January’s Doctor Who: Time War: Cass showed fans a glimpse at the front lines of Gallifrey’s Time War with the Daleks. But what of those who remain on Gallifrey, those politicians tasked with organizing the war effort? The generals, cardinals, and presidents responsible for ensuring victory against all odds? Welcome to Gallifrey: War Room. One part Star Trek, one part The West Wing, and quintessentially Doctor Who all the way around. In volume two, Gallifrey: War Room: Manoeuvres, Leela and the Time Lord elite seek an alliance with a planet of strategic value, answer a vital distress call, undergo a search for missing weapons, and grapple for control over Gallifrey’s very future. Packed with intrigue, espionage, and plenty of action, Gallifrey: Manoeuvres is a thrilling listen from start to finish – even if it’s a bit too dense for anyone new to the series.
Collaborators by Katharine Armitage
Leela (Louise Jameson) and the General (Ken Bones) travel to the planet Orrison to secure an important element for a Time Lord weapon. However, Narvin (Seán Carlsen) and the Resistance are one step ahead of the Time Lords. Torn between the two sides, Prince Ferdi (James Corrigan) must choose whether to ally himself with the Resistance or risk trusting the machinations of the Time Lords. To complicate matters, Cardinals Ollistra (Carolyn Pickles) and Rasmus (Chris Jarman) are neck-deep in a plot to force Orrison to accede to Gallifrey’s demands – or risk certain destruction. Armitage’s Collaborators is a tense, political thriller exploring the dangers of choosing a side during wartime. It’s not the most approachable listen for new listeners, to be sure. But it offers a solid start to this new entry in the Gallifrey series.
Leela, the General, and Narvin take center stage in this episode. Armitage’s script deftly explores the ways Gallifrey and the Resistance’s tactics differ – and exactly how similar they are, too. It’s a surprisingly low-key story, all things considered. No bombastic opening, no earth-shattering battle. Just two sides, desperately trying to convince a third party that they’re in the right. It’s all about the lengths to which the desperate will go to get what they want. Leela and Narvin’s relationship forms the emotional anchor of the episode. They’re two friends, separated by their circumstances, each trying their best to do what’s right in impossible circumstances. Jameson and Carlsen are as good as ever here, too. Their decades of shared experiences are on full display.
Put simply, it’s hard to imagine a better opening act than Collaborators. For longtime Gallifrey fans, it’s an easy welcome back to this world, deftly setting the stage for the rest of the box set. For new listeners, it’ll probably still be a bit hard to fully comprehend, but it’s as good a jumping-on point as you could expect given how long the Gallifrey series has been running. (8.5 out of 10)
Remnants by Georgia Cook
In Remnants, the General, Cardinal Rasmus, and Commander Veklin (Beth Chalmers) answer a distress call from the crew of the Alpha Cognosco research station. A station where, coincidentally, the General’s aide, Cresta (Faith Omole), happens to be assigned. But what force attacked the Time Lord research station? And what does it want? It’s a race against time as the Time Lords and the Dalek scientists work to uncover the secrets of Alpha Cognosco. Cook’s Remnants delivers a very classic Doctor Who-style base-under-siege story. A small group of characters are trapped on a base, besieged by a relentless enemy. But, in true Gallifrey fashion, there’s a healthy dosage of political intrigue and devious machinations at play here.
Bones’ the General, Jarman’s Rasmus, and Chalmers’ Veklin take center stage in this story, and it’s nice to hear from them. While the General may not be a politician, per se, he’s got a knack for manipulating people into giving him what he wants – as does Veklin. Rasmus, on the other hand, shows a knack for deception that rivals even Oliistra’s. The story itself doesn’t do much to buck the general tropes of a base-under-siege story. But at the same time, it’s hard to be mad about listening to a well-executed one – even if it is a bit generic. It’s paced well, the tension’s cranked to an eleven, and there’s a whole lot of weird Time War shenanigans at play that spice the story up.
