Doctor Who: Once and Future: Past Lives begins its story in a familiar location from the 50th anniversary special, The Time War. The War Doctor is injured, exhibiting extreme levels of regeneration energy. But that can’t be right, we saw The War Doctor ( John Hurt) regenerate in the 50th anniversary special. So what the hell is going on? With an explosion of energy, The Doctor begins regenerating, however, instead of moving forward through new faces, the Doctor begins cycling to his past regenerations. Terry Molloy said: “The thing I’ve always said about Davros and the Doctor is that they have a kind of a touching respect for each other as well as hatred because they know they’re both on the same intellectual level. And they know they’re both alone.

Writer Lisa McMullin said: “This particular set was a real gift because I got to make two characters that you might not expect to be able to interact because they’re in different universes, and then converge those universes and have them collide. There’s a whole heap of fun where they’re trying to decide which universe they’re in. The Ninth and Unbound Doctors were so much fun and a joy. They worked together really well, and bounced beautifully off each other.” We may be getting closer to the conclusion of the eight-part story arc but, later this month, the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann), Susan (Carole Ann Ford), River Song (Alex Kingston), and, once again, the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) will get to the bottom of the degeneration crisis in The Union… We’re only at the beginning of the adventure so we’re just starting to figure out what’s going on. There are many more secrets and mysteries to be uncovered...”

Hubs

The Time War. The Doctor has been injured and brought to a Time Lord field hospital. His body glows with energy, but this is no regeneration into a future form - instead, the Doctor’s past faces begin to appear as he flits haphazardly between incarnations… Staggering to his TARDIS, the Doctor sets out to solve the mystery of his ' degeneration'. Who has done this to him? How? And why? From the Earth to the stars, across an array of familiar times and places, he follows clues to retrace his steps, encountering old friends and enemies along the way. Tumbling through his lives, the Doctor must stop his degeneration before he loses himself completely... Now, the cover and cast details have been revealed for the fourth episode, ‘Two’s Company’, which lands in August. Once and Future also attempts to balance the individual story while connecting to the larger story, which is totally typical for many series and stories. However, with the tight run time of just under an hour, and will no visuals to help facilitate the story, it felt difficult to fully appreciate both the microsphere of the individual story and the microsphere of the larger picture of Once and Future. I think the series will be even more enjoyable after all parts are out and I can binge-listen to them. With only one instalment left in the eight-part story arc, we’ll have to wait until November 2024 for Coda – The Final Act. Whatever Big Finish has planned for the epilogue, I’ve no doubt it’ll feature a certain incarnation from a very recent era. Guess it has something to do with the rights? But still, we should be grateful that The Union has been released exactly a month before The Star Beast, which will begin the run of the 60th anniversary specials. Exciting times ahead!

Michelle Ryan added: “I love that I got to work with Colin. He's great. He's got that wisdom in his voice. I love the new dynamic (working with his Doctor), it's a totally different dimension that I didn't anticipate.” And what would it be without David Warner? It’s so nostalgic, yet heartbreaking, that his face has been featured on the Time Lord Immemorial Special Edition cover artwork, alongside Christopher Eccleston, mirroring his Big Finish debut in my favourite Unbound audio Sympathy for the Devil, which also starred the late Nicholas Courtney with David Tennant and Mark Gatiss (credited as “Sam Kisgart”) as the Unbound Master. I’ve always loved his unique incarnation; not just in Sympathy and Masters of War, but also the brilliant series of boxsets with Bernice “Benny” Summerfield (Lisa Bowerman). Not to mention his onscreen guest appearance as Professor Grisenko in Series 7’s Cold War by Mark Gatiss, featuring the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). We should also be thankful for Christopher Eccleston, who announced his involvement with the 60th anniversary celebrations and paid tribute to Warner; shortly before his untimely passing, alongside Bernard Cribbins — another legend. Suffering the effects of degeneration, the Doctor heads towards the end of the universe in search of answers. Instead, he finds his daughter – Jenny – and an Artist whose works appear to mark the end of every world they touch. Time Lord Immemorial’ follows on directly from the plot thread left dangling; the Ninth Doctor follows up on the clue thrown to him by Missy in ‘The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50’, seeking “The Union” – a planet rich in psionic sand. With a terrific score, and despite seemingly adding nothing to the overall storyline, ‘A Genius for War’ is the strongest Once and Future tale so far. It also deposits Davros in an interesting place, which we’d love to be the focus of a further story. Special Edition

Staggering to his TARDIS, the Doctor sets out to solve the mystery of his ‘degeneration’. Who has done this to him? How? And why? From the Earth to the stars, across an array of familiar times and places, he follows clues to retrace his steps, encountering old friends and enemies along the way. Tumbling through his lives, the Doctor must stop his degeneration before he loses himself completely… Across seven stories, we’ve heard a degenerating Doctor ricochet though the timelines, meeting up with friends, allies and enemies from across all six decades of the show. The adventure now comes to its climactic conclusion in ‘The Union’. The Time War. The Doctor has been injured and brought to a Time Lord field hospital. His body glows with energy, but this is no regeneration into a future form – instead, the Doctor’s past faces begin to appear as he flits haphazardly between incarnations... In truth, there’s no getting away from the fact that this cast is stellar and Lisa McMullin’s tale cleverly shifts the pairings around throughout, making the most of them. She also uses some vivid imagery, from broken hourglasses to the literal sands of time. It’s potent stuff! However, for us, it’s all about the interaction between Eccleston and Warner – and that’s simply magic! Special Edition Despite having a lead role in the previous chapter, it’s a shame that the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) wasn’t featured at all with the remaining incarnations. Considering that Once and Future was originally conceived as a six-part story arc, long before Time Lord Immemorial was written and recorded, I can only assume it was down to availability and scheduling. But in hindsight, an appearance from Eccleston would’ve been a fantastic addition, completing the set of Doctor cameos in one story; like with The Day of the Doctor.

Directly continuing from Time Lord Immemorial, the Doctor listens to Susan’s distress call in the midst of his degeneration crisis, switching between the First (Stephen Noonan), Second (Michael Troughton), and Third (Tim Treloar) incarnations, before settling into his Eighth. He arrives at the Diamond Array, a multidimensional space station, and encounters a cybernetic Operator Zero (Michael Maloney) whom he somehow recognises behind the mask. We now also know the full cast list, with Abi Harris playing the Roboguide, John Telfer and Toom, and Messrs Baker (Colin), Noonan, McCoy, Treloar and Troughton (Michael) as their respective Doctors. It’s a frenetic affair, as it appears the Doctor will bounce though numerous faces during the saga’s finale, including David Tennant and Big Finish’s recast first three Doctors, Stephen Noonan, Michael Troughton and Tim Treloar. However, the story’s lead is Paul McGann, with Tom Baker also in the mix.

Reviewed: Big Finish’s Doctor Who, Once and Future – The Union

Meanwhile, River Song has made a deadly alliance to try to save her husband. And the truth about the Doctor’s degeneration will finally be revealed. Special Edition Doctor Who – Once and Future: Two’s Company, from writer Lisa McMullan, will see the Doctor re-visit his sixth incarnation.