Grandfather Time: The Voord Alliance

"I am looking at my corpse."

Writer: Andrew Smith

Format: Audio

Released: March 2025

Series: Susan's War 3.02

Featuring: War Doctor, Susan

Synopsis

When a Time Lord operation goes wrong, Cardinal Rasmus sends in Susan and the War Doctor. The mission's leader was his daughter, and he needs to know if she survived.

On the ocean moon of Sarros Minor, they fin unlikely allies against the Daleks. But how far can Susan really trust the Voord?

Verdict

The Voord Alliance was a great episode to conclude the Grandfather Time third series of Susan's War! I'm really loving the partnership of Susan and this war-torn version of her grandfather and it's good that he really does feel grandfatherly. It's probably the gravelly voice and the appearance in my mind of looking like a stereotypical grandfather, but it's clear that he cares for her in a very paternal way. I didn't quite get that sense with the Eighth Doctor and that's because he's a dashing and younger incarnation I imagine. The dynamic here works brilliantly and it's wonderful to have Susan stand up for herself, even where the Doctor disagrees. She's her own woman and at this point she's very firmly grown up! It's good to evolve the character beyond what we saw on television without losing the essence that makes Susan a wonderful character. Tapping into her past here by having her meet the Voord again was brilliant although I was expecting her memories of meeting them to be more focused on The Keys of Marinus than Domain of the Voord so that Early Adventures audio getting some love here was most welcomed. It's a fantastic story and rightly made an impact on Susan. I thought the Sarros Minor setting was really strong and I was intrigued by the extent Cardinal Rasmus was going to in order to send the Doctor and Susan there. It was a mission that was firmly off the record with the High Council not even knowing about it. Rasmus had a familial connection with his daughter heading the operation that went mysteriously wrong there. He needed the Doctor and Susan to find her, with the latter very much in favour of offering her services. And that of course meant the former was not going to let his granddaughter go it alone! The concept of the Eradicators was strong and I liked the threat that came from the entire planet being removed from time. That wouldn't go down well with the continuously popping up voids. Their connection to the space-time continuum and the potential wiping out of the entire galaxy if the Time Lords got their way was pretty strong, if not a little vague in the scale. I thought Karita was a really good character and she certainly had companion material alongside the War Doctor. Her fate at the end of the episode in following the Doctor through back to his own time in the future of the Time War was terrific. Might we see her pop up in the War Doctor range? Maybe she already has as I'm considerably far behind there. I thought the alliance with the Voord was intriguing and it really is incredible how much this species has been extended through Big Finish. I loved the mystery of the battle that had clearly taken place between Daleks and Voord, and the confusion surrounding the fact the place looked like it had been drowned but wasn't wet in the slightest was good. I liked how time changed and the Daleks slowly returned to life and the battle then ensued in not quite the right order. I love the confusion that comes with the Time War, even if it is a bit of a head warp at times! The Daleks harking back to The Dalek Invasion of Earth in wanting to pilot the planet was another great throwback and I think more could have been made of that. It felt significant but it's such an audacious plan to have a planet-sized time machine! The way Susan played a huge part in closing the voids was good and I like how she was properly instrumental in the resolution in her own series. With the War Doctor returning to his own timeline now I wonder if the range is finished? If it is, it's been wonderful! Overall, a great episode to conclude the series.

Rating: 8/10