Written by Gary Hopkins Justin Richards Scott Handcock Gary Russell David Wise

Starring Lalla Ward and Louise Jameson

Episodes
5.1 Emancipation by James Peaty
5.2 Evolution by Una McCormack
5.3 Arbitration by David Llewellyn

Originally released : February 2013

Listened to: July 2025

Context: I was in a wee BF listen Gap until the next Fugitive Doctor boxset was released so I decided to smash through a Gallifrey boxset whilst I was waiting. I often forget I have committed to this series, then a GAP appears and these boxset perfectly fill those gaps, fantastic.

THE REVIEW

What I thought: I was a little underwhelmed by this set to be honest, there are some nice ideas in here, for example the rift between Leela and Romana, the ‘regenerators’, the politics, the outsiders and the regenerators etc etc – I liked the stuff between Leela and Narvin in particular, they are such well acted, deep and interesting characters, I could listen to them all the long day.

The three stories blend into one, somewhat for me, although the stuff with the experiments on the slaves, the intense prejudice against them was strong stuff and a highlight of the boxset. I don’t fully understand this whole Axis malarkey but that aside this was an enjoyable set of adventures. The intrigue that is inherent in the Gallifrey series is really different from the other Who listening I get up to, and this at times I find hard to follow, always enjoyable though.

(The cliffhanger for part three is pretty special I must add).

Rating: 3 out of 5 Daleks – solid, not my favourite Gallifrey boxset and probably one of the weaker series of adventures however the gang are so well written and portrayed it’s simply great spending time with them, regardless of the episodes and what’s occurring.

What I felt: a little underwhelmed at times to be honest but it passed the time nicely, I was certainly entertained and at times intrigued even if I wasn’t entirely sure what was occurring at times.

What am I left thinking?

• Will our trio ever get back together again?
• Where is K9?
• Where is Brax?
• What are the Daleks after, and how does this all fit with the incoming Time War.

Memorable bits

• The return of the Daleks (spoilers!)
• Regenerators and Outsiders are pretty cool
• Narvin just gets better and better IMHO