Part One

5/5

This was a mammoth of a first part to this story so I’ll try and tackle stuff in a somewhat chronological order.

The start with the Doctor and Charley where they fled from the Time Lords was intense and thrilling. Then it was followed by the scene between the Doctor and Charley where she likens the Doctor to Peter Pan and that was one of the sweetest and most heartfelt companion moments I’ve ever seen. That ending with Charley refusing to let the Doctor suffer for her choices and attempting to take the fall for her own actions was very cool.

Then getting another look into Time Lord society and having Romana be president was so fun. It’s always nice when a previous companion returns, especially one that I liked so much as Romana. Although I wonder how she left E-Space, I’m sure it’s probably explained in some story I haven’t seen yet.

The concept of Anti-Time is really cool and while I can’t pretend to know exactly what it means it’s explained and presented in a way that makes it interesting nonetheless. Also the Neverpeople are a cool concept and I wonder if I re-listened to previous audios I would notice them appearing?

Finally, the introduction of Rassilon and his TARDIS was unexpected but the further the story went the more it made sense. I’m interested to see how it will tie into the Rassilon seen in the Five Doctors and why he was battling Zagreus in the Anti-Time dimension.

Part Two

4.5/5

This part of the story was much more focused than the first part and dealt almost exclusively with the Neverpeople trying to destroy Gallifrey and the Web of Time using an Anti-Time bomb. There were some very nice scenes in here between the Doctor and Charley, especially when she is trying to convince the Doctor to kill her to save the Web of Time. I also liked that Rassilon wasn’t actually in the casket. Finally, the Doctor’s sacrifice was interesting and him turning into Zagreus was something I didn’t expect.

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time: exposition, technobabble, and a cliffhanger!

"NEVERLAND: A HIGH-STAKES, TIME-BENDING EPIC"

Neverland is a grand, ambitious instalment in the Eighth Doctor’s Big Finish run, serving as a pseudo-season finale that directly leads into Zagreus. Picking up on plot threads woven throughout previous releases, it centres on the paradox of Charley Pollard’s survival from Storm Warning and the devastating consequences it has for time itself.

This is a dense, intricate story that demands full attention. Part 1 is particularly packed, almost to the point of being overwhelming, while Part 2 sharpens the focus, delivering a gripping and dramatic escalation. Alongside its deep emotional core in the Doctor/Charley dynamic, it also delves into Time Lord mythology, exploring Gallifrey, the Web of Time, Rassilon’s legacy, and the machinations of the Celestial Intervention Agency.

A SHOWCASE FOR McGANN, WARD, AND KEETCH

Paul McGann gives what is easily his best performance up to this point—his Doctor is passionate, defiant, and deeply wounded by the unfolding crisis. Lalla Ward’s Romana is at her most commanding, playing off McGann beautifully as they clash over Gallifrey’s choices. Anthony Keetch’s Vansell, a character who has long been an intriguing presence in Big Finish, gets some of his strongest material here, further fleshing out his role within the Time Lord hierarchy.

Charley, played with warmth and conviction by India Fisher, is slightly sidelined in parts of the story, but she still gets several standout moments. Her paradox is the catalyst for everything, and her scenes remain emotionally charged.

THE NEVERPEOPLE – A CONCEPT AS DISTURBING AS IT IS FASCINATING

The Neverpeople—those erased from time yet still existing—are among Big Finish’s most eerie and effective creations. The story paints them as tragic yet dangerous, a stark contrast to the often impersonal nature of Time Lord bureaucracy. Their presence adds a psychological horror element, elevating Neverland beyond traditional sci-fi.

GRAND, ATMOSPHERIC, AND OCCASIONALLY OVERWHELMING

The sound design and music give Neverland an epic, almost cinematic quality. Its ambition is commendable, but the sheer density of the narrative—particularly in its first half—can make it difficult to follow. However, the pay-off is worth it, leading to a stunning and emotional finale that forces the Doctor to confront his past decisions and the fragility of time itself.

And then, just when it seems the crisis is averted, Zagreus is unleashed… A chilling and unforgettable cliffhanger that remains one of the most haunting moments in Big Finish history.

📝VERDICT: 9/10

Neverland is an ambitious and high-stakes Doctor Who drama that expands Gallifreyan lore while delivering strong performances from Paul McGann, Lalla Ward, and Anthony Keetch. Though its dense storytelling can be overwhelming at times, its eerie atmosphere, emotional weight, and powerful climax make it a standout entry in the Eighth Doctor’s Big Finish run. The chilling final moments set the stage for Zagreus in spectacular fashion.

The Monthly Adventures #033 - “Neverland" by Alan Barnes

Something I feel Big Finish really needed more of were finales, big episodes with big moments that let the actors really show their worth. The classic era, however groundbreaking, charming and fun it may be, didn’t put a wealth of thought into its arcs and big, massive plot lines were uncommon. But now, we have a more serialised effort, and the first half of our big, two part finale is Neverland, a bizarre riff on Peter Pan that pulls no punches in being a surreal nightmare of a story that blends Time Lord mythology and ghosts. Time is falling apart and Charley is at the centre of it all, let’s begin.

