Lies in Ruins

The Legacy of Time #1

Released: 17 July 2019

Listened: 2/4/22

“Legacy of Time” was the special release for the 20th anniversary of Big Finish, which meant a big multi-Doctor story. As with the other Doctors, each story is pretty much standalone, but features elements specific to Big Finish. This one kicks off the box in a big way, with a meeting fans have long awaited: Professor Bernice Summerfield and Professor River Song. It turns out that River was Benny’s student at Luna University, which was intentional on River’s part, as she knew of Benny’s history with the Doctor. Benny, however, didn’t know who River was – until right now – and considered her a poor student. There’s some sniping, because really, it would be disappointing if there weren’t, but actually not a ton, especially once the Doctor shows up. He seems kind of subdued, especially for the Eighth Doctor, and has a new companion, Ria, who’s bouncy and cheerful and thinks the Doctor is fabulous, and that’s the first clue that something isn’t right there. And once the plot really starts rolling, we see just how damaged this Doctor is, how close to the edge the Time War has pushed him, and how far he’s willing to go without someone to stop him. Fortunately, Benny’s pretty good at stopping him, and River’s even better. If the “Time War” series has been strange because the Doctor isn’t as dark as you’d expect, this story goes all the way into the darkness. This Doctor is broken, and has no idea how to fight against a war without fighting in the war. If there’s any complaint about this story, it’s that there’s no parity between Benny and River. Benny may be a better archeologist, but River has knowledge that Benny just doesn’t, about the Time War, about Gallifrey, about the Doctor’s future. So she’s better positioned to see what’s going on than Benny is, which means there can’t really be parity. I have no idea if we’ll ever see them together again, but they do seem to be on good terms, which is nice to see.