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Doctor Who: Out of Time 3 – Wink

Starring: David Tennant, Colin Baker, Ayesha Antone, Joanna Van Kampen, and Clive Hayward
Written by: Lisa McMullin
Directed by: Ken Bentley

“Angel to the left of us, Angel to the right…” “Here I AM, stuck in the middle with you!” “Oh, you’re one of THOSE Doctors are you?”

“Curly” and “Sandshoes” have an excellent Weeping Angels-filled adventure in Doctor Who: Out of Time 3 – Wink. The finale of Big Finish Productions’ extraordinary trilogy of releases, pairing David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor with classic incarnations as he avoids his regeneration in his television finale, The End of Time.

Bombastically and vibrantly directed by Ken Bentley (The Robots and Dalek Universe) and sharply, cleverly written by Lisa McMullin (The Ninth Doctor Adventures and Doctor Who: Stranded), Out of Time 3 finds The Doctors being pulled together by time distortions to the planet Lucidus Silvara. The citizens don’t have the concept of sight, thanks to the planet’s ultraviolet sun. The all-encompassing light bathes the whole planet and its capital city, which happens to be surrounded by mirrored walls.

Statues now surround the city – statues that seem to move the second you look away from them. Soon one breaches the city walls…looking to devour everything in its path and throwing The Doctors into a frantic chase where even their senses can’t be trusted!

In the first place, I was skeptical about an audio rendition of the Weeping Angels. The Angels themselves are so striking visually, and so much tension is generated from just their static appearance. I was somewhat worried they would lose their edge within the audio medium. However, writer McMullin and the tremendous production staff really nail the Angels in Out of Time 3. Anchored by the full-throated performance of Clive Hayward as Dax/Angel Dax, the Angels here are on the back foot but still creeping through the planet’s natural defenses. Furthermore, the actual setting of Lucidus Silvara is fascinating – rife with all sorts of detailing and world-building throughout that McMullin complementary pairs with the cast and monsters.

Additionally, this round’s take on The Doctors and their flintily hilarious dynamic is a wonder. Starting with a genuinely novel and exciting way to kick off their team-up (one too good to spoil here), McMullin leans hard into Tennant’s motor-mouthed, slightly deflecting Tenth Doctor. As a result, ruffling the feathers immediately of Colin Baker’s charmingly caustic Sixth Doctor. They have all sorts of fun exchanges and semi-arguments – usually centered around Sixie’s amazing coat and the state of the Tenth Doctor’s TARDIS interior.

Baker and Tennant have completely different energy of the team-ups so far, but consistently funny one – even if it does skate toward acerbic at times. However, it never skews harder into sniping and open arguing, which, as a fan of these Doctors, in particular, was very nice to hear. The amazing setting and fascinating populace help a fair amount. But, hearing the care and effort taken throughout these performances (and the behind-the-scenes of such) makes this finale all the more vital.

Most importantly, Out of Time 3 just works. Both as a functional and funny single Doctor Who story and as a grand finale to this trilogy of team-ups. A trilogy that pit Classic Doctors against iconic monsters, marshaled around the manic energy of David Tennant, somehow BACK at the peak of his “Doctor-y” energy! What more could a Doctor Who fan possibly want?

Doctor Who: Out of Time 3 – Wink is available now from Big Finish Productions.

Loving Out of Time? Catch up on DIS/MEMBER’s OUT OF TIME coverage:

Doctor Who: Out of Time 1

Doctor Who: Out of Time 2 – The Gates of Hell