4,5 ( )

I didn't really understand what was going on in The Time Vampire, and will go back and listen to it again after I've finished my current revisiting of the Big Finish Gallifrey series which included Leela, both K-9s and both Romanas. (Apparently there's more of that on the way too.) It's a shame because Leela is one of my favourite TV companions, and does well both in spinoff novels and in the Gallifrey audios, but her Companion Chronicles have been less memorable. ( )

"The Time Vampire" is just gorgeous, and so pleasantly dense - I can tell I'm going to have to listen to it several times, and that's absolutely fine by me. There's a real solidity of ideas and...perhaps undiluted writer's intent?...to this script that reminds me of the finest avant-garde "Doctor Who" like "Warrior's Gate" and "Ghost Light." I love to see "Who" take steps in new directions so this was very exciting for me. Add to that the finale to a really scrumptious trilogy, and you couldn't have a better pairing of raised expectations with expectations met.

As the last in a trilogy, "Time Vampire" has a lot to live up to. The stories of "The Catalyst" and "Empathy Games" were more concise and direct, but this finale is a solid, emotional experience all the way through. It doesn't really matter that the story becomes so convoluted at points. I get that intrinsic feeling that all the puzzle pieces are there, if I just bother to go and look for them (and I was never truly "confused," I just had to make some little leaps of faith here and there as I listened). Add to that Louise Jameson's typically lovely reading and the release just provided everything I was looking for. I can actually say, driving down the highway and listening to the CD as the sun started to go down, that I started to cry as it kicked in to that final emotional climax. That...pretty much never happens.

Perhaps the best piece of praise I can offer is this: I adore Louise Jameson as an actress, and as a reader, but if "The Time Vampire" is the last we hear from Leela - well, I won't be at all disappointed. This is the bow-out she really deserves. ( )

The Time Vampire is the third and final release in a set of Companion Chronicles about Leela, all written, directed, and sound-designed by Nigel Fairs. Full disclosure: I haven't heard either The Catalyst or Empathy Games, and that will undoubtedly affect what I have to say about this release.

I wanted to like this. I really did. The story’s opening moments are fantastic. It begins with Leela imprisoned in unknown circumstances, when she begins to recall a tale of her time with the Doctor. The beginning is strange, and immediately draws you in. Why is the Doctor building a new K-9? What is going on in the secondary console room? Why is the old K-9 saying such weird things? It’s a good mystery, and it’s even better thanks to the combination of Louise Jameson's performance and Nigel Fairs's sound design.

There is one thing that lets The Time Vampire down, and that's the story. Part One is great-- mystery abounds, Leela doesn't know what’s going on, and neither does the listener. But I’m afraid we never really get any answers in Part Two. Fairs says in the CD Extras that he wanted to make something that would reward multiple listens... and though that's a nice desire, a story also needs to reward its first listen, otherwise it's just frustrating. I ultimately never really understood what had created the time vampire, what anyone was trying to do with it, why the third Doctor was in the story, and what the Z'nai had to do with anything. The closing scene of the play was especially baffling to listen to. The danger of time-weirdness stories is when they don’t come together in the end, and this one fails to completely.

You can read a longer version of this review at Unreality SF.