Big Finish Review: Out of Time 2

Big Finish’s yearly Out of Time range continues this month with The Gates of Hell – a time-hopping adventure that pits the Fifth and Tenth Doctors against the Cybermen on the city streets and catacombs of Paris. But does this series of Past Doctor pair-ups already show signs of diminishing returns? 

Whilst they weren’t in the same room together, David Tennant and Tom Baker appearing in last year’s first Out of Time release felt special. It was a proper Big Finish summer blockbuster during what, by all accounts, was a rough year and it put a smile on a lot of people’s faces. Although it contained Daleks, the story was slight with the real appeal being in listening to how these two iconic Doctors interacted. 

For many, there will be less of an appeal in hearing the Tenth Doctor interact with the Fifth given that we’ve already had Steven Moffat’s fleeting but affectionate Time Crash. Not to mention the fact that Tennant and Davison are now related by marriage. This reviewer would be much more interested in watching them interact during another series of Staged or in another Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. (Incidentally, can we have more of that? There is so much wasted sitcom potential in all the old Doctors hanging out at conventions and getting into scrapes.)  

All of which is to say that Out of Time 2: The Gates of Hell has a couple of tough acts to follow. As such, it’s incredibly difficult to shake the sense that we’ve been here before, and once you’ve got a sense of how each incarnation would act towards the other, where else can you go? This is likely why, for example, the Third and Second Doctor only has a few lines together in The Five Doctors – not even Terrence Dicks could bottle The Three Doctors’ lightning a second time around.  

That said, writer David Llewellyn does find ways to spruce up his multi-Doctor story. There’s a fun, if overlong subversion of the traditional “I don’t like it” scene, and there’s much more of a sense that both Doctors are a team working in harmony rather than the usual disagreements and bickering that you’d expect. Both Doctors are a decent double act, and the addition of Shelley Conn as Time Agent Tina Drake has the potential for a Cary Grant, James Stewart and Katharine Hepburn sort of vibe. It’s a shame, therefore that Drake flits in and out of the story, fading into the background a bit so the Doctors can really enjoy spending time together.  

The same can be said for the Cybermen, much like the Daleks in the first Out of Time they’re mainly there to serve their purpose as a big Doctor Who baddy that can justify the presence of two Doctors. The ruined, Cyberised Paris is atmospherically realised in both the dialogue and sound design, something catastrophic has clearly happened, and the scenes where both Doctors investigate the city are very compelling. It’s a shame that we don’t spend more time there.  

Instead, the Doctors travel back in time to find the point where everything went wrong in a story that reminds the listener of both Steven Moffat’s short story Continuity Errors and his first festive special A Christmas Carol. Similar themes of paternal love and emotions conquering all inevitably rear their head. There are also unavoidable comparisons to City of Death and 21st Century Doctor Who stalwart Mark Gatiss even appears, delivering the sort of ‘mysterious enigmatic figure’ performance he can do in his sleep. 

Not that there’s anything wrong with multi-Doctor stories revelling in the show’s past and having a bloody ball with it. That’s what makes The Five Doctors such fun. It’s why they generally take place in anniversary years. And yet, the best ones always drive the show forward. The Three Doctors returns the Doctor’s freedom, Day of the Doctor absolves our hero of his survivor’s guilt. Even the first Out of Time had the scene where the Tenth Doctor’s ‘Timelord Victorious’ state of mind horrifies his more freewheeling Fourth incarnation.  

Multi-Doctor stories were once designated purely for anniversary specials – a weird mid-season Spanish holiday notwithstanding – and with the Tenth Doctor just casually bumping into his past selves during these Out of Time releases, there is the risk that they stop becoming special events. The Gates of Hell risks it more than most, by presenting the listener with a hellish, apocalyptic scenario then immediately undercutting it by telling us how much fun each Doctor is having as they breezily pinball from time zone to time zone.

Overall, if Time Crash left you wanting, and you’re unable to pop round for dinner at the Moffet/Tennant household then you’ll find stuff to enjoy here. Tennant and Davison clearly enjoy each other’s company, even when recording remotely. However, if you want your multi-Doctor stories to have a bit more pomp, circumstance and dramatic stakes then this isn’t for you.