Nevernor

Gallifrey: Time War #3.2

Released: 20 February 2020

Listened: 5/22/21

The Quest for Leela continues, with another Doctor Who-type story. This time, it’s the sort where they land on a seemingly normal planet, only to gradually discover that something is deeply wrong. And Narvin waxes nostalgic about a Kobayashi Maru-type test from the Academy, where the solution is not to care about which timeline survives, so you know that’s going to come up. Basically, there’s a pre-industrial community who’s caught in a time loop, except there’s lots of bleed-through from paradox and other badness, which Romana figures is the result of the Time War. Unfortunately, that leads to lots and lots of talking while they try to explain this to each other and the audience. I get that it’s supposed to be spooky and atmospheric, but unfortunately I found it a little dull. I noticed the sound design a lot more in this story, and not in a good way. There’s a cowbell that’s a little too loud and frequent, as if the goat is having a fit right on top of the microphone, as well as some scratching and knocking sounds that seem to last through the entire story. Exasperated Romana sounds a bit less exasperated in this one, but the heavy sigh is still her go-to reaction, which is unfortunate.