The Forbidden Time

Companion Chronicles #5.9

Released: March 2011

Listened: 9/27/20

This story is all about the high concept. An alien race called the Vist, with very odd physical appearance (helpfully reproduced on the cover) has walled off an area of time, which the TARDIS has bounced off of, so the Doctor wants to investigate. The setting, and its accordant weirdness, is more important than what actually happens in the plot, or its resolution. The story is set up in the traditional Companion Chronicles manner that Big Finish has since discarded, with an older Polly telling the story to a third party, in this case a government committee who’s concerned about a psychic message the Vist sent to the entire planet, and Polly’s basically explaining that the Doctor dealt with it while they weren’t looking, so no problem. Frazer Hines appears as Jamie in the form of recordings he made on Polly’s dictaphone, which seems a bit of a stretch to work him into the frame story. Ben gets written out early, and the focus is primarily on Polly, who does a game job impersonating Patrick Troughton. There’s less hand-wringing than in “Resistance,” but she’s not action-girl Polly of stories recorded later. Andy Lane wrote this one under a pseudonym, and I’m not really sure why. It’s an odd story, and I’m not really sure I enjoyed it. And that’s a wrap for Anneke Wills for this project, but I hope there will be opportunities to tell more stories with Polly in the future, as she’s a great sport, and does a great job recreating her character.