fighting the Daleks. Their actions in using the access granted to take Orrison's bolt supply didn't go down well and that leading Ferdi to seemingly side with the Daleks in the Time War will surely come back to bite the Time Lords in the future! Overall though, a really strong start to the series! A great listen.

Rating: 8/10