The Avenues of Possibility

The Legacy of Time #5

Released: 17 July 2019

Listened: 7/18/20

This is another entry from the Legacy of Time box set released in 2019 for Big Finish’s anniversary. It’s best listened to as part of that set, but this story is relatively independent. The Doctor and Charley intend to visit the Doctor’s friend Henry Fielding, author and founder of London’s first police force (depending on who you ask). Almost immediately they run afoul of some cracks in time, one of which leads to 2009, where Fielding gets to meet D.I. Patricia Menzies, who is apparently now the police authority on “weird stuff,” and even has her own task force. There’s also a portal to an alternate 1951, where Britain is an authoritarian state who’ve taken over the world, and now want to invade the other time zones. The plot zings along, because with only an hour, there’s barely any time to breathe. Still, Charley is game, clever, and unflappable, and Menzies is equally calm and capable. That’s very consistent with their last appearances, but for people listening in release order, it would’ve been some time since these characters last appeared. The Sirens of Time, from the first first Big Finish story, make a brief appearance, and Charley needs to spill her big secret in order to distract them, but thanks to a handy bout of temporal amnesia, the Doctor doesn’t know. It’s more of a fast-paced character piece than it is a mystery, but it’s good fun.