Reborn

Gallifrey #4.1

Released: March 2011

Listened: 4/18/21

The fourth series was released much later, in 2011, after the new series had taken off, and Big Finish had a higher profile. There’s a much better opening theme, more fitting with other Big Finish offerings, although the cover designs are mostly the same. Story-wise, it picks up shortly after the previous series ended, with a fake-out “everything is awesome” scene that turns out to be a dream. However, there’s a retcon that Brax’s hidden planetoid is actually the Axis, from “The Axis of Insanity,” although it’s described as though it’s common knowledge. The Axis leads to aborted timelines, and the main characters decide to investigate one, although it’s not clear whether they’re looking for a way to solve the problem from Series 3, or just escape to a new reality. Anyway, they find an alternate Gallifrey in which Romana is still in her first incarnation, and Leela is a celebrity, having helped the Doctor find the Key to Time. Everybody acknowledges that this is an alternate reality, but everyone except for Leela presumes that the rules of society are the same as the Gallifrey they knew, so they can navigate here. Mary Tamm at least gets to play Romana this time, although an alternate one, and this is her final appearance in this series. Vansell, former CIA director who Narvin replaced, also appears here, in alternate form. It seems like it didn’t come to anything, but it remains to be seen whether this is setup, or just something episodic. The pacing feels slightly off, and the characterizations seem to have shifted a bit. Narvin and Brax are both on the “untrustworthy” list, despite having proven themselves in Series 3. It feels a bit off, listening to them one after the other.