As the second story in the set, Remnants is solid enough. It’s nothing particularly special, but it’s still a great example of how successful base-under-siege stories can be when they’re allowed to just revel in those tropes. A tense, politically-tinged thriller in the best of ways. (8 out of 10)
Transference by Fio Trethewey
In Transference, Leela tracks a would-be assassin to the outskirts of Gallifrey in search of an attacked scientist’s stolen weapon. Little does Leela know that Narvin and the resistance are already on the trail of this assassin. Meanwhile, Cardinal Ollistra holds the scientist, Helico (Sam Gittins), hostage, forcing him to unravel the secrets of his failed assassination and the weapon at the center of it. But is there more to this plot than meets the eye? And can Leela and Narvin unravel the twisted web of this plot before it’s too late? Fio Trethewey’s Transference offers political intrigue at its finest. This is a story about exactly how far the Time Lords would go to get what they want – and to what extremes the Gallifreyan citizenry might go to avoid the war.
Ollistra’s villainy is on perfect display here, and Pickles luxuriates in that villainy. In many ways, Ollistra and the other Time Lord elite are every bit as despicable as the Daleks they’re fighting. Ollistra may be the most recent example of the Time Lords’ deviousness, but her deceptiveness only emphasizes the inherent untrustworthiness of the Time Lords. On the other hand, Leela and Narvin’s friendship takes center stage once again. Two warriors on opposite sides of the war, yet fighting for the same goal. It’s a shame how often the Gallifrey series separates these two as every time they come back together, it’s pure electricity.
As a story in its own right, Transference isn’t perfect. The pacing’s a bit off, especially in the middle. But as a character study of Ollistra, Leela, and Narvin, it’s fantastic. It’s the quiet before the storm; a look at the Time War’s impact on the citizens of Gallifrey. Overall, it offers a much-needed break from the war; a story clearly setting up the devastation that’s sure to follow. (8 out of 10)
Ambition’s Debt by Katharine Armitage
In Ambition’s Debt, tensions in the War Room rise to a boil as Leela, Rasmus, and the General discover the planet Orrison’s gone missing. And at the center of this missing planet rests a scheme so deadly the War Room is ready to turn against its leader, Cardinal Ollistra. Can Rasmus, Leela, and the General put a stop to Ollistra’s plans before it’s too late? Or will Ollistra’s power play spell the end of the Time War before it even begins? Katharine Armitage’s Ambition’s Debt brings all of Manoeuvres’ storylines to their breaking point here. This is the climactic finale of the set, and it’s both surprisingly lowkey and exactly as epic as you’d expect.
At its heart, Gallifrey has always been a series about the political machinations of the Time Lord elite. Even before the Time War factored into things, every story explored the ways these politicians would sacrifice themselves and each other to get what they wanted. And that idea takes center stage in Ambition’s Debt. This is Cardinal Ollistra at her most desperate; willing to do whatever it takes to gain full control of the War Room – and of Gallifrey’s entire Time War operation. So, what’s a measly off-worlder like Leela to do when she finds herself caught in this web of deception? You really feel for Leela, the General, and Rasmus in this story – perhaps more than ever before. And it’s a testament both to Armitage’s script and to all three actors’ performances that their respective emotional arcs come to such a satisfying conclusion.
Put simply, Ambition’s Debt may not be an explosive finale, but it’s a near-perfect finale for the story Manoeuvres has been telling. Layered with deception and backstabbing political machinations, it’s a thrill ride from start to finish. (9 out of 10)
Final Thoughts
If you’re new to the Gallifrey series, then Gallifrey: War Room: Manoeuvres probably isn’t the place to start. It’s a dense, continuity-heavy listen packed to the brim with references and easter eggs to nearly twenty years’ worth of Big Finish stories. But for longtime listeners of the Gallifrey series, Manoeuvres offers an absolute treat. A political thriller in every sense of the word, crammed with enough intrigue and backstabbing machinations to make even the best thrillers weep in jealousy.
Manoeuvres may be light on the “war” aspect of the Time War, but it’s heavy on politics. And in that regard, it makes for a very unique entry in the Doctor Who universe. For as hopeful as the Doctor is, for all the joy they bring wherever they go, the Gallifrey series shows exactly how bad the Doctor could’ve turned out. And that’s on full display in Manoeuvres – in the best way possible.
Gallifrey: War Room: Manoeuvres is available now from Big Finish Productions.
"Gallifrey - War Room: Manoeuvres" ushers listeners back into the world of Time War-era Gallifrey. And it's as packed with political intrigue, backstabbing politicians, and untoward schemes as ever before. While "Manoeuvres" may prove a bit difficult for new listeners to delve into, it's sure to immensely please longtime fans. Louise Jameson and Seán Carlsen shine the brightest, but there's not a dull moment throughout the set.
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Our Rating 8.5
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