In Review: Big Finish: Doctor Who: Once and Future: Time Lord Immemorial

Synopsis: In Once and Future: Time Lord Immemorial, During The Time War, the Doctor has been injured and brought to a Time Lord field hospital. His body glows with energy, but this is no regeneration into a future form. Instead, the Doctor’s past faces begin to appear as he flits haphazardly between incarnations.

Staggering to his TARDIS, the Doctor sets out to solve the mystery of his ‘degeneration’. From the Earth to the stars, he follows clues to retrace his steps. He encounters old friends and enemies along the way. Tumbling through his lives, the Doctor must stop his degeneration before he loses himself completely.

Slipping between bodies, the Ninth Doctor finds his TARDIS caught between universes as the cosmos starts to break down. A Doctor from another reality arrives and they join forces with Liv Chenka and the Lumiat to find the cause. 

Someone has desecrated the mythical Hall of the Time Lord Immemorial, where the sands of time from the multiverse are held. Those sands are running out.
Review: I say this every time because it’s true. Doctor Who: Once and Future: Time Lord Immemorial is the best entry in this series yet.

Story

Writer Lisa McMullin reminds listeners that Doctor Who can be adapted for any genre. Indeed, she embraces her inner Neil Gaiman. In the process, McMullin gives us a metaphysical fantasy tour-de-force.

She relies on the Time Lord myth as a future event trope. By the end, we’re given a multiverse narrative equal to any put on screen.

Moreover, McMullin finds the best balance between plot and character beats. This allows the actors room to make us care about abstractions.

Acting

The entire cast is wonderful. They know their characters inside and out at this point.

That said, I must single out the late, great David Warner. His Unbound Doctor is a highlight of Big Finish storytelling. In fact, it’s not only fitting but necessary to include both character and actor in the 60th-anniversary celebrations. 

Overall

Thank you, Big Finish. Doctor Who: Once and Future: Time Lord Immemorial is the perfect penultimate episode. I can’t wait for the finale later this month.

You can purchase Doctor Who: Once and Future: Time Lord Immemorial here.