Stories Audio Book Destiny of the Doctor Babblesphere 1 image Overview Characters How to Listen Reviews 6 Statistics Quotes Overview Released April 2013 Written by Jonathan Morris Publisher BBC Audio, Big Finish Productions Narrated by Lalla Ward, Roger Parrott Directed by John Ainsworth Runtime 71 minutes Location (Potential Spoilers!) Hephastos Synopsis The violent, volcanic world of Hephastos is home to a colony of composers, painters, authors and poets, all striving to create the greatest works of art the universe has ever seen. But in pursuit of their goal, artistic collaboration has been taken a stage too far... When the Doctor and Romana arrive, they discover the colonists have neglected their well-being and their once beautiful habitat, which has now succumbed to decay, and they are enslaved to the Babble network which occupies their every waking moment. Every thought, however trivial or insignificant, is shared with everyone else and privacy is now a crime. The colonists are being killed and the Doctor and Romana begin to suspect that a malevolent intelligence is at work. With time running out, the two time travellers race to discover the truth before they too are absorbed into the endless trivia of the Babblesphere... Listen Listened Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Fourth Doctor Eleventh Doctor Romana II Show All Characters (3) How to listen to Babblesphere: Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify Big Finish Audio Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor: The Complete Adventure Big Finish Audio Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor (AudioGo Limited Edition) Big Finish Audio Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor: Babblesphere Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Default Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 6 reviews 7 July 2024 · 218 words Review by WhoPotterVian 4 This is a really strong story that concerns the Doctor and Romana landing on a human colony where the inhabitants have been injected with this computer chip in their head that grants them to the 'Babble': a social network where users post trivial information about their day. It's probably the story that so far (four audiobooks in) feels the most true to its era, despite social media having not been around in the 70s when those serials were aired. It's just so easy to imagine Tom Baker and Lalla Ward wandering around a wobbly set and encountering the robots of the story. Babblesphere features some very smart and witty commentary on social media, and the dangers of becoming too addicted. How we can lose ourselves in it and become mindless entities wandering around in their own little bubbles, ignoring what is going on around them. It's such a topical issue in the modern age, and something that will undoubtedly continue to be talked about as we learn more about the effects of social media on everyday people. Lalla Ward is such a great audiobook reader, and helps to really sell the story. I honestly wouldn't have been opposed to her narrating every story in this collection; I think she has a great voice for audiobooks. WhoPotterVian View profile Like Liked 4 4 June 2024 · 79 words Review by thedefinitearticle63 Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order. Previous Story: Shada Easily my favourite Destiny of the Doctor story so far. It's really well-narrated, Lalla Ward captures Tom Baker's mannerisms perfectly. The main premise is essentially Dot and Bubble, but done better. The cameo at the end by the 11th Doctor is quite funny and the Chumbleys being the Doctor's favourite enemy is such a Doctor-y thing. Next Story: Wave of Destruction thedefinitearticle63 View profile Like Liked 2 24 May 2025 · 158 words Review by Kazekun 1 I also quite enjoyed this adventure, it was a lot more exciting and the opening of the story where we get the description of the setting is actually really, really fun. I like how much the story focuses in Romana, the Doctor's companion and fellow Time Lord, as she gives us a great pov into this planet and its people. The story is a very obvious jab at social media and Twitter. And since this story came out things have clearly gotten worse just like in the events here. The setting also features Romana and the Doctor in a Summer Wars style virtual reality at one point, I would love to see that animated or as a comic or something. I also think the inclusion of 11 in this story, like the last adventure, felt shoehorned in with how he was utilized. But overall I enjoyed this quite a bit. Probably my favorite of the four adventures so far. Kazekun View profile Like Liked 1 16 June 2025 · 284 words Review by Ryebean Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! Okay, so... I can't say much about this story - There's a lot going on, but it was very slow and boring. I don't know whether it was the writing or Lalla's voice acting, but I can just picture Tom Baker running about and taking charge. It says something when your voice is so distinct that it's easy to write and portray it. I think this is the first audio I've heard with Lalla Ward and she's great - Romana gets her chance to be the Doctor and a more independent companion, rather than a screaming girl, and I hope this follows through with future stories - and the relationship between Romana and the Doctor is great, always bantering and messing about, and it's hilarious when they realise that neither of them have brought their sonic with them. Okay, the problem I have with it is the ideas it brings. The Twitter parody is nice, but there's a mess of the way it's presented and I have difficulty following it, so much that I don't really know who the villain is. I don't know what the setting is meant to be - There's so much going on just filling up the space that it just becomes confusing and they could've cut so much down and let it be one half an hour story. This shouldn't be an hour long, this should be a Short Trips entry. I can't say much more than that in a review. Aurelius exists as a side character, but that's it. It's odd because people really enjoy this story, but there's just too much happening in one story so none of them reach their full potential and it's just boring. Ryebean View profile Like Liked 2 30 April 2024 · 7 words Review by Owen 2 FOMO sucks more news at eight Owen View profile Like Liked 2 Show All Reviews (6) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating81 members 3.32 / 5 Member Statistics Listened 154 Favourited 6 Reviewed 6 Saved 1 Skipped 1 Quotes Add Quote Submit a Quote