Weapon of Choice is certainly an amazing introduction to an amazing series. I love Gallifrey so, so much, and Weapon of Choice already has so many of the threads that make it such a great series, even if that might be hard to notice on first listen. The characters are great, their banter is off the charts here and Weapon of Choice is so full of energy!! If this is your first time listening stick with it, and definitely come back around to this one because there are so many little things that are amazing and you can't even know yet. And to see where Narvin started! Such a grumpy guy. Leela and Romana are both amazing and to see them here, at the beginning of it all is wonderful. It breaks my heart how hurt they both are. Love this episode!

I really like these more atmospheric feelings of Enemy Lines and Intervention Earth. The music is a very nice touch. But I also have to be honest, this one was very long at about three hours and I feel like maybe it could have been shortened a little bit.

I adore Leela in this one. I feel like this is one of very few Gallifrey episodes where she is consistently treated as smart and competent. She figures things out, she is an equal to Romana in the investigation and I love to hear it! The Leela/Romana relationship is very strong in this one. They are just so them, hurting each other, leaving each other, saving each other and all of it! They care so much and it shows. The ending of them in that other universe broke my heart. Romana is in a very interesting position here, her becoming coordinator was not something I expected and it is so funny to me that she just stole Narvin’s job. I do actually feel that this is a role that fits her very well because not only can she lie much better than Narvin, she is so good at meddling. I think she needs power, and to have no one who can tell her what to do, but also being responsible for all of Gallifrey is not good for her. This position gives her much more freedom.

Poor Narvin gets killed! That was really something. He really can’t catch a break. I love the Narvin and Ace dynamic. I didn’t expect it but it is absolutely wicked. Ace brings something to Gallifrey that I didn’t know I needed but I am in love with her. She’s incredible. I need more of her.

I took this note during listening and feel like it perfectly encapsulates my feelings: I have no idea what’s going on but I am entranced by Trey’s voice. Truly I am in love with Trey, she is just so amazing I could listen to her for days.

Narvin is amazing in here. His relationship with Romana is so compelling, and he is such a bad spy, like he doesn’t even try, it’s incredible. I also love the way he deals with meeting humans, it is so funny.

Ace is here!! I love Ace, Ace is great, she is wicked and she is perfect in here and I really don’t have anything else to say because she is just perfect. Love the way she brings a contemporary human’s view to Gallifrey.

This story is very atmospheric and shines in the way the characters talk. It’s pretty confusing when you’re expecting more seamless continuity as before in the series but once you let go of that it’s wonderful. Really Juliet Landau’s voice just does it all. I don’t need to understand what’s going on if I can just listen to her.

This story is probably not something you'll actively seek out but rather one you'll stumble over if you're lucky. It's one of the most haunting Doctor Who stories I have ever experienced. It made me cry. It's so bleak. And in the end it's got just that bit of hope. The Doctor and Romana are incredibly well characterized. The implications of them emotionally are immense and the calm narration somehow fits it perfectly. Truly haunting.

What a book. It’s so weird, filled with lore and completely insane. How is this a real book. I love it.

Listen. At this point we all know I love it when Romana does ■■■■■■ up things. And when she is traumatized to hell and back. And even more if she does evil messed up things because she is so hurt. And this audio ■■■■■■■ delivered.

I don’t really have that many additional thoughts on it, because really that was the main thing happening the entire time, there’s really not that much plot and it’s mainly fighting Daleks or running away from Daleks. In itself not massively entertaining.

I find it very interesting that I generally don’t like Dalek stories very much but the second you put them in the same story as Romana I am thinking about the Apocalypse Element and am no longer capable of thinking about anything else. Romana torturing the Dalek is soooooo good. One of the top scenes of Gallifrey for me probably. And the moment before where she looks at the sunset. Heartbreaking she is so convinced she won’t make it because she knows better than anyone else alive in any universe what they can do. I love her reclaiming her identity. That moment of her talking to herself in TAE is so haunting. And I find it very compelling how she becomes a martyr for this Gallifrey. I think it’s what she wanted on the original one as well but here she gets to become that without actually dying which is interesting.

I love how codependent they all are here. Narvin not running away but staying for them, Leela being there for Romana the second she needs her, Romana calling Leela her best friend. I am in love with them. And Romana being so scared in the beginning, while Leela, perhaps not expecting to survive, but still unafraid and ready to fight.

In total I am rating this as good (4/5) and a favourite which I don’t do often (most of my favourites are 5/5) because the story isn’t much but it was made for people like me who enjoy Romana being so messed up.

I just can’t get over this ending. This is how you end this series? For five years? This is insane. This whole chapter is quite frankly absurd and I love it. Zombies? Gallifrey falling to ruins? Pigrats? This one has it all. I adore Romana in this story (I mean, I always do, but especially), I think it’s really interesting how much better she fits in this outsider position. She has much less left to lose so she’s honestly doing much better mentally. I think she could really thrive in a powerful but ultimately not binding advisor capacity. And I adore the beginning. Leela. God, Leela made me cry in this one. She is so utterly alone and lost and the way she talks with Andred is so heartbreaking. At this point I just prepare myself to cry when that music comes on. And her talk with Romana too. Louise Jameson is amazing. It’s extremely interesting to see Narvin working under a different president, because you can really see the way he respects Romana but not Matthias. That’s not his president and you can tell. And Brax!! The ending with all the triple-crossing going on was very clever and slightly confusing but I love to have him back. Still, that ending. Who came up with that. Incredible.

I’d also like to hold a moment of silence for Leela’s knife. Meanest thing anyone has ever done.

I loved this one so much, it is literally mind-blowing! And something I really adore here is just how rich this whole world feels, like there are so many characters, and you get to see what they think of this truly insane political situation. And like I am freaking out about everything that’s happening in this chapter, but I’m not even freaking out about Romana or Leela or Narvin that much rn, who I am always ready to freak out about but about everything else!! Like Brax coming back!! I was hoping so badly from the first time they mentioned him, and he actually did! And his plan to get rid of Darkel is so ■■■■■■■ genius, I did not see it coming at all. And actually the way Darkel gets beaten here is so unbelievably satisfying, like a lot of stories tend to go the ‘revenge is bad’ way, but sometimes you just need to cheer because some villain got precisely what they deserved, and I absolutely despise Darkel, amazing villain. And it was really good that I relistened to Appropriation the day before this one, because it really does set the stage very well, and familiarized me more with Matthias as someone with complicated manipulative plans too

This is above the standard for general doctor who audios I’d say, but definitely under the very high standard that Gallifrey so far has set. I enjoyed it and the Romana stuff was amazing, Lalla Ward is really good at that breathy exhaustion, and I loved the way she sold those political twists, appointing herself her successor but honestly, someone give Romana a break. There was a lot of use of law and legalities in this one and to be honest, I found that very confusing, I’ll see if I get that better after a second listen but quite honestly I think I’ll need to start drawing diagrams if I want to get that. I missed Leela, it felt like she was barely in this one, but her moments with Narvin were wonderful. Narvin in general is wonderful here, he’s really started to shine in his loyalty to Romana.

I liked it a lot more on a second listen, knowing where Matthias' plans go made him stand out a lot more.

How does this series just keep having such amazing episodes? This is another one that goes to my favourites. Leela is amazing and it is so interesting and heartbreaking how at home she seems in war. Romana here is at her most psychologically messed up which I adore and they are just amazing together. They are so codependent, I love it. And Narvin! Some great character moments here. I just about died when he called Romana his president. Twice! I just plain love it.