Out of Time (audio story)

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Out of Time, also titled Out of Time 1, was the first story in the Out of Time series, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Matt Fitton and featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | edit source]

The Cathedral of Contemplation is an enigma, existing outside time. It turns through history, opening its doors across the universe to offer solace to those in need.

Occasionally, the Doctor drops in – when he's avoiding his destiny, it's an ideal place to get some perspective. Only this time he's already there from several lives earlier, so when dimension barriers break down, his past and present collide.

And when the Daleks invade and commandeer the Cathedral, two Doctors must unite to stop them – or face extermination twice over!

Plot[[edit] | edit source]

The Tenth Doctor arrives in the Cathedral of Contemplation where he is greeted by the High Abbess and her apprentice, Kivall. The Doctor explains that he decided to visit when he saw the door to the cathedral appear on the beach where he parked the TARDIS, something that the Abbess thinks is a coincidence as he normally visits the cathedral when he is in trouble. The Abbess asks the Doctor to follow her to the contemplation chambers. More new arrivel show up at the North Door of the cathedral, so the Abbess leaves the Doctor to his thoughts, but not before telling him that the panoramic gallery remains locked so his meditation cannot be disturbed. Once the Abbess is gone, the Doctor decides to try and unlock the gallery with his sonic screwdriver.

Meanwhile, in the gallery, the Fourth Doctor is painting a portrait and asks Jora, a soldier from the 26th century, to pass him up another brush. Jora asks him what he is doing and the Fourth Doctor answers that he is doing a bit of restoration of a painting of an old man waving at a young man. He explains that the old man in the painting is the Exalted Elder of Kranpa who is passing his life force to the new ruler of the planet, admitting that it does look like he is waving. He also tells Jora that be brought Michelangelo to the Cathedral and then he pilfered some of his ideas, but Jora doesn't know who Michelangelo is.

A glow suddenly appears in the gallery, which worries the Fourth Doctor. When he investigates the control box, the Tenth Doctor suddenly appears in the room and both of them are surprised to see each other. The Fourth Doctor thinks that the Tenth Doctor is either very clever or very clumsy for being able to break through the dimensional wall and fusing the controls, and the Tenth Doctor introduces himself to Jora who at first mistakes him for Michelangelo. When the Fourth Doctor asks for his name, the Tenth Doctor introduces himself as John Tyler instead of his usual alias of "John Smith". He also asks Jora if the Fourth Doctor asked her why she is hiding, to which Jora answers that he didn't.

Meanwhile, the North Door opens and a group of people enter the cathedral, explaining to the Abbess that they are at war and that they have reason to believe that they have a fugitive in the Cathedral. The leader of the group, Captain Zenna, tells the Abbess that he needs to return to the frontline as soon as the fugitive is found, and the fugitive happens to be his daughter.

In the gallery, the Tenth Doctor is trying to fix the control box he accidentally fused when he came through the crack in the dimensional wall with his sonic screwdriver, which the Fourth Doctor seems interested in. The Tenth Doctor doesn't give it to him though, claiming that he doesn't want it in the wrong hands. The Fourth Doctor explains that he once suggested that he could overhaul the system, but the Abbess instead made him paint frescoes. The Abbess enters and tells the Tenth Doctor that he should not be here. Zenna follows the Abbess into the room and tells his daughter, Jora, to come home with him whilst the Abbess forces the Tenth Doctor to leave the gallery. Jora is reluctant to leave with her father, so the Fourth Doctor sticks up for her by explaining that she has been cleaning his paintbrushes. Zenna decides to talk to the Abbess, as the Fourth Doctor realises that Jora was running from her father.

The Abbess chastises the Tenth Doctor for breaking into the gallery and encountering his fourth incarnation, but the Fourth Doctor downplays his mistake by claiming that the Tenth Doctor is none the wiser before he seems to start remembering this encounter. The Abbess confiscates the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, then tells him to explain what's worrying him, but the Doctor justifies his worries by saying that he's being called to somewhere he doesn't want to go. Just after Zenna enters and tells the Abbess to get someone in charge to tell the Fourth Doctor to leave his daughter alone, Kivall calls the Abbess to tell her to attend the North Door. The Abbess leaves the Doctor in the company of Zenna and tells him not to cross the timeline again.

