Short Trips: Time Signature - "The Ruins of Time" by Phillip Purcer-Hallard

Short Trips: Time Signature
"The Ruins of Time"
Written by Phillip Purser-Hallard
Published: 1st September 2006

Short Trips: Time Signature has a special place in my heart. Along with Short Trips: Dalek Empire and a trio of Doctor Who: The Audio Scripts books, this was my first exposure to the work of Big Finish Productions. A bizarre form to discover the releases of a company that works predominantly in audio, but we'll roll with it.

Truth be told it was probably Christmas 2006 and I was in that first flush of fandom where everything is wonderful and you don't notice those small imperfections. David Tennant was the Doctor and the only Doctor. So, naturally, that Christmas my father decided to buy me anything Doctor Who related he could get his hands on. Unfortunately, it was Classic Who.

Long-time readers may recall that my first experiences with Classic Who weren't the best. An old college friend tried to get me to watch the show in 2002/3 when it was being shown on UK Gold on weekend mornings. I can't remember which exactly which story, but it was a rather dull Pertwee. Probably The Mutants as I still despise that story! The next experience was buying The Dalek Invasion of Earth when I was in the grip of Dalekmania following the broadcast of "Bad Wolf" / "The Parting of the Ways" in the Summer of 2005. Needless to say, that was a bit of a culture shock.

A new world... a new adventure...

Due to the enticing cover and my love of all things timey-wimey, I naturally commenced my reading with Short Trips: Time Signature. It may seem like a bad choice, but the story opens with a story featuring the Third Doctor (from that rather dull repeat) and Sarah Jane Smith who had only recently re-appeared in "School Reunion", so I felt I knew enough for it to carry me through. Which it did and, even better, the next story featured the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara who I'd seen in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Nearly ten years later, it is time to return to "The Ruins of Time"...

Essentially "The Ruins of Time" is a post-apocalyptic vampire story. The people of Torcaldia were caught in a terrible cataclysm which began at a concert hall in the capital city. From that day, time has been draining away from the entire planet and its population are slowly running out of time and turning into statues. However, some desperate Torcaldians have developed the ability to drain time from other beings (and objects, but it's not as satisfying!) and prolong their own lives. Naturally, those averse to the law have formed into raiding parties and use these special Torcaldians to feed off everyone else.

When two Gallifreyans arrive on the planet it doesn't take long for the raiders to discover them, make off with them and learn about the abundance of time energy stored within them. Indeed, they've found the ultimate prize. It does, however, play a part in their eventual downfall as, even after draining the Doctor dry, the Time Lord still has centuries of time energy left to him and is not turned into a timeless statue as the rest.

The perfect feast.

Away from the slightly different twist on the vampire tale, Phillip Purser-Hallard has succeeded in recreating the style, feel and structure of a typical Hartnell story complete with episode titles after a section and little cliffhangers. Indeed, the television story that it evoked for me the most was The Daleks. In "The Twilight City", the TARDIS lands on the Torcaldian planet and the travellers wander around a seemingly dead world taking in the sites before stumbling into the Torcaldian, Verdirioi.

Through Verdirioi we learn much about Torcaldian culture as well as physiology as we see Ian and Barbara come to terms with the fact that the Torcaldians are hermaphrodites. I must admit, that most of the laughs in this story are to be had with the two schoolteachers trying to guess which sex the various Torcaldians are, and finding themselves completely flummoxed.

Continuing the comparison to The Daleks, Ian and Barbara then have to join forces with the Torcaldians in rescuing the Doctor and Susan from the bandits, which involves a lengthy expedition to another city and a bit of a trek through the wilderness, although not through a lake of mutations and a mountain of boredom.

The denouement to the story offers something slightly different, with Susan convincing the bandits time-drainer, Tranell, to turn against the Bandit leader, Balthar, and drain time from him instead of her. Thus freeing the remaining citizens of Cantosi from the threat of the bandits. However, the main problem facing the people of Torcaldia remains unsolved: the Doctor is rather cagey about what has occurred, and indeed, systematically refuses to follow Susan's suggestion of leaving a piece of the TARDIS behind so that Veridiroi might survive indefinitely. Fortunately, Susan secretly defies her grandfather and leaves behind a game board and pieces that she brought with her from Gallifrey.

In summary then, "The Ruins of Time" is an interesting beast. It's faithful to its roots in that it recreates the feel of a typical Hartnell sci-fi story, yet puts in a couple of twists and an overarching mystery that won't be solved until future stories. Phillip Purser-Hallard has done a wonderful job of creating a new alien world, an interesting alien civilisation and more importantly, some great and memorable characters.

7/10