Gallifrey review: Reborn almost provides a fresh start for the series

It took almost five years for series three’s major cliffhanger to be resolved, but finally, popular Doctor Who spin-off Gallifrey continued with series four. Was it worth the wait?

In March 2011, many fans of both Doctor Who and Big Finish were excited about a brand new box set. It had been a long time coming, but finally, after years of waiting, fans finally got the fourth series of Gallifrey!

I don’t think I can begin to stress just how long the gap was between Panacea, the final episode of the third series, and the release of the fourth. For comparison, Panacea was released in August 2006. During that time, David Tennant’s first series of Doctor Who had finished just a couple of months before, and we had said goodbye to Rose.

Now let’s skip forward to 2011. We were a month away from Matt Smith’s second series as the Doctor! That’s right: two full series of the Tenth Doctor, plus one series of the Eleventh, were completely broadcast during the gap between the third and fourth series of Gallifrey. And that includes a gap year that only gave us the occasional special!

This huge gap probably wouldn’t have been as bad, if the third series hadn’t ended on a major cliffhanger: a plague is spreading across Gallifrey, and the only “cure” is for the Time Lords to lose the ability to regenerate. Romana, Leela, K9, Narvin and Braxiatel are trapped on a planetoid. Is there any way for them to escape and perhaps save their world?

Fans had to wait a long time to find out what happened next. Was it worth the wait?

Panacea had one of the biggest and boldest cliffhangers in the Doctor Who universe. Did Reborn provide a satisfying resolution to it?

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

A new direction

After opening with one of the greatest scenes in the Doctor Who universe ever, we find out that the first episode of Gallifrey: Series Four begins very shortly after the end of Panacea. Romana and her friends are still on the planetoid. At least, that’s what Braxiatel claims.

But it’s not long until they discover where they really are: the Axis, essentially a gateway to alternative timelines. Alternative Gallifreys, in fact. Will one of these worlds help them find a cure, or even provide a new home for them?

This was definitely a bold move for the series. At this point, Gallifrey had always been focused on two things: political drama, and serialized storytelling.

With just the first episode, Reborn actually moves away from both of the two key areas that made Gallifrey so special in the first place. Because it doesn’t take long to realize that this series is now focused on exploring different parallel Gallifreys with each episode. Essentially, Gallifrey has now been crossed with Sliders.

A jumping-on point?

Again, this wouldn’t be so surprising if it had been telling a rather different story from the first three series. For example, later series Intervention: Earth is very different to the earlier series, but at the same time, it’s also meant to be a completely fresh start for the series.

Series four kind of tries to establish itself as a fresh jumping on point, but at the same time, it really can’t be that. These character have known each other for a very long time, and they’re in the middle of a really bad situation, to say the least. And there are no new regulars introduced to help us see more established characterse through their eyes.

I’m not saying that the change in direction is a bad thing. The first time you listen to it, it’s a shock, certainly, but not a bad thing.

Now that we’ve dealt with the huge shift in storytelling for the series, what about Reborn itself? How well does it introduce the change in format?

The first episode of Gallifrey: Series Four, Reborn, sets the scene for a new era of the series. And includes one or two familiar faces…

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Reborn

Reborn eases us into Gallifrey‘s take on the parallel world genre. The first version of Gallifrey that the team explores isn’t “evil”, exactly. In some ways, things aren’t too different from their own home.

But the story explores what would happen if the Time Lords were just a little more…capitalist. Which doesn’t sound like a bad thing, but when you’ve got a race that can basically live forever and can time travel selling their secrets to the highest bidder, you know it can only cause chaos.

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What’s most notable about this episode is that, once again, Mary Tamm appears in the series. Once again, she plays a version of the first incarnation that’s different to the one we know. Last time, it was because she was essentially possessed by an ancient force of Gallifrey’s past. This time, of course, we’re meeting a parallel version that never left the planet.

The two Romanas interacting with each other is interesting enough. Both have lived very different lives and essentially became very different people. But each of them learns a lot about the other. And about themselves.

However, I think the biggest highlight is the huge amount of flirtation between Braxiatel and Tamm’s Romana. There’s a lot of chemistry there, and the fact that Brax does it in front of the Romana he knows – essentially, a very close friend (who just doesn’t trust him by this point) – makes it even better!

Reborn is a simple, straightforward episode that gives the series a bold new direction. It’s not exactly a fresh starting point – certainly, not as much as later series, anyway. But it does a fine job of continuing the series while pushing it into an unexpected direction.

Did you listen to Gallifrey: Series Four when it was first released? Was it worth the wait? And what did you make of the new direction for the series? Let us know in the comments below.