The Fourth Doctor tells Jora to place the paint pots onto the scaffolding so they can be used next time someone enters the gallery. Jora explains that she ran away from the war she was fighting because she was scared of dying. The Doctor assures her that she is brave for making a difficult choice.

In the corridor, Zenna asks the Tenth Doctor what he knows about the war he is fighting, but the Doctor tell him to leave Jora alone since she has made her choice. Zenna explains that the enemy is too dangerous to be left unchecked and thinks that anyone who refuses to fight in the war is weak. When asked where he is from, Zenna explains that he is from Earth, but he and his forces are fighting in the Fifth Sector. The Doctor wonders who they are fighting.

Jora tells the Fourth Doctor that her enemies are relentless and unstoppable, but the Fourth Doctor replies by saying that no one is unstoppable, only unreasonable. Jora replies that they keep coming back no matter how many times they are stopped, leaving the Doctor asking her who her enemies are.

The North Door is wide open and Kivall is unable to close it. Zenna's soldiers get themselves into position and the Abbess tells Kivall to make sure that the pilgrims are safe before giving him the sonic screwdriver. The doorway is soon revealed to be connected to a Time Corridor, from which a squad of Daleks emerge and begin killing the soldiers. The Supreme Dalek stops the Abbess from closing the Time Portal and boasts that the Daleks are the supreme species of the universe, ordering her to surrender control of the Cathedral. The Abbess insists that the Daleks will never have control over the Cathedral, prompting them to exterminate her.

Shocked to hear about the Daleks, the Tenth Doctor remembers the space wars between the Draconians and the Ogrons during the 26th century. The Fourth Doctor and Jora enter and the Fourth Doctor asks his counterpart if he feels the tremors caused by the cathedral shaking. The Doctors both feel a terrible sense of foreboding. The Tenth Doctor explains that Zenna and Jora are both from the Second Dalek War and they lived on a planetoid on the edge of Draconian space. When asks who he is, the Tenth Doctor tells the Fourth Doctor that he is a travelling Doctor just like him.

The Fourth Doctor expresses concern that if the Daleks gain control of the Cathedral, they would have the means to appear anywhere at any time. Zenna tells them not to worry about the pilgrims and focus on destroying the Daleks as they will be after a command centre. The Fourth Doctor believes that the Sanctum will be the ideal command centre for them. The Tenth Doctor agrees with Jora that the innocent people need to be rescued, but the Fourth Doctor counters his suggestion by saying that they will be bound to encounter the Daleks eventually while they are rescuing the innocents. The group resolves to rescue the civilians before the Daleks can kill them.

The Supreme Dalek detects the control system at the centre of the Cathedral and orders one of his soldiers to accompany him to take over its function. Another Dalek detects multiple life signs in the outer chambers, prompting the Supreme to order the other Daleks to locate and exterminate them.

The Doctors, Zenna and Jora approach the door to the contemplation chamber where any new arrivals enter the cathedral. Inside the contemplation room, they see a woman named Marna explaining that a group of people appeared and that they didn't know what to do. The Tenth Doctor explains that the barrier has failed and all of the dimensional layers holding visitors from different times are gone. Marna explains that she was flying people off-world when the fighting came. The Fourth Doctor tells Marna to gather everyone from the adjoining chambers before they can get her out. Marna complies and leaves.

The Tenth Doctor asks the Fourth Doctor if he knows a way out, to which the Fourth Doctor replies that he doesn't, but he will soon. He then tells Zenna to help him round up everyone else in the cathedral. The Tenth Doctor remarks "Look at him go, he thinks he's in charge." Jora asks him if they're both Doctors and if they studied together, to which the Tenth Doctor answers "Same time, same place, but I wasn't on his radar back then." He asks Jora if she gets deja vu and she answers that she does sometimes, prompting the Doctor to tell her that this encounter with his previous incarnation is more similar to "apres deja vu" which is knowing what happens but only after it does. He then wonders if it's always this way when he runs into his previous incarnations.

