Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time review – The Counter-Measures team fight a threat across two decades in The Split Infinitive
By James Aggas
The Counter-Measures team fight a dangerous threat across two decades in The Split Infinitive. But they’re not alone, as once again, they’re reunited with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, as Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time continues.
The second episode of Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time brings in the Counter-Measures team. For those of you who are unaware of these characters, they were originally introduced in Seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks. They were later given an audio spin-off by Big Finish, one that was firmly set in the Sixties and was extremely successful for four series.
They investigated the strange and unusual. In some ways, they were a precursor to UNIT, but in other ways their stories were a little more grounded. Then the series was given a radical shake-up and moved to the Seventies with the exact same characters in The New Counter-Measures. They continued their investigations, but the stories had a slightly more fun and adventurous feel to them.
For their story in The Legacy of Time, which era does writer John Dorney use? Their original gritty Sixties era, or the slightly more glamorous Seventies era? The answer, of course, is both.
The Split Infinitive is a rather clever little story. The Counter-Measures team are reunited with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, both in the Sixties and the Seventies. They’re trying to solve a rather complicated problem spread across the two decades…that’s somehow occurring at the same time. As a result, in the Seventies, they’re trying hard to remember events that happened in the Sixties, but struggle because they literally need time to catch up with them.
In The Split Initiative, Ace is reunited with her old friends at Counter-Measures in the Sixties…while the Doctor works with them in the Seventies.
(Photo credit: Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Strong mix of action and humor
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If that sounds confusing, it admittedly is. But it’s balanced by two things. The first is that this story has a fantastic amount of humor throughout. The characters themselves find the whole situation perplexing to say the least, and we get fantastic reactions from all the characters. Even better is that the Seventh Doctor and Ace don’t make things any easier: either the Doctor explains a complicated situation badly, or Ace makes references to future pop culture references that the Counter-Measures team won’t have a clue about – in either decade!
What also makes this story so enjoyable is how much of a thrilling adventure it is. The first half reminds me of Seventies British cop show The Sweeney – a TV series that featured plots of tough bank robbers and tougher police. The second half of the story however…well, I don’t want to spoil it, but it heads more into adventure territory.
It’s clear that John Dorney had a lot of fun writing this one. It’s not surprising – as someone who’s been a script-editor of the series since the beginning, he’s clearly very close to these characters, and has a clear understanding of what makes the series so appealing to fans. He also knows how to write a clever story that might take a re-listen or two to get everything, while still making it extremely entertaining.
The Split Infinitive is another excellent episode in The Legacy of Time, and works as a great introduction to both Counter-Measures, The New Counter-Measures and…well, you’d have to listen to it to find out what. An extremely fun and thrilling story.
Next. Torchwood: Children of Earth – Why it was the greatest series of the Doctor Who spin-off. dark
Are you a fan of Counter-Measures? Have you seen their original TV appearance in Remembrance of the Daleks? Do you think the team should reappear in the TV series? Let us know in the comments below.