{"id":37784,"date":"2023-03-24T00:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T00:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/?p=37784"},"modified":"2023-12-10T17:23:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T17:23:06","slug":"reviewed-big-finishs-eleventh-doctor-chronicles-volume-4-all-of-time-and-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2023\/03\/24\/reviewed-big-finishs-eleventh-doctor-chronicles-volume-4-all-of-time-and-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviewed: Big Finish\u2019s Eleventh Doctor Chronicles Volume 4 \u2013 All of Time and Space"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The fourth volume of The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles<\/em> resumes its 12-part story arc in three experimental, timey-wimey stories, directly continuing from a crashing cliffhanger in Geronimo!<\/a><\/em> It’s a boxset like no other, with the Eleventh Doctor (voiced by Jacob Dudman) and his cyberneticist companion Valarie Lockwood (Safiyya Ingar) travelling across All of Time and Space<\/em>, as it says on the tin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a matter of fact, the title itself is directly quoted from The Eleventh Hour<\/em>, when Amy enters the TARDIS for the first time, as spoken by the Doctor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So… all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will – where do you want to start?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And that leads to the titular first episode (which also shares the boxset’s title), written by Tim Foley, where Ellery Quest*<\/strong> (Leroy Bonsu) pitches a stage play to Mr Darling (Richard Hope) about a certain time traveller and his new companion. It’s all metatextual, as Quest reads portions of the script and hilariously hums the theme music, only to be on the run from the multiplying Mr Darlings with help from the Doctor and Valarie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(*<\/strong> Ellery Quest is also the writer’s pseudonym.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the distinctive storytelling weren’t enough, there are also plenty of hilarious moments throughout, with the Doctor and Valarie in the form of Punch and Judy style puppets (a direct callback to The Snowmen<\/em>) being the absolute highlight. I couldn’t stop laughing my head off whenever they spoke with high pitched voices (done in post-production, according to sound designer Lee Adams<\/a>), as they were found by Quest in Covent Garden – one of my favourite places to visit in London. Very much a Moffatian homage of sorts to the best scene in Blink<\/em>, where the Tenth Doctor communicates with Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale via DVD Easter eggs. Fits perfectly on audio, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a fan of Foley’s writing, his script goes far beyond the universe with the cleverly comical concepts in the boxset’s titular opener. On that note, let’s just say that the metatextual plot and themes are significantly different to The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot<\/em> and the Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers<\/em> film (yes, the one with Ugly Sonic), in the funniest way possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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