When the Fourth Doctor returns, the Tenth Doctor comments that nobody walks through a door like him. The Doctor's words are confusing Jora. They approach the Fourth Doctor who explains that their priority is to find a door that doesn't lead into a war zone and they need the Abbess in order to carry out this task. Captain Zenna talks about the civilians running from the fight, prompting the Fourth Doctor to ask him if they are the ones he's trying to protect. Zenna believes they should attack the Daleks now, but the Fourth Doctor points out that he only has one gun and everyone else in the cathedral are not soldiers, a statement that the Tenth Doctor agrees with as he sympathizes with them as they are trying to get away from war.

The Fourth Doctor tells Zenna to leave with him so they can find any stragglers and scout an exit, and even though Zenna objects at first, Jora insists that he helps. As they leave with Marna, the Fourth Doctor tells the Tenth Doctor that he believes that he's hiding his light under a bushel, a statement that the Tenth Doctor disagrees with due to not owning a bushel. Jora notices the Tenth Doctor's grin which he has because he thinks that the Fourth Doctor knows the truth about who he really is. He then follows the Fourth Doctor out of the contemplation room.

The Daleks continue making their way through the cathedral and exterminating anyone they see. The Doctors and Zenna sneak up behind them, and Zenna decides he wants to take them on, but the Fourth Doctor tells him that going in guns blazing will get him killed. The Tenth Doctor suggests that they cut through the Sistine Chapel, only for the Daleks to detect them, prompting the Fourth Doctor to agree with the Tenth Doctor's idea. Zenna is told to continue rescuing the civilians while the Doctors work on a way to slow the Daleks down.

Entering the cathedral's sanctum, the Supreme Dalek orders his guards to analyze the controls and stabilize the structure which will allow them to scan the various destinations that the cathedral is connected to. He then declares that with the cathedral under his control, the Daleks will soon win the war and all other wars.

The Doctors wait as Zenna continues leading the civilians to safety. The Fourth Doctor suggests that they close and bar the doors so that the Daleks cannot get in, then the Tenth Doctor asks to borrow the Fourth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver so that he can use it to activate the molecular seals. After the Fourth Doctor compliments his use of the Sonic Screwdriver, he asks why he is in the Cathedral. The Tenth Doctor answers that he loves travelling through time and space. The Fourth Doctor admits that he knows who the Tenth Doctor really is and the Tenth Doctor says that he didn't tell the Fourth Doctor the truth because he didn't want to interfere with his own history and he hwas to wait until he becomes the Tenth Doctor to have a say in the matter.

After Jora tells the Doctors that the civilians are out of the cathedral, the Daleks locate them inside the dome and begin burning through the door. The Tenth Doctor decides to use the Fourth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver to slow them down, but the Fourth Doctor climbs up the scaffolding whilst asking Jora to hold his scarf as he ties the other end to the scaffolding.

The Daleks manage to destroy the door's molecular field, opening it. When they enter the room, the Fourth Doctor, who is outside the opposite door, uses his scarf to pull the scaffolding down on top of them, trapping them. As the goes back into the room to untie his scarf from the scaffolding, Jora realizes that he and the Tenth Doctor are the same person, having heard about how the Fourth Doctor talks about the Time lords and how they change their faces. After the Fourth Doctor emerges from the room with his scarf, the Tenth doctor explains that he needs to focus the dimension barriers' ambient power so that he can destroy the Daleks. After the Fourth Doctor compliments the Tenth Doctor's scheme, they both make their escape with Jora.

In the sanctum, the Daleks are unable to locate their target destination due to the numerous possibilities in the panoramic gallery confusing them. The Supreme Dalek orders for the cathedral to be rotated so they can ensure that one of the corridors reaches Earth Central Command where they intend to arrive and exterminate the humans. But as they attempt to rotate the cathedral, the instability returns and renders the controls inoperable to the Daleks. The Dalek Supreme orders the guard to try again, confident that they will find a way to reach their destination.

