Bliss wants answers – but sometimes ignorance is…

Matt Fitton kicks off this new set of Time War adventures for the Eighth Doctor and Bliss by trying to answer some of the many questions that have been thrown up by Bliss’s presence in the Doctor’s life. Linking into the telepathic circuits – a la Listen – we’re treated to an unusual sort of flashback where some of the key people in her life somehow end up resembling the Doctor. (It’s a neat way of involving Paul McGann throughout the audio, but also works to remind the listener that this is a flashback.)

There’s a certain symmetry to the start of this series with the Doctor having multiple companions and yet the same one – Bliss has a core set of friends and relationships in most of the realities, or at least, that’s the way it seems. But there’s far murkier elements lurking just beneath the surface, and some ideas that have been floating around Doctor Who for some time (even nearly reaching as far as the TV show itself) are brought to life here.

Nina Wadia, Anjli Mohindra and John Scougall bring multiple different facets of the same characters to life and the spotlight is on Rakee Thakrar whose performance as Bliss grows more rounded with each story. Benji Clifford’s sound design and Jamie Robertson’s music work in tandem with Ken Bentley’s direction to ensure the listener has a clear picture of what’s happening (when that’s appropriate – which isn’t always the case).

Verdict: Multiple realities may be colliding, but characterisation is at the heart of this. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order The Eighth Doctor: The Time War Volume 3 from Big Finish