“The Thief Who Stole Time” is a Doctor Who audio play written by Marc Platt and continues the story started in “The Skin of the Sleek”. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward are the leads in the particular episode released by the prolific Big Finish Productions.
It picks up when Romana has been betrayed by a fellow Time Lady known as Sartia and was left sinking in the rather unusually gelatinous ocean of the planet Funderell. A religion is centered around eel-like creatures who lurk below the surface and one had been killed which causes all manner of turmoil for the Doctor and Romana.
This story has some interesting ideas, however the descriptions conveyed in the dialogue are sometimes hard to visualize. Baker and Ward continue to exhibit their usual dynamic chemistry, which is amusing considering their history. I am trying to figure out if they actually perform in the studio together of it they are edited as if they were in post productions. It’s still great to have new adventures with this pairing regardless. Tom Baker still seems to have quite the ball being back in the role, and I can almost forget he is well into his eighties at times.
Sartia, played by Joannah Tincey, is an intriguing nemesis who has more hostility toward Romana than the Doctor. I was pleased that the Doctor wasn’t sidelined in any way even though the main thrust of the story was about Romana’s history. It has been hinted that audiences won’t hear the last of Sartia, and I am good with that. Sartia isn’t really that different from some of the other renegade Tome Lords peppered throughout Doctor Who, but I do like the idea that she has more animosity toward Romana, which does bring in a rather fresh aspect.
The other members of the guest case are fine. Not everything in this story was terribly riveting, however it was enjoyable enough. Of course, I am excited that there are new stories with the incomparable Tom Baker, so I may not be completely objective.
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