The Doctors have reached the North Door that the Daleks used to enter the cathedral from Skaro. The Tenth Doctor tells Captain Zenna to keep everyone outside, and Jora notices the dead body of the Abbess. Examining the Abbess' corpse, the doctors realizes that the Daleks have done something worse than invade the cathedral, they have killed the last of the Abbess' species, the Monanti-Psyivon. The Tenth Doctor goes on to explain to Zenna that the Monanti-Psyivon are symbolically joined to their creations, which is the reason that the cathedral is beginning to lose its integrity.

The Doctors decide that their next course of action is to take everyone to the West Door, but they need to turn the cathedral so that it can open somewhere that the escapees can be safe, and the cathedral can only be rotated from the sanctum. The Doctors begin to discuss about which of them should go to the sanctum, until they decide to play "Scissors Paper Stone" to see who goes to the sanctum. When the Fourth Doctor wins by choosing stone over scissors, the Tenth Doctor argues that he was going to use paper before he changed his mind. As the Fourth Doctor begins to make his way to the sanctum, the Tenth Doctor follows him so that he can have a talk with him.

Once both Doctors have left, Zenna remarks to Jora that they're entrusting their lives to madmen. Jora insists that she trusts the Doctors, prompting Zenna to ask her if she trusts them more than her own father. After saying that they'll talk when they get through the ordeal, they decide to tell the others.

The Tenth Doctor catches up with the Fourth Doctor in an attempt to stop him from walking towards the Daleks without a plan. The Fourth Doctor replies that he has insider knowledge and the belief that his Sonic Screwdriver will be useful. He then says that it doesn't matter who stops the Daleks as long as someone does, but the Tenth Doctor is worried that if the Fourth Doctor is killed by the Daleks, something will happen to him, to which the Fourth Doctor replies that not knowing is exciting and that the greatest unknown comes to everyone in the end. The Tenth Doctor asks what would happen if everything he ever does is wiped away in a flash of regeneration.

As the Doctors continue arguing, Zenna catches up to them to tell them that the civilians are panicking. The Fourth Doctor tells the Tenth Doctor to calm the civilians down as he believes that he is more of a people person than himself, but the Tenth Doctor reminds him that he spent a week talking with Jora, causing the Fourth Doctor to reply that he missed having company. The Fourth Doctor suggests that the Tenth Doctor uses the air vents to traverse the cathedral and avoid the Daleks in the corridors whilst Zenna goes to accompany him in his effort to liberate the sanctum.

As he goes to calm the civilians, the Tenth Doctor finds a whimpering Kivall hiding behind a statue and offers to let him help in saving the civilians. Kivall points to an air vent above the statue that he was hiding behind and then gives the Tenth Doctor his Sonic Screwdriver so that he can get the panel off.

The Fourth Doctor and Zenna are making their way to the sanctum and discussing what their plan is. After admitting that he has never fought in any military campaigns, the Fourth Doctor states that he is a pacifist. Once they reach the sanctum's doors, they decide to scout ahead.

The Tenth Doctor opens a vent and ushers the civilians into it, despite Kivall's concerns that the vent isn't particularly wide. Jora is told that the cathedral makes its visitors think that everything is made of stone so that their brains can cope, and the Doctor had to leave his TARDIS elsewhere to avoid parking across transcendental dimensions. Just then, two Daleks show up, only to be destroyed when the Doctor uses his Sonic Screwdriver to electrify the floor.

Cast[[edit] | edit source]

Crew[[edit] | edit source]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | edit source]

  • Both Doctors are travelling without a companion.

