No More Lies review [Paul Sutton]

The Doctor and Lucie chase a criminal before finding they've arrived thirty years into his future, where he's living in England, married to a Hungarian and has been a well-behaved citizen for all that time. He also happens to be in a time loop that external forces wish to penetrate.

When and Where: It is England 2006, after Phobos and before Human Resources.

The Doctor's Case:

• The story begins in media res, which is unusual for Doctor Who in audio and on TV. Its use here keeps the Eighth Doctor Adventures fresh and shows how the Doctor and Lucie have grown, working together and sharing banter more playful than in Blood of the Daleks or Immortal Beloved.
• The Doctor says that he feels bad about manipulating people. Whilst this isn't explored, its another hint of the darkness of this Doctor that was brought up in Phobos. It's especially important in that, only in his previous incarnation, he was an arch-manipulator. Either Seventh began feeling guilty about his actions by the end of his life or Eighth feels regret for what he did in his last life.
• Zimmerman and his wife Rachel are this week's couple (after Zeus/Hera and Kai/Eris) and their tragedy is a sad one. The twist that the time loop doesn't exist to punish Zimmerman but that he set it up himself to spend one day with his wife forever is heartbreaking, as is her insisting that he accept her death.

The Valeyard's Case:

• Beginning in the middle of the story can be a good idea if the rest of the story is sufficiently explained later. However, we know very little of how the Doctor and Lucie got involved with Zimmerman.
• The time loop isn't really explored at all. We're told that it exists and why but don't see any of its effects bar a bit of deja vu.

Witness Protection: The Headhunter arrives at the end of the story, capturing and kidnapping Lucie.

This Reminds Me...:

• The Doctor mentions Ramsey, the pet Vortisaur that he and Charley took in after they met in Storm Warning and that they released into the time vortex in Minuet in Hell.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: No More Lies is a character-centric story that focuses on Zimmerman, a villain who has been sufficiently rehabilitated and well-behaved (aside from cheating on his wife) for thirty years. The Headhunter arc is reaching its climax now with Lucie being kidnapped and the Doctor coming to save her. This is a good story and deserves a B.

Eighth Doctor Adventures

Phobos  |  No More Lies  |  Human Resources