📝8/10

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

THE WEB OF LIES: ROMANA, PANDORA, AND GALLIFREY'S FRACTURED FUTURE

Lies opens with a captivating flashback to Romana’s days at the Academy, where she discusses the nature of her education with Braxiatel. This scene not only offers a glimpse into Romana's formative years but also cleverly introduces the story’s central antagonist—Pandora, making her first impression on the young Time Lady. It’s a delightful prologue that sets the tone for the unfolding drama.

Darkel’s Return and Schemes Aplenty:

Lynda Bellingham returns as the ever-scheming Darkel, now with a larger role. Her machinations against Romana add an extra layer of political tension, while Narvin continues to pursue his own agenda. The plot draws further intrigue as Romana proposes allowing alien species with temporal potential to study at the Academy—a bold move that stirs up controversy on Gallifrey.

Sharp Wit and Stellar Performances:

The political manoeuvring takes a slightly calmer turn in this episode, but the witty exchanges between characters remain a highlight. Romana’s sharp dialogue shines, particularly in her interactions with Andred, Braxiatel, and the newly introduced Castellan Wynter, a recent Academy graduate whose addition to the cast is both fresh and enjoyable. Lalla Ward and Andy Coleman are on top form, delivering sparkling performances.

Mary Tamm’s Big Finish Debut:

Mary Tamm makes her Big Finish debut as Romana I, and her bickering with Romana II and Leela is a treat to listen to. Though her role in the story is relatively small, her presence adds an enjoyable dynamic to the unfolding events.

Leela’s Journey Below the Capitol:

Leela spends much of the episode exploring the Vaults beneath the Capitol with K9, grappling with the shocking revelation of Andred’s regeneration in A Blind Eye. Her scenes with K9 are among the best written for her character so far, showcasing her growing complexity. Inadvertently, she unleashes Pandora, a hidden force from Gallifrey’s ancient past, who now seeks to reclaim her power through Romana.

A Sinister Pandora and Andred’s Quest:

Brenda Longman delivers a chillingly fun performance as Pandora, managing to balance menace with charisma. Meanwhile, Andred continues to dig into Pandora’s history, setting off on a mission that places him at odds with both Romana and Leela.

Tightly Woven Plotlines:

The episode balances two compelling threads: the charged relationships between the main characters and the growing threat posed by Pandora. The narrative intriguingly hints at parallels between Romana and Gallifrey’s first female president, suggesting that Romana’s progressive reforms could destabilise Time Lord society. This conflict intensifies the stakes, pitting Romana against those who see her as a threat.

A Thrilling Final Act:

The story’s final act is a whirlwind of banter between the two Romanas, Leela’s attempts to make sense of Pandora’s schemes, and Andred framing Narvin for murder. The tension ramps up without losing the series’ signature wit and charm, delivering a satisfying conclusion that sets up the threads for Season 2.

Final Thoughts:

Lies expertly blends political intrigue, character-driven drama, and mythological depth. The streamlined plot keeps the focus tight, while the interplay between Romana, Pandora, and Gallifrey’s fractured political landscape builds a compelling narrative.

With its rich characterisation and tantalising set-ups for the next season, Lies firmly establishes Gallifrey as a thrilling and intelligent series. Colour me intrigued for what’s next!

Setup, but done really nicely here.

I love the character interactions we get here, Brax and Romana, Leela and Romana, Romana and Romana...... Okay mostly I just love what we get of Romana here, but in my defence, Romana's really good.

Brax's interactions with Narvin here are also pretty nice, I like his confession of what he's doing with time travel, and then his, glee isn't the right word, but just how quick he is to suggest a mind wipe of Narvin after the events of the story.

Romana 1's appearance was an unexpected surprise, but it was great for the story. I love the backstory we get for Romana here, her childhood, Brax mentally manipulating her, the retconning her reason for regeneration in the main show. In another writer/actor's hands it could be a lazy excuse to retcon out a somewhat out of character moment for Romana from the show, but here it's elevated, adding a sense of intrigue about her origins, and setting up what I assume is the ongoing thread of this season.