Notes[[edit] | edit source]

  • This story was recorded remotely on 26 March and 4 May 2020.
  • As well as part of the Out of Time series, the story was also released as part of The Tenth Doctor Adventures range.
  • This story was originally released on CD and download.
  • In 2022, Josh Snares released a full animation of the story on YouTube. To avoid copyright infringement, the soundtrack was not included; instead, fans were invited to download the Out of Time audio legally and sync it up with Snares's visuals themselves. Although it was not actually an official Big Finish product, Snares's animation was promoted by Big Finish Productions on Twitter.[1] In 2023, Snares followed up the project with a full animation of The Genocide Machine.
  • With initial production originally delayed by David Tennant's filming commitments to Around the World in 80 Days, the Coronavirus pandemic subsequently led to further delays until arrangements were made to record remotely. While some previous productions had been partly affected by the pandemic, Out of Time was the first Big Finish project to be recorded entirely within lockdown conditions. Actors had to be cast partly based on whether they had home recording facilities. Claire Rushbrook already had such a set-up after recording for Tula Chenka in The Robots during lockdown. Kathryn Drysdale recorded from inside a portable sauna. (VOR 137)
  • Matt Fitton primarily based the Tenth Doctor's interactions with the Fourth Doctor on his portrayal in Time Crash, in which his interactions with the Fifth Doctor showed him to be a fan of his younger selves. (VOR 137) Time Crash more heavily influenced the next release in the series, which also featured the Fifth Doctor. (BFX: The Gates of Hell, VOR 147)
  • Jora was described by Fitton as the companion of the story. (VOR 137)
  • The Second Dalek War acts as a backdrop for the plot, the first story to return to that era since Prisoner of the Daleks depicted the end of the conflict in 2009. The Tenth Doctor refers to the conflict directly by that name, marking the first time it has been used outside of the Virgin New Adventures continuity, as well as in any performed medium.
  • Fitton discussed whether to use classic-era Daleks or revived-era Daleks and it was decided to use both as a fun melding of the two eras. (VOR 137) The inclusion of both actually helps bridge part of the gap which exists in the lead-up to Prisoner of the Daleks. Out of Time depicts the Daleks starting to use both Time War-style casings and time travel in a bid to defeat Earth Command, elements which feature more prominently in Prisoner.
  • According to Fitton, Nicholas Briggs originally planned to record his Dalek lines with the ring modulator at a later time separate from the main recording sessions, much to David Tennant's disappointment. Briggs therefore set up the modulator in his office allowing the actors to record with the live Dalek dialogue. (VOR 137)
  • The production team referred to this story as "Out of Time 1" in interviews, to distinguish it from subsequent releases in the Out of Time series. (BFX: The Gates of Hell)
  • Producer David Richardson recalled that the initial ideas for Out of Time 2 were being discussed even before those of Out of Time 1, but Out of Time 1 ended up being recorded before Out of Time 2 was seriously revisited. (BFX: The Gates of Hell)
  • The involvement of the Daleks in this story influenced the decision to use the Cybermen, another popular recurring foe of the Doctor, in Out of Time 2. Similar discussions to those concerning the Daleks were had about which era of Cyberman to use; unlike the blend of new and old Daleks, the Cyberman model from The Invasion was opted for. (BFX: The Gates of Hell)
  • This story was released on BBC Sounds on 15 November 2023 as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who, under the banner title of Doctor Who: The Audio Adventures.[2]

Continuity[[edit] | edit source]

Cover gallery[[edit] | edit source]

  • Original cover

    Original cover

  • Alternate cover

    Alternate cover

  • Textless cover

    Textless cover

Simon Holub sought to design the front cover as if it was a photoshoot from the revived era, which included both Doctors, their TARDISes, Daleks from their respective eras and "a subtle hint of title sequences in the background." (VOR 137)

Jonathon Carley revealed in a YouTube interview that Tom Baker's pose is taken from a publicity photo of Peter Capaldi from Series 9 with the jacket tinted brown and the Fourth Doctor's head and scarf added on top.[3]

External links[[edit] | edit source]

Footnotes[[edit] | edit source]

  1. ↑ Big Finish Productions on Twitter
  2. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gsw0dt
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHxqbLjZg9M
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