Following a series of unexplainable temporal paradoxes, the Time Lords apprehend the Doctor and Charley, as a mysterious force called anti-time floods into our reality from another universe. Pulled into this parallel realm of anti-time, the Doctor comes face to face with a Gallifreyan legend.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

One of my favourite things about Big Finish is their ability to create stories that undeniably are Doctor Who, complete with the charms, eccentricities and novelties of the classic run whilst still being incredibly innovative and often quite weird. It’s a balance the novels tried and mostly failed at that is nailed here, especially with some of the earlier and more experimental stories in The Monthly Adventures. It’s incredible to me that Big Finish’s first attempt at a serialised plot that would be the obvious choice for latecomers was such a mental ride that eventually ended up with Zagreus of all stories. Neverland is a very surreal audio story that I personally find thrilling. It boasts this eerie and genuinely quite scary tone that nails the feeling of being lost, of being in a place that very much does not welcome you, with harsh sound design allow for this nightmarish setting of an inside-out TARDIS floating in a universe of “anti-time” to become alive as you listen to it. Also terrifying the listener are the Neverpeople, our antagonists who are strange, spectral Time Lords who were executed by the Celestial Intervention Agency by being erased from time, sending them to the Antiverse (look, it’s hard to explain pretty much all of Neverland). Through ghostly performances and this cunning, callous presence, they become really genuinely terrifying foes that add a lot to the already laden atmosphere. Our cast this time around, though mostly consisting of somewhat underdeveloped Timelord agents, do include a couple of great cast members. Lalla Ward has returned to play Romana and as always she excels in the role; her straight-laced, wisened demeanour plays off beautifully with the Doctor and I should really listen to Gallifrey one of these days, shouldn’t I? Plus, we have India Fisher delivering one of her best performances as Charley, who very much takes centre stage for the story as it’s the climax of her arc. Her argument with the Doctor at the beginning alone makes this one of her greatest outings. And the ending, by god, the ending. Possibly the greatest cliffhanger in all of Doctor Who: the Doctor is gone and Zagreus is here. The perfect conclusion to the Zagreus references, an incredibly well written, directed and acted scene and a perfect stinger that will do nothing but keep you wanting more.

But, it still takes 150 minutes to get there, so what are we doing for all that time? Honestly, not much. Mostly, we’re just basking in the atmosphere, as the characters are slowly corrupted by anti-time and the Neverpeople slowly drive the Doctor and Charley to the brink of insanity, trying to get the Doctor to murder Charley at one point. However, it’s not a plot that sustains itself. Being so long, you really don’t have enough material to go around and eventually it runs out of steam, a lot of the story is waiting around for the next thing to occur with exposition filling in the gaps. Also, our secondary antagonist, CIA coordinator Vansell, who has appeared in a couple stories already, is a painfully underused character. For a while, he becomes this self-important and ego-driven monster who tries to usurp the throne from Romana, getting driven insane by a mass of sentient anti-time posing as the corpse of Rassilon (Neverland is really weird, didn’t I mention?). However, it’s revealed that in actuality, this was all a result of the anti-time corrupting him, making him a whole lot more boring and the fact the he illegally wiped people from history, including friends of Romana’s, is kind of swept under the rug for a very unnecessary self-sacrifice that truly doesn’t land. This decision baffles me as he was a genuinely pretty good antagonist for a while, only for the story to completely write it over. On top of all of this, we’re set in a universe made of “anti-time”, but we never really get to see what that is. We only ever see this antiverse from afar and are never able to explore the effects of it, which is a real shame since it’s such an interesting and conceptually rich idea. Despite how alive our setting is, its main component still feels vacant.

Neverland is a bombastic and worthy series finale that feels like the perfect, bizarre conclusion to one of the most original and interesting runs of Doctor Who ever, riffing Peter Pan and timelord mythology in one fell swoop. Despite dragging its feet a little towards the middle, it is a bonkers, scary ride that expertly sets up Zagreus whilst still being its own, genius little story.

8/10

Pros:

+ Surreal and twisting plot that never feels derivative

+ Strange and well-realised setting

+ The concept and execution of the never-people is incredibly creepy

+ Brilliant performance from Lalla Ward as Romana

+ Charley gets a ton of material here

+ All time great cliff-hanger

Cons:

- Vansell was a wasted character

- Didn’t explore anti-time enough

- A little too long

At a high level I loved all of the plot points in Neverland. It tied up the 8th doctor and Charley plot nicely and leaves you wanting more. At a more detailed level there was too much technobabble (both genuine and in jest). I didn’t feel it was all that elegantly written.

Definitely a must listen though, based on the integral stuff that happens.

This one is superb and sets the stage greatly for Zagreus. I love how much we lend into atmosphere in this early run of 8, be it this one, stuff such as Embrace the Darkness and so on. Really dig it.
With this one we get a very bombastic, yet abstract Story, which is such an odd combo, that works here greatly. The Timelords are used in such a great way, honestly might be my second favorite after the Way they got portrayed in the War Games.
Lalla returned to her Role of Romana, and she is as great as ever. As many already mentioned, that Cliffhanger is just excellent in every regard.
I love the weird Imagery, I love the Character work done here, and overall it’s just exceptional and like others already pointed out McGann & Ward gave such good Chemistry together in this play. Shame we didn’t get more Stories with that pairing.

Really, if anything, this is one of those Stories that I point to when making the point that McGann’s first run as 8 on Audio was such a good Direction to go to, especially in the Audio Format. I doubt this could have worked as well as it did if we had Visuals (especially since forming your own Visuals is such a lovely core part with BF, at least for me)