Also a last note, I like the worldbuilding touch that the myth of Pandora is universal, that every world has some equivalent of it.

Gallifrey; Chapter V  - “Lies" by Gary Russell

Gallifrey Series One was not everything I had hoped it to be. Overall, I think it was a consistently fine affair that I was promised acted as an extended pilot, a sentiment I definitely agreed on after finishing it. The stories all followed too similar a formula and too similar a style. The themes, whilst there, were surface level and the characters all had their moments but really it felt like the build up to something bigger, something better. Good, but not impressive. I expected Lies to be the entrance to a new era for Gallifrey, the new wave, and that was, ironically, a lie.

Weeks following the time disruption in Berlin, President Romana is trying to keep a furious high council at bay after she implements numerous, controversial changes. Meanwhile, as Leela sulks through the subterranean Gallifreyan vaults, an old and cunning presence grows ever stronger.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

The thing that really bothered me about Lies is that it wasn’t bad, it really wasn’t, but it also felt like Gallifrey eating itself; a scripted ouroboros of sorts where the formula that teetered on the edge of being unbearable for the whole first season finally grips the whole story in its cold, dead hands. But then again, Lies isn’t boring, or infuriating or disheartening, it’s just so unimpressive. The plot is barely even there, as simple as you can get for a political thriller (with a slight sci-fi twist). All it really tries to do is set up Series Two, giving Andred a new plot line and introducing villainous intelligence Pandora as an overarching antagonist, as well as setting up some tensions within Romana’s inner circle. It’s enough to keep the interest, at least. I also think the performances helped hugely; we get extended sequences with Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward playing off a surprise Mary Tamm, which was predictably delightful and fun. Add in John Leeson as an increasingly more loveable K9 and this story’s real strength is just having these four argue it out in a dark, dank tunnel. However, at the end of the day, Lies is set up, plain and simple. Disappointingly brief and uneventful set up as it may be, it has a purpose and serves it well. This series seems promising, if they can step up the pace, the stakes and the ideas then we have some nice conflict on our hands that I think could lend to some really stellar character work. Hopefully a little stronger than last season across the board, but frankly anything’s better than more of this.

And that’s not to say Lies is bad - as I’ve already mentioned - but it’s formula to the max. Even the worst of Series One had some good ideas; Square One had a really cool time travel mechanic, The Inquiry had a unique set piece. Lies just feels like all the dull bits combined, all the exposition and the confusion and the poorly woven political trickery. It has no particularly great moments, no particularly strong bits of character work. I actually think it does some rather dull things with its cast. Romana and Leela apparently haven’t talked for weeks following the incident with Andred but they reunite and simply get on with what they have to do, no “where have you been?”s or “what the hell have you been doing?”s. Hell, there’s not even a “how are you?”. What could be some really interesting examination of the interplay between the two just turns into a plot convenience. But then again, what plot? This is a lot of exposition used to set up some arcs at the end of the day, extended conversations about the same thing. How, even when stripped of most ingenuity, Gallifrey still manages to have half its script be exhaustive exposition is beyond me. And, as is tradition, it doesn’t make much sense.

Lies is promising, I will say that. It gives glimpses of some tense and complex plot down the road, those plots just aren’t here. I don’t really think it deserves the score I’ve given it, but I’m taking into account the type of story this is: a whole load of nothing. Will I care about this in a month; a week; to the end of today? Maybe not. I should congratulate Gary Russell for making a plotless synopsis for future stories interesting, but really I’m just lukewarm and hoping for some turn around in pace later down the line.

5/10

Pros:

+ Simple but captivating plot

+ Jameson, Ward and Tamm all play brilliantly off each other

+ The set up for the season seems promising

Cons:

- In all aspects unimpressive

- Skips over the gaps in Romana and Leela’s relationship

- Relies heavily on more convoluted exposition