✅8/10 = Very Good!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

Big Finish kicks off their new War Doctor range with an adventure pitting the John Hurt incarnation, as played by Jonathon Carley, against Time Lord criminal Morbius, as voiced by Samuel West.

The opening narration establishes the epic stakes of the story. We are then moved onto a setting tied to the recent Dark Galifrey: Morbius release, as we meet the crew onboard a ship travelling the Time Vortex during the Time War until they discover the crashed Proteus from the Dark Gallifrey story.

The main story picks up some time after The War Doctor Begins, with War having disappeared for a while, tending to an illness that makes him unable to travel in time. The Time Lords locate him again to persuade him to rejoin the war. At the same time, Morbius makes his grand return and wants to take revenge on the Doctor. It's a simple but effective set-up that is then fleshed out with the usual Time War stuff.

Morbius shows up early on, and Samuel West puts his all into the performance, managing to sound menacing, scary, and truly effective while effectively stealing the spotlight. His effective presence goes very well with Carley's uncanny take on the War Doctor.

The performances are great all around, and the sound design and music build a tense atmosphere. Sheila Ruskin and Theo Solomon are both interesting to listen to as the Apothecary of Karn (Cora) and a Gallifreyan Vice Vice Chancellor, respectively. Gareth Armstorng (from The Keeper of Traken) is captivating as Judd, who Morbius makes his effective servant.

Part 1 sets up the mystery of someone hunting the Doctor - and the Doctor having to decide what to do about it. At the same time, Morbius prepares his battle force, and in the end, Morbius and the Doctor face off for the first time as we learn that Herving has been a Morbius loyalist all along.

Part 2 continues tightening the tension as Morbius' shadow looms over several worlds and the Doctor retires to figure out if he's strong enough to face his adversary. This also builds on the interesting relationship between War and his nurse, Cora. The biggest takeaway here is Morbius and Judd allying themselves with an evolved form of Roboman (or a "Dalek-augmented Time Lord"), the 1-8-1.

Part 2 is very much a middle chapter that doesn't evolve the story much. That is served for Part 3, where we see the Daleks enter the story as Morbius prepares to face off the Doctor once and for all, while squishing everyone who tries to stop him.

It's all out war in Part 3. The Daleks are flabbergasted by Morbius' forces. The Doctor loses consciousness while the Daleks hunt him down. We also learn a bit about how the TARDIS reacts to all this and how seriously the link between the Doctor and the TARDIS has been severed.

I love the epic climactic confrontation between War and Morbous, both broken and at their wits' end, inside the TARDIS. John Dorney then brings the set to a satisfying conclusion while setting the stage for the next release.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

There are a few references to familiar planets and races from other adventures (Exxilon, Marinus II, and Movellans) all more or less destroyed by Morbius. Admittedly, a lot of these namedrops feel a bit forced.